The summer movie season begins in just 15 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 different 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 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 2017 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.
May 5 – Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol.2
May 12 – King Arthur: Legend of the Sword
May 19 – Everything, Everything
May 26 – Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
Jun 2 – Wonder Woman
Jun 2 – Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie
Jun 9 – The Mummy
Jun 16 – Cars 3
Jun 23 – Transformers: The Last Knight
Jun 30 – Despicable Me 3
Jul 7 – Spider-Man: Homecoming
Jul 14 – War for the Planet of the Apes
Jul 21 – Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
Jul 28 – The Emoji Movie
Aug 18 – Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature
Aug 30 – Leap
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 this post, Jesus Goes to the Movies.
