All this week I have been asked, “How was Vacation Bible School?”
Those who asked wanted to know everything. How many enrolled, how many kids, how did the building work out for VBS?
The interesting thing about these questions is that they primarily came from senior adults or older, working people. You would think that people with young children would be the people asking these questions, but in my experience it is a different group completely.
I take this positively from a church standpoint. I think it means that senior adults remember their own Bible School experience. They want the children of today to be similarly affected as they were. They also understand the importance of beginning life with a good foundation. Many of those asking received a good foundation and they want today’s children to have the same.
Let me give you the measurables of VBS and my observations.
First, we had a total of 999 children (k-3rd grade) and preteens (4-6th grade) registered for VBS and VBX. We had 536 volunteers registered as well. Of these volunteers 241 were youth. On Monday and Tuesday, we had over 1200 participants and volunteers on campus each day.
Yes, the new building worked out well. We had sufficient space to hold the school and to grow in the future. We are very thankful to use such large, kid friendly classrooms for our Vacation Bible School.
Second, two areas really gave me reason for rejoicing. (1) We had 117 decisions for Christ during this event. If you look in today’s Vision you will see the first wave of those who have come before the church to profess their faith and to request baptism. We look for many more over the summer. (2) Our VBX (4th-6th grades) had more kids than our younger classes. I don’t think this has ever happened before.
I believe this happened because our youth (7th-12th grades) continue to volunteer and to speak positively about VBX. This helps younger siblings attend and to encourage their friends. Also, the VBX curriculum is well suited to this age group.
I give thanks for those who plan and run Vacation Bible School.
As I’ve said before, “Those who run Vacation Bible School could run a small country.”
3 Responses
Thank you for sharing these details.
The greater attendance in VBX is interesting. May they have a thirst for and strong foundation in God before entering middle school!
It is so exciting to see the little ones appear in our Vision as they make decisions to trust Jesus!
My answer to your question, How Was Vacation Bible School? It was FANTASTIC. Each year I love seeing the young people who are old enough to serve as leaders step forward & volunteer. They are very patient & loving to the children they are responsible for & I feel that is because they were shown the same care & love when they were in VBS as children. Our 5 year old grandson came home one day & told us his favorite song was
J-E-S-U-S. We were thrilled beyond words. Come to think of it, that’s our favorite song also.
Had 75 but not bad for a small church