It’s time for VBS all across the South, a time where seeds of faith get planted and some begin to bloom.
Our church will host our annual Vacation Bible School next week. We are not alone. If you drive anywhere around the Southeast, you will see banners in front of churches inviting all to come and giving a sneak peek at this year’s theme. It was a much simpler affair when I was a kid. We had a daily Bible lesson, Kool-aid and those little round flower cookies with a hole in the middle for a snack. We worked on a week-long art project, like gluing bird seed on a plaque, inside jars made of string, to be displayed as kitchen art. We sang “Onward Christian Soldiers” and “The B-I-B-L-E.” For recreation, we ran around playing tag and red rover.
Those are memories I will treasure for a lifetime. Those days touched my young heart so much that I have been involved in running VBS at my own church for the past nine years. There are themes now and special music. There’s video involved and the snack coincides with the day’s Bible point. The kids still love it and so do I.
A few years ago, we came up with the idea of making VBS week extra special for the fifth graders. It’s their last year and as sixth graders, they are allowed to come and volunteer. We end each day having the fifth graders come up in front of everyone and tell what the Bible story of the day was about, and then they recite the daily Bible verse. They end by leading a song with all of the motions for all of the other kids. On the last day, they are presented a shirt by members of the youth group, that has VBS Staff on the back.
They love it. The very first year, they were very reluctant to participate. The fifth graders felt they were “too old” for VBS, by the next year, they were intrigued and now, five years later, they can’t wait to be fifth graders and graduate. That leads me to the phone call I received last night.
Our children’s pastor called to tell me about a young lady who would be coming back to help. She graduated last year. Her grandmother takes a week off from work every year to bring her grandchildren, and to volunteer at VBS. She told me one time, “That it was just that important.” Her grandchildren lived in North Carolina. Their dad lost his job this year and the family moved to California for a new job.
Well, it seems that the granddaughter felt a deep calling to come back and help this year. She just wasn’t able to shake it. She got special permission from her school and is flying all of the way across the country to help with our VBS.
My eyes filled with tears at the news. She’s twelve years old and is listening to her calling. Our little brain child of growing future volunteers is working and God was good enough to show us through this child. I was moved beyond words.
Vacation Bible School is a very special program wherever it is held. I have started making a point of saying a little prayer every time I see one of those banners out in front of a church. I pray for the volunteers. I pray for the children that will attend and I pray for all of the seeds that get planted. Who knows, the next Billy Graham could be right in front of us, just waiting to hear the truth.
Remember, all the mighty oak trees started from one seed. Vacation Bible School is a great place to plant them. If you have the opportunity to volunteer, I encourage you to do so. You will be blessed.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