Eight Hope Builders for College Corner Kids: #1- A Promise

Hello VBS folks,
Over the next few weeks I will be blogging about 8 things God gives us to build hope. These are important hope builders that children, their families, VBS shepherds and the VBS leadership team need to hide away in our hearts to fuel our faith.

An important promise given to us in God's word for a foundation of hope is found in the Old Testament:

Jeremiah 29:11 (New Living Translation)
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

God has plans for everyone no matter where they are or how old they are:
If they are not saved God has a plan of salvation - John 3:16
If they are saved God has a plan for them to grow as a Christian - John 15:5
If they are a growing Christian God has a plan for them to spread the Gospel - Matthew 28:18-20

God also gives us a future! Jesus came to give life and that in the fullest. Not only eternal life but an understanding about life-in-the-here-and-now. A future where one can know who they are( a child of the living God),and what they were made to do(discover/use their abilities to serve God and others), all the while knowing that God will guide them along the path of life! As they experience His provision and protection along the way they will learn not to expect disaster and hopelessness from God, but good things from their heavenly Father. That is the Biblical definition of hope; expecting good things from God in the face of life's challenges.

Our eternal future begins with the return of Christ to this earth when He will bring an end to poverty, absentee fathers, addicted parents, child neglect and abuse forever! John the revelator saw the great hope of the eternal future:
Revelation 21 (New Living Translation)

The New Jerusalem
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.[a] 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

Well, there you have it. A great place to start talking about hope for kids in College Corner. God has a plan for them and a future beyond what they see around them in their daily life. God's plan for Community VBS is to communicate this good news to the kids this summer! Pray we are successful and that the Holy Spirit takes the hope home to their hearts!

Meeting One is Done

Hello everyone,

Meeting number one is under the belt. We had a great conversation and prayer about our community and the kids. There is a need for hope, goals and vision - hope that there is something beyond the day-to-day, paycheck-to-paycheck existence. The good news of Jesus Christ has an answer for sin that chains us to hopelessness and a mission that can take us beyond "this is the only thing I know" routine!

Based upon that discussion here is what lessons we decided matched up best with what God wants to speak into the life of the children this summer(please visit the "High Seas Expedition" link for more info):

* God's word is comforting (day two)
* God's word is life changing (day four)
* God's word is for everyone (day five)

The 3 day dates for VBS are: Monday August 2nd through Wednesday August 4th, with the Unity Service on Sunday August 8th(the exact times will be announced after the next meeting in June).

Please pray for leaders in the following areas:

* Snack leader
* teen leader
* Bible leader

There will be no crafts this year due to the costs and our desire to experiment with other options.

We also limited the number of teenage helpers to 15 to insure we have a group we can manage and depend on to be there each night.

Thank you all for your help and prayerful support! (Next meeting TBA)
God bless!

Our Ship has Come In!

Ahoy mates,

our VBS starter kit has arrived along with the warm temperatures! Special thanks to Laura Lacey for getting our kit ordered and into my little paws. I was hoping we could have our first VBS meeting Thursday May 6th from 6-7pm at the Junction. Please let me know if this day and time works for you.
I am looking forward to seeing everyone again to kick off our 8th year of Community VBS. Many kids in the area need the hope that the Gospel brings. The hope Christ brings is a hope for this life not just on the other side of the grave - "life before death" as Christian author N.T. Wright puts it.This years VBS theme of setting sail out on the vast seas is in stark contrast of many kids who are stuck in the dock of poverty. Not poverty defined only as the lack of money but poverty as in the lack of resources. Resources, such as encouraging adults, education and a Spirit led church family that point them to a world beyond the one they see around them. Resources that inspire them with a hope that they can become what they dream to be and that they can use their unique gifts and talents to be all God created them to be!
This summer, in honor of our 8th year, I will blog about 8 important things that God gives kids (and us) to build hope that they can become all that God designed them to be! Let us pray that Community VBS will be a resource this summer that helps to launch kids out of the dock of poverty and the port of despair so that they arrive in the dock of hope in the port of God's will!
See ya at our first 2010 meeting!

What Does Spring Bring?

Hello everyone,

I hope everyone is doing well as we welcome spring and say goodbye to a very snowy winter. As we wait for the VBS materials to arrive I want to remind you that we will be having 3 nights of VBS based upon feedback from last year. Here are some other things that we need to consider for this year:
* Do we have crafts this year?
* We need to have a maximum number of teen helpers allowed - how many?
* What 3 days of the week do we hold our program this year?

Please email me with your thoughts or feel free to post them on our blog site.

This years VBS (High Seas Expedition) shares with kids how the Gospel of Jesus spread through out the ancient world. In my estimation many of the kids in this community need to know that they have hope (an expectation of a good outcome based upon past experiences with God) here and now and hope for a future. Many kids need to hear that God has more for them than the world they see around them everyday. He can take them to places they have never thought possible while advancing His Kingdom through them! Pray that kids comprehend their great value that is expressed through the crucifixion of Jesus and the hope He gives through HIs resurrection! Just like spring time brings growth in the earth - the hope of the Gospel brings growth in peoples souls.

I would also like to throw out to you all an idea for our giving focus for the kids this year. In the past we have taken up penny donations for clean water in Africa and this year I would like to suggest we give to the Shriner's Burn Institute in Cincinnati.This organization has been a huge blessing to Brandon Pierce and his family and I would like for the VBS kids give back to show our community's appreciation.

As all ways pray for volunteers, leaders, the kids and that the glory of the Lord would be displayed among us!

We will be meeting soon after the VBS kit arrives - I will keep you posted!

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: