Heading for High Seas in 2010!

Hello folks,

I hope each and everyone of you have a super happy New Year! Next year's VBS will take to the high seas - Group's High Seas Expedition to be exact. This VBS looks great and soon we will have the starter kit to get a hands on look at the material.

I appreciate every ones brain storming feedback. Let us pray that God would show us what ideas to put in to action for our format this summer in 2010.

Thank you all for your partnership in reaching the kids in our community! Happy New Year!

Come, Let Us Brainstorm!

Hello folks,

I hope everyone is staying cool through this heatwave we have been experiencing. While I have been trying to stay cool I have also been reflecting on VBS. We had a record number of kids from our neighborhood this year attend VBS (over 120 on the first night). We had a strong showing by the men (4)in the church showing up to be group leaders.We had the largest crowd ever for Unity Service Sunday (over 200)! I was also pleasantly surprised that over half of the adult leaders attended the training sessions. All of this went very well and thank you one and all!
After looking back over the last 7 years I would like to share with you some challenging observations I have made about Community VBS, and then invite you share yours. Then let us brainstorm and prayerstorm to find solutions to these issues in order to have an even more effective ministry for the kingdom of God.
Here are some problematic observations I have made:

* Adult leaders who cannot make all 4 nights due to busy schedules
* Too many teen helpers for too few needs
* Too much rowdiness from kids when station activity finishes early
* First night stations schedules disrupted due to kids registering and connecting with their group leaders for the first time

Do you have some other observations to add? What do you think would be a good solution to these problems? I would ask that you would join in a dialog over the next several weeks on the blog page (follow the link on the email). Please post your thoughts and concerns so we can all join in the discussion online. It is easy to do, just click on the comment section and type your heart out. As more people join in the conversation it will grow and we will be able to see where we are going and we will be asking God to show us His direction along the way as well. Please join in and visit the blog site so that we can have a VBS sit down meeting sometime in the future (winter time possibly) to evaluate where Community VBS is at and where God is leading us. Thank you and I look forward to the conversation!

Proverbs 15:22 Plans go wrong for lack of advice;
many advisers bring success.

Looking Forward to 2010

Greetings VBS folks,
year 7 of Community VBS is over and we hit some new highs. We had one of our largest one day totals on our first day with over 120 children. We also had our largest unity service ever with approximately 200 people!
One thing we do well in College Corner is unity, and it is spreading with Oxford Church of God's involvement this year. It is so cool to be a part of answering Jesus' prayer that we would be one! Mick Miller did a great job sharing about the VBS lessons the kids learned throughout the week. Jason Bantz and Greg Sears did a fine job as well.The kids sang wonderfully and Laura Powers leadership was better than ever with the Praise Team.
Thanks everyone for being involved and please pray for the future of VBS. With the pressure of busy schedules it is becoming more difficult each year to be able to have the adult group leaders connect with the kids every night. I am praying that God give guidance to our VBS committee to discern how to balance a multi-night event that so many kids look forward to with the busy schedules of adult volunteers.
We put all the concerns in God's hands and trust Him to do what is best for the kids and the local body.
Thanks again for all of your help and prayers!

John 17:20"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one:

Leaving Rome & Heading for Home

Hello VBS folks!
God bless us one and all! Year seven of Community VBS is in the books and I want to say thank you to all! We did a great job of handling a large number of children and the weather for the last day was beautiful. God has blessed us with a great spirit of unity in College Corner and I think it is a great witness for today and for the future of the kids.
I want to say thank you to all of you who helped in registration, praise team, games, crafts, snacks, drama and Bible story. From what I gathered in the survey we did a great job of communicating God's love. If we got that part right, I think God will take care of all the rest.
Before this week I had asked everyone to pray for each area of VBS and we have one important prayer focus to go. The children. Please pray that the children who attended VBS would turn their lives toward God. Pray that the love of Jesus would draw them into a relationship that will last an eternity. Pray that those who have a solid family life would be thankful. Pray that those who came and have unstable home life would find hope in Christ and the church. Ask God to help connect these kids to a local body where they can grow. Pray that all would share the character and good news of Christ. Finally, ask God to bless them in their up coming school year.
Thank you all again - to God and his son Jesus be all the glory and praise for all the good accomplished in VBS 2009!

