Get Ready!!!
Scissors, glue, construction paper, cookies, juice, and Bibles!
Yes, Vacation Bible School is all around us. How wonderful!
Fun activities, games, crafts, stories, singing, playing, refreshments, learning, and sharing—-and dedicated volunteers gearing up to be teachers and leaders.
I remember helping with VBS when I was young and in Girl’s in Action (a girl’s Bible focused missions group).
I remember doing outreach VBS in neighborhoods of my hometown, and all the children coming to have fun and drink cold kool-aid and eat cookies and chips. We taught fun songs and did crafts with them as we taught them Bible stories and how to know Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
I remember as a married adult going on WMU (Women’s Missionary Union a group that taught and supported missions of the Southern Baptist Convention) outreach VBS programs. I went to Parchman one year and taught VBS to the children of the families who worked at the prison under shade trees around a hot tennis court. Another year I went to the Native American reservation in Philadelphia.
Leading singing in the wooden, non air-conditioned chapel with the bare light bulbs hanging down from the ceiling, having sweat drip down my face into my eyes to make the people in the sanctuary swim in my vision, and being happy to be there; it was a wonderful experience.
We taught our class on the covered front porch of a family’s home. The children in our class were attentive and creative—-and busy! While we were doing a cutting out paper activity, I looked around and one little boy had captured the family’s little kitten. He was busily cutting off the kitty’s whiskers as he clutched it to his chest.
The kitty incident took lots of apologies to make amends!
As you drive around and see VBS signs, take a minute to pray for the children and the families they come from. Pray for the workers—-some very young and some old hands at VBS and all that goes with it. Pray for the pastors who support and help. Pray for the mamas and dads who get their children up and ready to go and have fun and learn about Jesus and the Bible.
There are children who don’t know much about the Bible, God, or Jesus who come. Some are from Christian families and have a good Biblical background. Some are rowdy and have a hard time listening and following directions. Some have trouble learning. Some already know most of the Bible stories and characters. VBS is open to all and is a mixed group with different needs and abilities. Pray that their needs will be met.
Pray they will get a glimpse of the great love of God! They will see the simplicity and need of the Gospel. Pray they will accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior and set their young lives on the right path.
Pray about how you can be a part of VBS.
