Why I Love VBS

“But honor the Messiah as Lord in your hearts.  Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” – 1 Peter 3:15

VBS is one of my favorite times of the year…I kind of like it even better than Christmas!  There’s just something about a massive amount of kids coming together to learn and sing about Jesus that makes my heart just burst with happiness and excitement.  I must admit the trazillion hugs and gigantic smiles make it that much sweeter, too. :)

Of course the fact that I get to teach kids about missions and missionaries is an added bonus to this special week.  It’s so cool to watch the kids’ interest peak day-by-day as they are connecting to the missionaries and what they are doing.  I also love that we participate in a mission project.  I never want kids to just learn about missions, I want them to DO missions too.  Our mission project this year is to help a church plant in Denver, Colorado.  Today we got to Skype the missionary we are helping and the kids were glued to the screens as he spoke and brought to life the mission project through the words he said.  

Teaching in my "Map Room"

I also love that this year the missions curriculum has stressed having the kids do a secret service mission project.  Many kids have really gotten into this and it has been so neat to hear their secret service mission stories and also to see that they are really listening and applying what we talk about in missions.  One of my favorite secret service mission stories from this week (and if you’re my friend on Facebook, you probably know about this) is about a little girl who did the secret service mission of writing “Jesus Loves You” notes to someone.  She not only wrote these notes, but she also made cupcakes (she said from “scrap”…she meant scratch) and handed them out to people in her neighborhood.  She also made some cupcakes and a note for me…LOVE.IT. :)

My cupcakes made from "scrap"

My church is using Lifeway’s Agency D3 theme this year.  It has been awesome as kids are discovering Jesus, deciding to follow Him, and learning how to better defend their faith in Him.  1 Peter 3:15 has been the theme verse for the week.  “But honor the Messiah as Lord in your hearts.  Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.”  It’s a crazy world that kids today are growing up in and these are lessons that they NEED to know.  There is about a 99.95% chance that they will be faced with an issue in their life that they will need to draw on something they have learned this week in order to help them solve it.  That’s not to be taken lightly.  VBS is impacting kids…for the better.  It’s also impacting kids eternally.  A representative from the TN Baptist Convention spoke at our church this past Sunday and said that 25% of children’s baptisms are a result of a decision made at VBS.  That is a major percentage.

But the kids aren’t the only ones who can take away lessons from this year’s VBS, us older ones can too!  (Am I really included in the word “older?”  I guess I am…).  Let’s break apart the theme scripture: 

• “But honor the Messiah as Lord in your hearts.”  What does this mean?  I think this is two-fold.  First of all I believe it means to make sure that Jesus is the Lord and Savior of your life.  Do you have a personal relationship with Him?  I also believe that this part of the scripture stresses to keep honoring Jesus.  He is our King, but do we really worship Him every moment?  Are the things we say or our actions a reflection of Christ?  Do we live with an attitude that reflects Him?  In order to be ambassadors for Him and be on guard to give a defense for Him, we need to live a life like Christ.  1 John 2:6 says, “Whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked.”  Obviously we can’t live His life…it was perfect…but we can strive to live like Him.
  
• “Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.”  As Christians living in today’s world, we look pretty unusual to unbelievers.  Where they see hurt, we see forgiveness.  Where they see hate, we see love.  Where they see death, we see eternal life.  The things we see are complete opposite of what they see and they’re going to want to know why.  Be ready for that!  Know what you believe and why you believe it!  The world wants evidence and there’s no greater place to find that evidence than the Word of God.  Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”  Study the Bible so you know how to answer the questions that the world will throw at you…notice that I didn’t use the word “might” in the place of “will.” 

There’s so much to be grateful for with Vacation Bible School.  It’s a timeless tradition that has been a part of many churches for years and years.  I can’t even count on two hands the number of VBS’ I have been involved in or a part of since I was born.  While I loved VBS as a child, I have an even greater love for VBS as an adult because of what it does for kids and how, no matter what the theme, can apply it to my life and my situations.  Stop for a moment and think about your church’s VBS theme.  Think about how you can apply it to your life and use the applications that the kids are/will be learning and be encouraged by them along with the kids. 

Vacation Bible School isn’t about the snacks…it’s not about recreation, missions, crafts, singing or even certain individual people.  VBS is about Jesus and growing ourselves, and most importantly kids, in the knowledge of the truths of the Bible and HIS sweet, sweet love.

An Unforgettable VBS

“When I am afraid, I will trust in You.” – Psalm 56:3

Words can’t describe how much I love Vacation Bible School.  Whether it be at my local church…at the Pregnancy Crisis Center Backyard Bible Club…or in my heart city of Hong Kong, each VBS I am/have been a part of brings such joy, excitement, and so much fun to my heart.

Last year when I found out the theme of this year’s Lifeway VBS, I thought the Biblical truth that the kids would be learning was brilliant.  “Facing Fear!  Trusting God!”  I can’t think of a better truth for children to learn at an early age than the truth of trusting God no matter the circumstance.  I wish I could travel to Hong Kong this summer and teach the Chinese kids this same truth…they so greatly need to hear it too!!!  Verses like Isaiah 41:10 “Do not fear for I am with you” or Psalm 56:3 “when I am afraid, I will trust in you”…what terrific truths that our kids can carry with them through their childhood years, into their teen years and beyond!  Most definitely for our church kids here at FBC Morristown, learning this truth after the events of last year was extra-specially important.  No matter what happens in our lives, we can ALWAYS trust that God is and will be with us.  I must tell you, hearing the kids sing the songs and recite the verses from this year’s VBS was especially uplifting.  These kids can now carry the truths in the tunes and remember them for years to come!