Rome: looking back on day 3

Hello VBS folks,

Day 3 is in the books and all went very well. We did have one child injure his ankle so please keep Eric in your prayers.
The music has been smokin' and our stations are hitting on all eight cylinders.
How are you doing? Are you enjoying yourself? I hope you are doing well, but if not...well tonight is the last night!
Have you made any "soul eye" contact? That is what I call the connection you make when you look into the eyes of a child or teen and you "know" that they are a soul that God has put in your path to affirm. I had that happen last night when a teen named Brent who followed me around last night during the Extollo. I knew when I made eye contact that God wanted me to respond with a smile, words and actions that say, "you matter and have great value!" We all need that don't we? Kids especially these days and isn't cool God would use you and I to encourage a valuable young soul.
Let me say to all of you that you have great worth and God loves you deeply! Thank you for sharing your gifts and time with the kids this week as we wrap up year number seven of Community VBS tonight!

Rome Day 2

Hello folks,

Day two of Rome went MUCH smoother! Thank you all for being soooooo flexible. We still had almost 100 kids in the midst of the rain and an alternent site.
I was helping out with the drama skits last night and I found out the kids have the heart of Christ.
I was playing a Roman slave and when I told them I didnt have money to buy food many of the kids offered me thier own money! Is that cool or what! WWJD!

We head back to the Grove tonight and to the great outdoors - I will see you all there!

Rome Day 1

Hello folks,

day one is in the books. Chaos? Yes. Confusion? of course. Everything that we normally expected for day one happened. "Nothing new under the sun" said wise man Solomon. The unexpected was the numbers of kids! We plan for 100 because demographically the elementary numbers have dropped off for College Corner. But on day one we ran out of registration forms and the guestimation was we had 120 kids! Unexpected to us but not to God. I often forget that God does answer our prayers. We prayed to reach the kids in our community with the Gospel, and that is what God is doing!
I was pleased to note that out of our 7 Family Leaders all but 2 attended the training sessions. Forgive me for being negative but normally the turnout for training is very low. Not this year!
The Oxford Church of God showed up and did a fine job with the crafts. Things went well at all of our other stations too - well done! The registration went very well and kids and leaders seemed to be getting along very smoothly. Mikey and DJ did a great job as Paul and Brutus. DJ's Roman soldier costume looked fantastic! I also thought the song selections for the kids were awesome too!
Rain, rain go away. Come back another week! If the rain keeps up or things too wet at the Grove we will head off to the Methodist Church (heads up Mick!). The singing would be in the sanctuary and the marketplace in their fellowship area. The rest we will figure out when we get there.
Thank you everyone for your involvement and please pray that whatever God wants to do at this VBS - and I truly mean, whatever He wants to do, let us all be open to it. Whatever He desires to do.

Matthew 26:39 - "Yet not as I will, but as you will."

Pray for Our Teens

We are a just a few hours away from Community VBS. During these final days we are praying for the different areas that make up our VBS.So far we have covered Family Leaders, Snacks, Crafts, games and Bible Time. Now let us turn our attention to the teens.

We average around 90-100 kids for VBS. And we usually have about 30 or more teens show up to help as well. That means that the teens make up over one quarter of the everyone who attends VBS! That is a lot of teens. In the College Corner area many of the families do not have the financial resources to go on vacation or weekend getaways. So the teens end up hanging around town the whole summer and become very bored. VBS week is a big break in their regular summer routine!
Many of these teens are not involved with our local congregations. VBS is one of the few places where they hear the good news about Jesus. I have been encouraged how many are willing to get involved and help with serving the smaller children. They have a servants heart and they need to have their hearts filled with the savior Jesus Christ. Here are some prayer points to focus on for our teens:
* Pray that the teens will have open hearts to the Gospel
* Pray that the adults have patience with the teens
* Pray that the teens behave themselves and are cooperative
* Pray that many would repent and follow Christ
* Pray for those struggling in their relationships with their parents
* Pray that the teens find congregations that they can connect with and be discipled
* Ask God to show you other needs of the teens that you can pray for

