For years Vacation Bible School has been a staple of American Churches, and from what I can tell it doesn’t appear to be going anywhere. I don’t think that’s really a bad thing at all. Kids are still kids, and I have a good deal of permanent memories pressed into my head of VBS as a child. Little Mountain began our VBS last night, and we started the week with 49 children. In terms of raw numbers that may not sound very high, but in terms of percentages it is HUGE. In addition we kicked off on a Sunday night which is typically the night with the lowest turnout.
The kids had an absolute blast. They have a music time led by three of our youngest and most energetic girls in the church. They had a craft time where they did, well, I don’t know…crafts. The most important time was the lesson they were taught. They learned a very basic lesson, which is that God is real. If it were all in my hands, VBS would NEVER have happened. We have a team of around 30-40 volunteers that make it happen, and I will say they worked VERY hard to be ready for this. The night went smoothly, and I am confident in the rest of the week.
I am also confident there are children there who have no personal knowledge of Jesus, and VBS has historically been a significant tool to help them know Him. The danger is being content with “conversions.” Our goal is to make disciples of Jesus. Therefore what happens in the days, weeks, and months after VBS is probably even more important than what happens during. Pray that this week God will make new disciples of His Son. The good times and lasting memories are a given.
6 Comments
June 23, 2008 at 9:46 am
The rapping Hippo was the most rememberable part of the night.
June 23, 2008 at 9:49 am
Agreed. Stay tuned for more funky rhymes. I may write up one very special for later in the week.
June 23, 2008 at 11:40 am
I will be praying for you guys this week. We will begin VBS tonight. Rapping Hippo?
June 23, 2008 at 10:09 pm
Mike,
Long story. It’s actually a television show reference, albeit as the kids filed out at the end I busted out some impressive freestyling. Thanks for the prayers. We had 61 kids tonight!
June 23, 2008 at 10:20 pm
I want pictures on the blog with you sporting your bling dawg. 61 is GREAT. VBS got off to a good start here. All together we had 63 adults and children. I think our adults had as good a time decorating the church as our kids had in participating.
June 24, 2008 at 8:24 am
Yeah, I’m so proud of our workers. They truly have worked their tails off. I think a little over 40 adults and teens are helping, which for us is a HUGE percentage. It’s like 35 percent of our church attenders. I couldn’t ask for more from them. I’ll pray for your week too. Let me know how it progresses.