Vacation Bible School: Past and Present

 

Another VBS is in the books. It cheered me up to walked into the Worship Center each night and sit with the kindergartners. One of my assignments for the week was to be there at 5:45 to greet them since the assigned workers had to work and could not arrive early enough.

It is amazing to watch the transformation of the “new” kids from Monday night until Tuesday night. The first night they come in with their parents, not smiling and sit wherever you point. They are difficult to engage in conversation. I remarked several times Monday night that the kids who were all sitting quietly in their chairs, not talking, would not act like that again that week.

I was right. Tuesday night they were laughing, jostling with each other to sit beside friends they had made in only one evening together. Watching that change happen is always fun. I wish adults could bond like that in one short evening.

VBS also makes me nostalgic for my days of VBS. It seems I can’t get through the week without having several conversations with other adults about the crafts we used to do. The boys sometimes made shoe shine kits or stand up podiums for the church. The girls didn’t get the tools, we got the aerosol paint and macaroni. I’m not sure what spiritual truth we were supposed to learn while we glued macaroni on whatever and sprayed it gold. It is a memory for me nonetheless.

I also miss the piano music and marching in. Oh yes, and the special chords on the piano to stand up and sit down. Some aspects are the same. The pledges to the American flag, Christian flag, and the Bible are the same. It seems harder to get kids to do the part of leading each pledge these days—probably because you don’t get to actually carry the flag and lead the march in. Even as a very shy child, I would relish the opportunity to carry the Bible in. The church I grew up in only allowed boys to carry the flags so my highest aspiration was to carry the Bible. I usually got a turn during the week to carry the Bible. There are some advantages to being a usually quiet, obedient child. Teachers tend to pick them for jobs like that because they don’t want someone who will mess up the pledges. So even in a big VBS, I usually got to do it. Also, I was a church kid—there every week, not just for VBS.

As a child, (I guess even as an adult) I was what I call a “high content” learner. That meant if the teacher taught it at VBS, I learned it. I still remember some games I played at VBS that had Bible facts in them. Every single time I recall that Simon carried Jesus’ cross part way—I remember the room I was in at a neighboring church’s VBS with the chairs that all hooked together and folded up when you stood. We were playing a Bible fact game suggested by the curriculum that year. We played it at the end every night while kids were being picked up. Since the “principal” of the Bible school was taking me home. I learned every Bible fact in the entire game. Evidently those facts have stayed with me all these years.

Those memories shaped who I was as a VBS teacher. I taught the first time when I was about 14 or 15. I remember teaching a group of kids to sing some songs I had learned at church camp and helping them paraphrase a Bible verse—whatever year it was—sometime in the 70’s.

In the 80’s when I taught, I used teenagers to help me. I used them because I remember how badly I wanted to “help” in church during my growing up years. I would try to see what special gifts and talents the teens had and get them to use them in some way. We would carefully prepare every single activity and “study stop” so that no child would run out of something to do during their time in our room. They would spend 2 hours in there for 5 days and they did learn a lot. I even added in extra activities like tours of the church, cooking pancakes and other fun stuff like special guests to visit.

I have one memory of a guest’s visit that stands out. One of the stories for my kindergartners was about helping in our community—I think it was from Acts about Christians sharing what they had. We had a church member who was a firefighter so I asked him if he could just drop in some time that week and tell the kids about his job. He said he could not give me a time because obviously firefighters are on call.

I was so surprised to see him walk in one morning with his firefighting clothes on, sweating like crazy and covered in soot from fighting a fire all night. He told me that he had not had a chance to come in all week and he thought he had better come on in before the week was over, even though he was tired and dirty. He definitely had the kid’s attention.

I found out later that word got around VBS that he was there and he ended up staying the entire morning at church sharing with different classes. Poor guy was probably exhausted but we all appreciated that he took some time for the kids to learn how Christians help others in their community. I don’t know if those kids remember it or not, but I never forgot it.

My favorite part of VBS is the sharing the gospel part. I like that our pastor takes a strong role in this. It gives the kids a chance to be close to him and see him set a great example for them in sharing their faith. This year I sat behind him so I could see the kid’s faces and prayed for each one while he shared.

He used his balloon inside a balloon and his three ropes to creatively help the kids understand the need for us to let Jesus forgive us of our sin and follow Him. He asked them to mark a card to show what decision they made. I really like that better than walking to the front like we did when I was in VBS as a child. I know because I was so shy I would not walk to the front. But, I would have marked a card. I believe I was saved the minute I placed my trust in Christ. But I didn’t make it public until I got in an environment where I didn’t have to walk an aisle.

A number of kids marked cards that they decided to follow Jesus. Pray for them as their parents talk with them, their teachers and leaders talk with them, and they ask questions. Many of them will attend camp in July so they will get plenty of opportunities to understand what it means to repent of their sin, follow Christ, and change their lives to live with Jesus as Lord of it.

VBS saw some people teach for their very first time. Some led music and stood in front of a group, also for the first time. Many students and adults used their gifts to make it happen. If no one has said it to you, thank you. Thank you for sharing your time, energy, talent, gifts, and compassion. Time spent that can impact eternity is obviously time well spent. Kids are not the church of the future, they are the church of the present and the future. Thanks kids for letting us see through your eyes.

“I assure you: Whoever does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” Luke 18:17 (HCSB)