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Summer time and VBS

Jun14

Since it is the week of VBS at Little Flock, my thoughts and prayers are there with the children and the volunteers. I cannot be part of it this year, but I am praying for them.

Here is a repost of my VBS experience a number of years ago.

Having been raised in a Christian home, Vacation Bible School, aka VBS, was as normal as hot weather and watermelon in the summer time.

At VBS I was surrounded by other children who may or may not have been churched as regularly as I was.  We invited our friends and our neighbors to come.  VBS was fun, lots of fun.  It was not like grown-up church on Sundays.  It was absolutely geared for the small fry intellect.

There were penny wars between the girls and the boys.  March Madness had nothing on the excitement of this battle of the sexes.  Each group tried to bring the most pennies and the best offering for the week.  We probably robbed piggy banks, searched under couch cushions, and begged for money from mom and dad or any other relative in sight.

I learned to say the pledge allegiance to the Christian Flag and the Bible.  They took their place in my memory right along with the pledge to the American flag.

The songs were kid songs, lively and rhythmic.  We could sing to the top of our voices, move and groove, make motions with our hands, and no one thought it was out of place for the church house.

But the Bible stories were the best.   My childhood memories are of flannel graph figures being put on a flannel board.  The figures depicted the Bible stories very visually and non-abstract so a child like me could understand that Jesus loved me and wanted to be my friend.

One year my craft was making a miniature flannel graph board and story figures.  After the week of VBS, I set up my board in the garage of our house and told the stories to the neighborhood children and anyone who would listen.

It was only natural that when I grew too old for VBS, I became one of the workers, one of the assorted volunteers needed to bring all the pieces together.  I’ve taught classes, worked with the music, and directed VBS.  I give my time so other children could have the same wonderful experiences I had.

The last couple of years at Little Flock, I’ve taught second graders, a bouncy, energetic group of boys and girls who are like little birds waiting to be fed the Gospel.  It has been such a privilege to share the stories of Jesus with these little ones.

In the months that followed the week of VBS, I have joyfully watched as some of the children in my class walked forward and publicly affirmed their faith in Jesus as their savior.  And I have witnessed the baptisms that followed.

I am so aware that the parents, Sunday School teachers, and those who weekly train and nurture this young lives are planting the seeds of salvation.  My part was small, just one week long.  But I rejoice that I had a small part in watering those seeds during a week of VBS.

Tomorrow, Vacation Bible School begins.  I anticipate hot weather, tired legs and feet, and a weary-to-the-bone exhaustion at week’s end.  If you ask me on Friday if it was worth it, I will say, “Yes, eternally worth it.”

Vacation Bible School will be held at churches all over the country sometime during the summer.  Take your children.  Be part of the volunteer team.  Make a difference in the lives of children.  Do it for the kingdom’s sake.

ABCs and VBS

Jun18

little flock vbs

This week has been a whirl of enthusiasm as Little Flock does VBS, also known as Vacation Bible School. And Little Flock does it well.  Volunteers of all ages pull together to make it one of the best weeks of the year for the children in our community.

While there are songs and fun and games and refreshments and crafts, the most important part of the day is story time, when the children have an opportunity to hear about Jesus and how He wants to be their Friend.  The older children are given the gospel message during the week and can make a decision to accept Jesus as their very own personal Savior.

I just love that about VBS.

There have been Sundays when I saw some of my former VBS students walk into the waters of baptism acknowledging and confessing their decision to follow Christ.  Tears are in my eyes as I watch with a joyful heart and thank God for fruit from the labors of so many during a wild and crazy week of ministry in the middle of June.

Each year at VBS there is an ABC song that explains the simple way to come to Christ Jesus.  It goes something like this:

A – Admit to God that you are a sinner.  Repent and turn away from your sin.

B – Believe that Jesus is the Son of God and gave His life to be the Savior of the world.

C – Confess your faith in Jesus as your Savior and Lord and become a child of God.

The melodies and motions are different each year.  The phrases may be adjusted a little but the message is always the same.  Coming to Jesus is as simple as A – B – C.  Even a child can understand.

If you would like to know how to become a child of God, what we call being a Christian, you can get more information right here.  And please, let someone know that you have made a decision to follow Jesus.  That’s the C part of the ABCs.

We don’t travel alone on our journey as Christians.  We walk as brothers and sisters, holding each other up and holding each other accountable.  We learn and we grow.  We study the Word of God and we worship.

We do life together as God’s children on our way to Heaven.

If you heard about Jesus at VBS, be thankful for the workers who made it possible.  Then determine that next year when your church is looking for volunteers, you respond and give back to the next generation. The rewards are priceless.

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Go here to sing along with Jeff Slaughter’s Outrigger Island ABC song.