If you were to put aside the neat little crafts, the enjoyable snack time, the Gospel centered songs and choruses, the fellowship with other Christians, the offerings collected for missionaries, the fun activity time, the enjoyable skits, the competition between two teams and you would still have a dynamic Gospel sermon that impacts hearts in Summer Vacation Bible School (VBS)! It is only a few days away, that special time when we dedicate our church staff, the facility, the personal vehicles and church vehicles towards ministering for three evenings in a row for “VBS”. Through much preparation with prayer, development of flyers/activities/special lessons/training of workers all comes together with the hope to please the Lord. It is the “..teaching them to observe all things.” of the Scripture.
The history of “VBS” is rich, based on great preachers like Dwight Moody, recorded more than 100 years ago, who would reach into the community to transport youth and their parents to meetings for Christian Education lessons peppered with songs, hymns and activities. This movement caused a new awakening towards spiritual matters and built a foundation in the hearts of youth and adults a like.
What can you do to help with “VBS”? Pray, for the Lord to bring about a harvest of souls of children and their parents. Promote the meetings by planning on attending the three evenings at 6:30 PM and bring a child or an adult along with you. Pledge an offering to the meetings to help pay for the bus fuel, the prizes, the Bibles purchased, the treats and to help our missionary project.
What will the results be? We really cannot say seeing we don’t have the ability to look into the future however I have some testimonies I will share of what happened in the past. An 81 year old told me that he used to be picked up for “VBS” heard the sermons and it nestled in his heart. When he became 21 he turned his heart to Christ through a revival meeting in Howell. A 40-year-old mom told me that she was taken to church to learn the Bible lessons when she was a child and when she became 18 she called on Christ through a church service invitation. Both adults are examples of the value of teaching the Word of God to children, while their hearts are soft and open to hear about Jesus and His love for them.
There could be a soul waiting for the opportunity to know Christ, would you invest in “VBS” this week? Matthew 28:19-20 is the Great Commission that “VBS” is modeled after.
–Pastor Timothy W. Jackson 06/10/2012