We are about 2 weeks away from Community VBS. During these final weeks we are praying for our different areas.So far we have covered Family Leaders, Snacks, Crafts and games. This week we focus on Bible Time!
The Bible stories are the foundation of VBS. The lessons are what drives the games, snacks, crafts and music. The Bible story leader is also a representative of the Community VBS. Their character,witness, love of the Word and love of children are vital to communicating Biblical truths to children. This year we are blessed with Mikey Bishop as our Bible teacher. Mikey and his wife Val are rock solid Christians and he has a long history of ministry to youth and a great heart for the poor.
Mikey will play the role of the Apostle Paul under arrest in Rome. He will share with the kids the adventures he has experienced with Jesus. Mikey will also have a person role playing a Roman guard who will hear the good news about Jesus for the first time right along with the kids. This is sure to be exciting, inspirational and fun. Here are some suggested prayers for our Bible story leader:

* Pray that Mikey will be lead of God in his preparation for the lessons
* Pray that God will help Mikey in the role of Paul
* Pray the God would plow up good soil in kids hearts to receive the seeds of the Gospel
* Pray that God would bless the person who plays the role of the Roman guard
* Ask God to keep the distractions low and the kids attention levels high
* Pray that God would help the fruits of His Spirit to be bountiful in this station during VBS week
* pray for whatever else God lays on your heart for Bible story time
* ask God to show you whatever else He would have you pray for concerning the Bible Story Time

Psalm 119:103 103 How sweet your words taste to me;
they are sweeter than honey. NLT.

Game Time! VBS Prayer Week 4

We are about 4 weeks away from Community VBS. During these final weeks we are praying for our different areas.
So far we have covered Family Leaders, Snacks, Crafts and this week we focus on Games! Gary Moore from the Nazarene church has been with us since we began doing VBS at the Grove and he does a Fantastic job! Gary has told me how he loves running into kids at Wal-mart and hear them say "hey! I know you, your the game guy from VBS!" That is a big part of VBS, connecting with kids with our gifts and touching their lives with the love of Jesus in such a way as they have positive connections to the Gospel. Here are some suggested prayers for games:

* Good weather!
* Kids safety
* kids would be good sports
* Gary would be able to find all the supplies for the games
* The games would help communicate the Gospel lesson for each night
* The games would be fun & wet!
* God would take care of Gary's locksmith jobs while he is at VBS
* Grace to work with the large groups
* Pray that God would help the fruits of His Spirit to be bountiful in this station during VBS week
* pray whatever is on your heart for games
* ask God to show you whatever else He would have you pray for concerning games

Nehemiah 8:10
...the joy of the Lord is your strength!”

We are about 5 weeks away from Community VBS. During these final weeks we are praying for our different areas. There are many aspects we could focus on but the ones that we are concentrating on are:

1. Family Leaders
2. Snacks
3. Crafts
4. Games
5. Bible Time
6. Teens
7. Kids

So far we have covered Family Leaders and Snacks. This week we focus on Crafts. Kathy Hampton and Oxford Church of God have joined us this year for VBS and they will be heading up our craft station. We are glad to have them with us and here are some suggested prayers:

* Pray that Kathy and her crew adjust well to our outdoor format
* Pray that the Market Place theme of this VBS goes over well
* Pray that all needed supplies and preparation goes well for the craft crew
* Pray for the crafts that have been selected work well within the allotted time frame
* Pray that the crafts help connect kids with the Bible story
* Pray that the teen helpers do well helping in this station
* Pray that anything that is painted is dry when it is time for kids to go home
* Pray that God would help the fruits of His Spirit to be bountiful in these leaders during VBS week
* pray whatever is on your heart for the craft team
* ask God to show you whatever else He would have you pray for concerning crafts

Deuteronomy 16:15 (New International Version)
For the LORD your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete.

VBS Prayers Week #2

Hello folks,

It is definitely VBS weather! We are 6 weeks away from VBS and we are picking one area of focus for prayer each week and this week it is Snacks! This important station provides refreshing snacks for the kids with food prepared in a creative way that connects with the VBS' theme. This station also gives the kids a little down time from all the action of the other stations. The leaders get to dialogue with the kids and kids can build some new friendships while enjoying their snack.This year we will be doing something new, kids will split their time in the "Roman Marketplace" with crafts. Here are some suggested prayer focuses for snacks:

* Pray that God would give us the Snack Station leaders that He wants for this VBS

* Pray that the change in the snack time format would go well with the leaders and kids
* Pray that that all food donations and preparation go well
* Pray that no one would get sick from any of our snacks!
* Pray that there would be no choking episodes during VBS!
* Pray that each nightly snack and the nightly Bible story connects with the kids
* Pray that the snack leaders are blessed with good teen helpers
* Pray that the leaders and helpers do well in the heat
* Pray that God would help the fruits of His Spirit to be bountiful in the leaders during VBS week
* pray whatever is on your heart for these Snack Station Leaders
* ask God to show you whatever else He would have you pray for concerning this area

Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the Lord is good.

