The summer movie season begins in just 10 days. Our job as YL leaders is to lead our middle and high school friends into the adventure of following Christ. Part of that means helping them discover better ways to use their time than just settling for the big screen. But another part of our role is to meet them right where they are, and this summer they’re likely to be at the movie theaters.
We can take advantage of this by planning well. Last summer I wrote in my calendar the opening nights of the blockbuster movies. A couple weeks before one I wanted to see came out, I started talking it up with kids. We went to see a couple midnight showings and they thought it was cool that their YL leader was willing to drive them around in the wee hours of the morning.
One night we met at a field around 10pm to play “Glow in the Dark Ultimate Frisbee” before the movie. Another night we hit up Waffle House after the film. Great bonding and memories.
Disclaimer
I haven’t seen any of these movies below and would highly recommend you checking out reviews on kids-in-mind.com before taking kids to see a movie you might regret. When in doubt, talk to your Area Director. Also, be sure to communicate well with parents, especially if you’re keeping their kids out late at night. Don’t just settle for ‘my mom said it was cool.’ Go ahead and make that phone call to a parent.
Below are the opening dates for some summer movies you might want to see with your middle/high school friends. You can view the trailer for each movie by clicking the movie title below.
What movies are missing from this list? Any ‘movie contact work ideas’ you can share? Shoot us an email.
Read more about how we as leaders can help kids engage with movies in yesterday’s post, Jesus Goes to the Movies.
May 6 – Captain America: Civil War
May 20 – Angry Birds
May 27 – X-Men: Apocalypse
May 27: Alice Through the Looking Glass
Jun 3 – TMNT: Out of the Shadows
Jun 10 – Now You See Me: The Second Act
Jun 10 – Warcraft
Jun 17 – Finding Dory
Jun 17 – Central Intelligence
Jun 24 – Independence Day Resurgence
Jul 1 – The Legend of Tarzan
Jul 1 – The BFG
Jul 8 – The Secret Life of Pets
Jul 15 – Ghostbusters
Jul 22 – Star Trek Beyond
Jul 22 – Ice Age: Collision Course
Jul 29 – Jason Bourne
Aug 5 – Suicide Squad
Aug 12 – Ben Hur
Aug 12 – Pete’s Dragon
Aug 19 – Kubo and the Two Strings
Aug 26 – Max Steel
