All Brook Hills Small Groups take a meeting break from July 1 through August 12. This time provides rest for our age-group leaders and our adult leaders to enjoy time with family and recharge for the upcoming year. Though regular Small Groups will not be meeting, we encourage you to use this time to do life with the people in your group.

Here are a couple of fresh ideas on summer fun with your faith family: 

Enjoy 

Birmingham is packed full of fun/free events and activities for any and all age groups. Pick an event or two from this list and make it a Small Group get-together: 

• Celebrate the 4th of July together. What is better than friends and families coming together to enjoy a backyard barbeque and watch the amazing fireworks seen around the city! 
• Eat a picnic meal together at the Botanical Gardens. The front lawn is an awesome place for parents to build relationships, while kids are able to play outside. 
• Gather for a free movie at Veterans Park on Fridays at 6:30pm. The movies and dates include Peter Rabbit (June 22), Despicable Me 3 (June 29),  Paddington 2 (July 6), Ferdinand (July 13), Coco (July 20), and a RAIN DATE (July 27).   
• Visit one of our local museums like the Birmingham Museum of Art, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (admission is free on Sundays), or for the baseball fans, the Negro Southern League Museum. 
• Make sure to mark your calendar for our Church-wide Tailgate that we have moved to Sunday, October 7 so we can enjoy cooler weather.  

Serve 

While many Small Groups will serve on mission together globally, the summer provides a great time for local missions as well. Love Oliver and Rock the Block are two of Brook Hills largest local missions. Consider serving in these ways as a group this summer: 

• Does your group have plans to Love Oliver? On Saturday, July 21 & 28, your group can be a part of the Back-to-School Serve Day or Ready Day One. 
• Host a Rock the Block or serve alongside another Small Group. This doubles as gospel advancement and relationship building! 
• Join in on the fun at Rock the Village, July 22-26, as Oak Tree ministries and other volunteers put on a Rock the Block for Marks Village. Easier than hosting a Rock the Block, with all the benefits of serving and spreading the name of Jesus. 

Learn 

Just because you are taking a break from weekly study together, it doesn’t mean you should stop digging through God’s word and growing together to become more Christ-like. Mark your calendar for these dates: 

• Join us weekly for this summer’s sermon series, Seeing God in the Psalms. Sit together with your group and catch them in the lobby before and after worship gatherings. 
• Come as a group to “Parenting” on Friday-Saturday, August 3-4, a conference featuring pastor and best-selling author, Dr. Paul David Tripp. This is for all parents, grandparents, and even parent wannabes. Register ASAP to save your spot! 

Pray 

Remember to spiritually care for one another even when you are not together. Continue to pray for one another and share prayer requests through emails, texts or social media pages. When we know and love the hearts of others we must remember to invest even when we are not together. 

Enjoy the summer and we can’t wait to see you at our Small Group Leader Gathering, Sunday,  August 26!