7 Weeks of Prayer

Hello VBS folks!

we are roughly 7 weeks away from Community VBS. Over those 7 weeks I would like to ask you to be praying for the different areas of VBS. There are many aspects we could focus on but here are 7 that I would ask you to concentrate on:

1. Family Leaders
2. Snacks
3. Crafts
4. Games
5. Bible Time
6. Teens
7. Kids

So, let's get started! We begin with the Family Leaders. In the past we referred to these leaders as "shepherds." These are the adults who will lead a group of kids (a "Roman family") from station to station. These people are vital! They are Jesus in the flesh to these children for the 4 days of VBS. Here are some prayer suggestions for our Family Leaders:

* Pray that God would draw those leaders the He desire to be involved this summer
* Pray that people would be sensitive to God's call to volunteer this summer
* Pray that a number of men (no offense ladies) would volunteer and be involved this year
* Pray that the leaders schedule would allow them to be at VBS every night and at the Unity Service Sunday
* Pray that God would help the fruits of His Spirit to be bountiful in the leaders during VBS week
* pray whatever is on your heart for these Family Leaders
* ask God to show you whatever else He would have you pray for concerning these leaders

"What a huge harvest!" he said to his disciples. "How few workers! On your knees and pray for harvest hands!" - Jesus in Matthew 9:38 MSG>

Summer Seeds

Hello VBS folks,

I dont know about you but it sure feels like VBS weather to me! I got to thinking the other day that after 7 years I had never written down a vision statement for Community VBS. Vision statements can be kind of cut-and-dry so I decided to do a vision poem instead. So here it is - the Community VBS vision poem that I have entitled "Summer Seeds":

Imagine a park full of wonderful shade trees. Kids are playing, laughing and running about like the warm breeze. New kids in the community are welcomed in, and everyone finds it easy to make a new friend.

Adults are smiling, laughing and back slappin’. They greet the swarm of children with hugs and expectation of all that will soon happen.

From a small stage in the middle of the park music begins to play. The motions that accompany the songs make for a delightful display. With great energy they all sing loud songs of worship to God. The songs are so awesome everyone downloads them to their IPod.

After the songs of praise the kids disperse. They rush about to do crafts, play games, have snacks and learn a sacred verse.

The shadows grow long at the end of the day. Everyone gathers back at the small stage for an invitation to pray. Some invite Jesus into their heart. Everyone gives thanks for being in a family that will never break apart.

Seeds are planted about the great gift God has given. The kids now have hope for the world they live in.

Rome Has Arrived!

Hello VBS folks,

I wanted to let you know that Laura has done another great job of ordering our VBS starter kit and putting it in my little paws. I will try to hook up with you leaders this weekend and give you your manuals.

I would encourage you all to visit Group's "Rome" VBS website to help you get a feel for this years theme.

See ya soon!

“I must go on to Rome!” - Acts 19:21

What Exactly is a Successful VBS? Ingredient #10

Hello again VBS folks! This is the final installment of what makes a successful VBS. This weeks ingredient is a United Body:

Community VBS is just that, it involves the church community of College Corner. Here is what Jesus said about unity and outreach:

34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” – John 13

Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are. – John 17

5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. – Romans 12

12 The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. – 1 Corinthians 12

4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. – Ephesians 4

One of the most exciting things is we are answering Jesus’ prayer that He prayed in John 17. That is exciting! What a change, instead of God answering our prayer we our answering His with our unity! I thank God for the pastors and members who join us to reach out to the children for the kingdom!

Well there you have it, 10 ingredients for a successful VBS; a united body, follow-up, water baptism, repentance, praise & thanksgiving, preaching & teaching, children, the great outdoors, Christian guidance and prayer.

I would ask you to pray and ask God to mix all of this together and stir in His Holy Spirit and pour it into all of our hearts. Then, let us take Jesus, our Lord and savior, to these kids for a successful VBS in 2009!

