After VBS is Over
It’s VBS week at Central. In fact, as this is being published, our last night will be this evening. Meaning: there will be a lot of tired folks tomorrow!
This is a subject I have written about before, but it is one that is dear to my heart, so I come back to it often. It has to do, not so much with VBS, as with our regular Bible classes.
VBS is a special time, and that’s great! A lot of congregations go all out to have great decorations, visual aids, crafts, activities, and the list goes on. I think we should “up our game” a little at Vacation Bible School in order to show our children that we think they are special. And, at times, we are also thinking of children and families who might visit. If they see that we care for kids, they might be willing to come back and learn more about what is going on at the congregation.
And then…
The following Sunday comes, and children go to classrooms with no decorations (except maybe a poster that’s been up since the Obama administration). There are few, if any, visual aids. The activity might be a crossword puzzle or coloring sheet.
Why do we do this?
Again, VBS should be treated as special. If we are going to have “special events,” then we need to treat them as special.
But is Bible school on Sunday or Wednesday to be treated as “just something we do” or “something to just get through”? Is teaching the Bible to children not special?
Maybe we should “up” our decorations, at least a little, for the 13 weeks we are going to be teaching about Moses or the miracles of Jesus. Can you picture at least something neat that could be done to help drive home those three months’ worth of lessons? Can you find some visuals or activities that help more than just telling the story? Elders, can we not encourage our Bible school program with a little more of a budget and with some words of exhortation from the pulpit or in the bulletin?
When they come back, let’s show them that VBS was special, but so is learning about Jesus all the time!
AUTHOR: Adam Faughn
Very well said