I_Heart_VBS

 

This evening brings us the first night in our annual Vacation Bible School. We have high hopes for a big turnout but it’s only possible if everyone who can come, does come.

Some people, however, fail to see the great value in Vacation Bible School. Let me offer a few reasons why it is good, not only for the children but also for the parents, to support such an endeavor:

 

 

IT’S GOOD FOR THE PAST

Adults remember the fun they had as kids. The silly songs, the goofy rituals. It’s great to sit back and watch children get way too excited about a man in a cheap chicken costume, or wearing a giant Bible or dressed as a pirate or a spy or something that looks more like it belongs to a minor league baseball mascot. It’s great to take a few nights out of your regular schedule and sit at the feet of a Bible teacher who takes material originally written with kids in mind, and brings the adults on a journey through Scripture. The Bible is so adaptable, it can be taught to anyone from age 1 to age 100.

TV can wait, and I know it can be tiring, but it is SO worth it. If nothing else, it’s a reminder of what it was like to be a kid and to enjoy summer away from school surrounded by God’s people and His Word.

IT’S GOOD FOR THE PRESENT

One of my favorite memories in my young (almost 30) life revolves around the early years of my Christianity. I would go to Mars Hill’s VBS, to Greenbrier’s VBS, to Jerusalem’s VBS, to Higden’s VBS and I would sit will all the friends that I had made at Camp. I can’t fully explain to an adult how important it is for teenage Christians in one congregation to be close with the teenage Christians in another congregation. The bigger the network of friends, the less likely it is that the world will be able to sink its sinful claws into our young people.

Young adults are going to be exposed to all kinds of sins in High School and College; the closer they are with Christian friends, the more likely they are to stick with Christianity and mature into adult as leaders of the church wherever they live. VBS is vital to that, because it allows the kids who don’t get a chance to see each other very often (though they talk online and via text) an opportunity to sit–IN PERSON–with one another. To sing with each other, to sit together and listen to the Bible be taught to them as one group of young people. It has been my experience that a group of high school/college age Christians, who have that closeness with one another is more faithful in attendance than most long-time members of the church. They will be there on Sunday nights and Wednesday nights. They will make the drive to VBS’ and to Gospel Meetings. They will go because they know the value in gaining strength and encouragement from one another.

IT’S GOOD FOR THE FUTURE

If you want to ensure that your child is:

A) well behaved in the assembly
B) observant when it’s time to sing, pray, listen to the preacher, etc
C) excited about going to Sunday School

then TAKE THEM TO VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL!

It is like boot camp for future Christians. There they will learn songs they will later teach their own children. There they will learn the lessons from the Bible that will shape the kinds of adults they will become. There they will meet children from other congregations that they will befriend and become close with as teenagers and adults.

Don’t take them to VBS and they will grow up thinking it’s okay to settle; that “we don’t HAVE to do it, so there’s no sense in putting in the extra effort.” They will learn the mantra of the “casual Christian” who thinks just showing up on Sunday’s and Wednesday’s is “good enough.” That kind of attitude will ensure they don’t make friends with kids from other congregations, don’t develop a strong relationship with their Christian family in their community, become more easily swayed by the world, find it “not a big deal” to skip Sunday nights and Wednesday nights whenever “something more important” comes up, and then, before too long, we only see them on Mother’s Day and Easter…and then, even less than that.

Think of your future. It NEEDS VBS.