Meeting #2

Hello folks,
Meeting # 2 is in the books and here is what went down:

• Laura is ordering the starter kit which will include all the leaders books for each station


• VBS is four nights and we will be dropping lesson #3


• We need a youth leader to oversee all the teen helpers


• We are praying for God to raise up a craft person to be mentored by Laura


• We are thinking about giving away snow cones at the Junction on the 4th of July for publicity


• We need a church to sponsor the t-shirts for all the kids and teens


• Next meeting is at Dave's house, May 11th @ 5:45pm-6:30pm

keep praying for God to radically change all of us this summer by the power of His Spirit!

What Exactly is a Successful VBS? Ingredient #9

Hello again VBS folks! This is the ninth installment of 10 on what makes a successful VBS. This weeks ingredient is Follow-up:

One of our desires is that the church kids would become an Andrew or Andrea inviting the un-churched children to join them at their local church and follow Christ with them:

40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of these men who heard what John said and then followed Jesus. 41 Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means “Christ”. 42 Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. - John 1

23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
- Hebrews 10

The verse in Hebrews 10 is for adults as well. We need to work together with the children’s ministries in our local churches to assimilate new kids. How can we make this happen? We must find a way to get everyone to sit down and share what each church has to offer. I hope some type of meeting would birth a committee to oversee the follow-up because the VBS committee already has their hands full.

We now have the Junction where we could have a follow-up party after the kids have returned to school. Follow-up must be a joint effort of the children’s ministries and our church kids. The “Go” and “Grow” message of the New Testament church must be imparted to our ministries and our future ministers; the kids!

Next week will be the last installment of this series and the final ingredient is one that is unique to the body at College Corner!

What Exactly is a Successful VBS? Ingredient #8

Hello again VBS folks! This is the eighth installment of a 10 part series on what makes a successful VBS. This weeks ingredient is Baptism:

The subject of baptizing children is approached with hesitation by some or complete rejection by others. I agree that for a person to partake in a sacrament such as baptism that they should realize the seriousness of the act. But I don’t think there is an age limit. If anyone feels the pull of the Spirit on their heart, realize they have trespassed against God and desire to receive Christ’s pardon then by all means let them be baptized! If we are doing our job of teaching the Gospel to kids then those who want to follow Christ will be in the same situation as the Ethiopian who heard the Gospel from Phillip:

36 As they rode along, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look! There’s some water! Why can’t I be baptized?” 38 He ordered the carriage to stop, and they went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. – Acts 8

So here is a major part of an evangelistic endeavor that I think we should consider implementing. We ask for those to repent and follow Christ and then invite them to be baptized at the Unity Service. To reinforce new believers we capitalize on the timing of the event and seal their commitments through the waters of baptism. If the parents are okay with it, the committee agrees on the mode then I say lets baptize them! I envision getting a metal livestock watering troth and baptize kids during the Unity Service while we worship with the VBS Praise Team!
Next week we will turn to another ingredient for success that has been brought up every summer concerning VBS.

What Exactly is a Successful VBS? Ingredient #7

Hello again VBS folks! This is the seventh installment of a 10 part series on what makes a successful VBS. This weeks ingredient is a Call to Repentance:

Now I know we are dealing with kids but it is definitely Biblical to call people of all ages to repentance. In fact Jesus began His ministry with a call to repentance:
2 “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near. – Matthew 3

12 So the disciples went out, telling everyone they met to repent of their sins and turn to God. – Mark 6

38 Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. – Acts 2

I (Paul) have had one message for Jews and Greeks alike—the necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God, and of having faith in our Lord Jesus. – Acts 20

The approach I have always taken with VBS is like the sower in the parable Jesus told. We share the Good News and let the Holy Spirit apply it to the hears:

“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. 4 As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. 5 Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. 6 But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they did’nt have deep roots, they died. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. 8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted! 9 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”
18 “Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: 19 The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts.
20 The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. 21 But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. 22 The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. 23 The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” – Matthew 13

I still believe in our "seed flinging"model but it is quite clear in the verses above on repentance that we are to make a serious call for kids to turn and follow Christ:

20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” – 2Corinthians 5

So here is a new aspect of our outreach we need to incorporate in our ministry. Of course we will do this without fear or guilt tactics but with a deep love and concern for the children. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on applying the repentance ingredient.

Next week we will look at the eighth ingredient that may have some serious theological implications for the parents and the churches .

Correction!

Ooops! The next VBS meeting will be April 13th @ 5:45PM @ the Junction Loft. Sorry folks!