FBC Morristown's AWESOME VBS 2013 kids!!!

When I began planning for VBS, I kind of thought that this year’s theme would be more of a reinforcement theme for me.  Yes, I know that I can trust God in any circumstance.  Yes, I know that God will never leave or forsake me...I’ve even written a bunch of blogs about this theme.  When we finally got to VBS week, however, the truths I had been learning about through my planning would never be more prevalent than they were that particular week.  You see, VBS week was the week my grandfather began going significantly downhill, health-wise.  I must admit, it was hard to put on a brave face every day and teach the kids about truths that I was having to strongly depend on myself.   In fact, one night I was getting something ready in the VBS worship rally room (sanctuary) and I just burst into tears over everything.  I knew God was with me, I knew he was taking care of me, but I was sad…so sad…that my grandfather was suffering.

Then Friday night at the Family Concert, the 300+ VBS kids sang the Day 5 song for their families and the words they sang couldn’t have been more poignant.  My eyes filled with tears as the kids sang these words:

I’m not afraid, afraid to let go.

I know you’re holding me.

You are the One I’m leaning on.  You are my hope and my strength.

For every breath I breathe, and the ground beneath my feet, I will trust You. 
I will trust You.

In every circumstance, no matter where I am, I will trust You.

I will trust in You.

I knew as they sang that song that everything would be okay.  I wasn’t afraid to let go of my grandfather.  I knew God was holding not only me, but my grandfather too.  I knew I could lean on God.  I knew I could trust Him with this situation.  Period. 

Literally 24 hours later from the time the kids sung that song, my grandfather passed away and entered into heaven.  Ever since that night, after hearing that song, I’ve had such a peace about everything.  Oh, yes, I miss my grandfather, but I’m at peace with his passing.  I know I will see him again and I can’t wait for that day!

This past week, I taught music at the Pregnancy Crisis Center Vacation Bible School/Backyard Bible Club.  On the last night, I taught the kids the Day 5 song.  I just smiled to myself as we sang through the words - smiling because I fully, wholeheartedly knew these words.  I lived them. 

I pray that all the kids who learned this particular song this year remember it for the rest of their life.  I pray they also remember this year’s verse and theme.  They all have life-changing implications. 

Thank you God for your promise and for allowing me to place my trust in You.  I wouldn't be a sane person without it! :)  Thank you Lifeway for developing a theme this year that so many of us can relate to.  I didn’t think I’d be relating to it like I did, but God knew I would.  You have changed so many kid’s lives through this theme…that I know.  Thank you to my sweet VBS leadership team.  Your encouragement and help during our VBS week brought so much relief and peace to my heart.  Finally, thank you to all the precious kids that sang that night at the Family VBS concert.  Many of you I know, some of you I don’t, but each one of you changed my heart and I will never forget that.  Ever.

Start Spreading the News...I'm Leaving for NYC (at First Baptist Church that is...)

So VBS (Vacation Bible School) starts this coming week.  Yay!  Boys and girls coming together to learn about, sing about, create things about, and run around for JESUS!  I L-U-V it!

VBS growing up for me was so much fun and I looked forward to it every year.  My earliest memories are of attending multiple VBS' at multiple churches each summer.  It was fun to do different themes throughout the summer.  My most favorite VBS' are the ones that I attended in Hong Kong and then the ones I taught in Hong Kong.  They are my favorite because they were the most unconventional.  Hearing the VBS message preached in English & translated in Chinese is definitely not something you'd hear in a normal church in America!

I really like the theme this year - Big Apple Adventure.  I think its one of the first VBS themes that meets kids where they are in life.  I know some probably have a negative look at it because of the negative NY connotations, but the music/atmosphere/look/media is so much more 2011-kid-friendly.  I am praying for this VBS that it will touch many lives.

I am missions director this year.  The missions theme is very local this year which is good.  I am looking forward to highlighting local missions and making the kids aware of what goes on as far as missions goes around my area.  One day we are learning about the ZOE Church in Brazil.  I am excited because I have a friend who is a missionary with the ZOE Church in Brazil; he has agreed to talk with the kids via Skype from Brazil.  I know they will think that is so cool.  Our mission project highlights that "We CAN help the homeless."  Any idea what kids will be bringing in?  Yup...cans...canned foods for our church food pantry & our local food kitchen - The Daily Bread.  It's a missions competition against the boys & girls again so I know it'll be OUT OF CONTROL...which is a tremendously awesome thing!

Later this month, I will be leading music for a Backyard Bible Club VBS...so this won't be the end of my Big Apple Adventure!  Sadly, I will not be going to Hong Kong this year to do VBS, but will be praying for the team that does go as they have a Big "Chinese" Apple Adventure.. :)

I'm sure that if Jesus were on the earth today, he would most definitely promote VBS.  In Matthew 19:14 he said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

Lord Jesus, prepare the hearts of those children that come into your Father's house this coming week.  Help them be receptive to your word, seek to find answers to their questions, and find the love that only you can give.  Thank you Jesus.  Amen.