All Roads Lead to "Rome"

Hello folks!

the first VBS meeting is in the books and we are off and running for 2009. I am excited to announce we will be using Group Publishing's "Rome" this year. The cool thing about this curriculum is that the Bible points all come from the book of Romans and Jesus remains the focus of each nights lessons.

The challenging part of this theme is to turn the Grove into Rome. The idea is to create an experience for the kids of what it would have been like to live in Rome when the church was just a baby and growing with the help of Paul.

We will need creative people who; enjoy sewing., people who like to do drama and all the Christmas pageant robes we can get our hands on.

Please keep VBS in your prayers and mark your calenders for our next meeting, Monday April 6th @ 5:45PM @ the Junction loft, when we will discuss the stuff we need to purchase and our staffing needs

11 That night the Lord appeared to Paul and said, “Be encouraged, Paul. Just as you have been a witness to me here in Jerusalem, you must preach the Good News in Rome as well.” - Act 23

What Exactly is a Successful VBS? Check Up!

Hello again VBS folks! This is a ten part series on what makes a successful VBS. This week I want to review what we have covered over the last 6 weeks: So let us see how we are doing in being Biblically successful;

Prayer – check
Christian guidance from adults and kids - check
Outdoor forum– check
Preaching to everyone – check
Teaching the Word to kids – check (well of course! It is Vacation Bible School)
Singing and giving thanks – check
Cranking up the volume on praise – check
United body – check

We are doing a great job so far! In the next 2 weeks I will be revisiting the Great Commission and a couple other evangelistic verses to see if there are some other things we may need to work on.

What Exactly is a Successful VBS? Ingredient #6

Hello again VBS folks! This is the sixth installment of a 10 part series on what makes a successful VBS. This weeks ingredient is Praise Songs & Thanksgiving:

The Bible has a lot to say about praising, singing and giving thanks. The Psalms alone has 86 references while the New Testament has 36 with the majority in Revelation which gives a hint of what Heaven is going to be like. Here are some more verses on the topic of praise and thanksgiving:

*12 that I might sing praises to you and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever! – Psalm 30

*1 It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to the Most High. – Psalm 92

*16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. – Colossians 3

Every year we get feedback that the music is too loud. I am not trying to be insensitive to folks but check out these verses!:

*8 Let the whole world bless our God
and loudly sing his praises. – Psalm 66

*4 Sing praises to God and to his name!
Sing loud praises to him who rides the clouds.
His name is the Lord—
rejoice in his presence! – Psalm 68

What Exactly is a Successful VBS? Ingredient #5

Hello again folks! This is the fifth installment of a 10 part series on what makes a successful VBS. This weeks ingredient is Preaching/Teaching:

Here is what Jesus says about sharing the Gospel:

18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” – Matthew 28

15 And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. - Mark 16

These are a couple of my favorite verses. Our Lord Jesus has given us authority and a command to go forward and make disciples. Discipleship includes teaching the commands of Christ from the New Testament. It is awesome that Jesus is with us as we go about this in VBS or in our respected churches and lives! He said in Mark to preach the Good News to everyone! That means kids, teens and parents that show up at Community VBS!

Mark Your Calendar!

Hello VBS folks!

It is a sunny Friday and does that make you think of VBS or what? Mark your calendar, our first meeting will be Monday March 9th at 6:00PM upstairs at the Junction

Please follow the "VBS Guide 2009" link on the this blog site to familiarize yourself with what is out there this summer. I am leaning towards Groups "Rome" so let me know what you think.

It will be a 30 minuet meeting where we will catch-up and get fired-up about this years VBS!

What Exactly is a Successful VBS? Ingredient #4

Hello again folks,This is the fourth installment of the series on what makes a successful VBS. This weeks ingredient is the Children!

Kids are what VBS is all about! Why is it so important to reach kids? The Barna Group, a Christian research organization, has some important statistics on the subject:·

• Nearly half (43%) of all Americans who accept Jesus Christ as their savior do so before reaching the age of 13 (2004) ·


• Two out of three born again Christians (64%) accept Jesus Christ as their savior before their 18th birthday. (2004) ·


• One out of eight born again people (13%) made their profession of faith while 18 to 21 years old. (2004)

Based on those stats reaching kids with the Gospel is huge for the future of the church and evangelism. The Bible encourages that children be taught the Word and presented to Christ for His blessings:

18 “So commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these words of mine. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. 19 Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. – Deuteronomy 11

6 Direct your children onto the right path,and when they are older, they will not leave it. -Proverbs 22

13 One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could lay his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him.14 But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” 15 And he placed his hands on their heads and blessed them before he left. – Matthew 19

14 But you (Timothy) must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. 15 You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus.- 2 Timothy 3

The verse in Timothy is an awesome one for children’s ministry. When we (Community VBS) teach the Word to kids it has the innate spiritual dynamic that gives wisdom that leads to salvation in Christ! Awesome! It is so cool that God allows you and me to be involved in the salvation process. Everyone in Community VBS, shepherds, teens, station leaders, snacks, crafts, music, sound, stage set-up, registration, etc. are all part of the teaching that leads to wisdom that leads to salvation that leads kids right into the arms of Jesus Christ!

What Exactly is a Successful VBS? Ingredient #3

Hello again folks,
This is the third installment of the series on what makes a successful VBS. This weeks ingredient is the Great Outdoors:

This is exciting, the New Testament supports our outdoor model:

1 One day as he saw the crowds gathering, Jesus went up on the mountainside and sat down. His disciples gathered around him, 2 and he began to teach them. - Matthew 5

12 From there we reached Philippi, a major city of that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. And we stayed there several days.
13 On the Sabbath we went a little way outside the city to a riverbank, where we thought people would be meeting for prayer, and we sat down to speak with some women who had gathered there. – Acts 16

What Exactly is a Successful VBS? Ingredient #2

Hello folks,

This is the second installment of the series on what makes a succesful VBS. This weeks ingredient is Christian Guidance:

When the kids arrive for VBS they need guidance or shepherds. These are our adult volunteers who travel from stations with an assigned group of kids. These adults are Jesus in the flesh so the job of the volunteer is to put on Christ and reflect is nature, love and Spirit:

14 Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.- Romans 13

4 Love is patient and kind. – 1Corinthians 13

1 Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. 2 Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. – Ephesians 5

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! – Galatians 5

What Exactly IS a Successful VBS? Ingredient #1

I have had a wonderful time doing VBS for the last six years and very often people have so said “VBS was very successful.” I thank God that the vast majority of people have expressed approval of the VBS project but it has also got me thinking “what exactly constitutes a successful VBS according to scripture? So what I will endeavor to do over the next few weeks is to dig into the Word to see just what the Bible says about the ingredients for a successful VBS outreach.
Let me state the obvious, the Bible doesn’t say anything about VBS specifically. What I will do is look at what the Bible does say about evangelism and kids. I am not trying to find a proof verse for everything we do but what are we doing that mirrors Christ and the apostles. (All scriptures are from the NLT unless otherwise noted).

Prayer
John Wesley once said that we can do a lot of things but we can do nothing until we pray. The Community VBS must have the prayers of the churches involved. We must begin, continue, and end VBS with prayer. We must do this before plan, when we plan, when we show up at the Grove and when VBS ends and then not stop until the following summer and then start all over again! Here are some good prayers from the Bible to guide us:

38 So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.” – Matthew 9

18 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. – Ephesians 1

So prayer is the first and definitely one of the most important ingredients of any Christian endeavor. So let's pray that God send us workers for a great harvest and shine His light brightly into the hearts of the kids touched by VBS!

Also keep Belinda in your prayers. She has been battling stomach ulcers that may keep her out of this summers VBS. Let's pray that God heal her up and get her back to her happy and healthy self!

It's that Time Agian!

Hello folks!

Well it is cold, icy and they are forecasting snow with bone chilling temperatures. That means it must be time to start planning for this summer's VBS!

I hope everyone is doing well and had a great Christmas/New Years. I want to encourage everyone to check out the VBS 2009 Guide link to see the curriculum's available for this summer. I really like Group's "Rome, Paul and the Underground Church." I think we could have a lot of fun with it and turn the Grove into our own little Roman world. Please prayerfully check out all that is available and give me your feedback on the blog or by email.

I wanted to also inform you that I will be posting a weekly segment entitled "What Exactly Is a Successful VBS?" I have been told many times each summer (and I thank God for all these comments!) that Community VBS was successful. That's cool, but I got to thinking, what are the components of a successful VBS according to the Bible? In the next few weeks here on the blog site I will examine the main ingredients of a successful evangelistic outreach according to Scripture. Let me know what you think by posting your thoughts in the "comments" section of each weekly post.

I look forward to working with the Lord and all of you for another year of Community VBS!

God bless!

David