FBC Winters LOVES VBS!

As I have told you before, one of the most rewarding aspects of my job is being privileged  to hear and read the great stories and reports of churches witnessing and experiencing transformation through the ministry of VBS. Here is one such story:

“I have a wonderful report for FBC Winters (California) Amazing Wonders Aviation VBS this year! We had a total of 69 children attend AWA VBS in June, which we conducted as a 5-day, 3-hour evening program. The kids had a ton of fun, of course, but the most exciting news is that 20 children were saved during VBS this year. Praise The Lord!

My volunteer staff of 55 workers and I really enjoyed the aviation theme this year. We’ve all been flying high for Jesus ever since, along with plenty of the VBS kids. With prayer and staff evaluations guiding me, I decided to extend 2012 VBS with a weekly summer VBS program, held on Wednesday nights for eight weeks. The attendance of this ‘pilot’ project was also a success, with an average of 15-20 children attending each week.

This has lead to a new ministry at FBCW for elementary age children – Wacky Wednesdays! There has been a ton of support from the FBCW congregation to get Wacky Wednesdays up and flying. A unanimous vote at our church business meeting to approve this new ministry, hundreds of dollars in designaed donations, snacks provided by our church food closet, and a talented volunteer teaching staff have Wacky Wednesdays taking off! Now, every Wednesday night from 6:30 – 7:30, the children of the Winters community have an opportunity to worship The Lord at an abbreviated VBS-style evening program. All because God’s good and faithful servants have once again come together to do His work.

FBC Winters LOVES VBS!

Sincerely,

Julie

VBS Director”

Julie, to you and the thousands of leaders (faithful servants) who make VBS possible – THANK YOU!

VBS & Fall Fest

Could there be a more perfect way to reuse VBS decorations than at your church’s fall festival? LifeWay Kids had our own fall festival last week… complete with food, candy, and games. Candace & I put our own spin on the classic “fish for a prize” game and totally decked out Candace’s office door with decorations from the Great Barrier Reef (Amazing Wonders Aviation).

You can check out more of the great games, booths, and decorations from our fall office party on the Kids Ministry 101 blog all this week!

We want to hear from you… Does your church do any kind of fall festival? How have you reused VBS decorations for other church/community events? Give us all some inspiration!

Catch a Connecting Flight with Parents of VBS Kids

While your Amazing Wonders Aviation flight has probably landed, your bags are unpacked, and you are already dreaming about your VBS 2013 destination, some essential follow-up can still take off for 2012. Candace offered some great follow-up suggestions last Wednesday at 
http://lifewayvbs.wordpress.com/2012/08/01/vbs-follow-up/
.

Here’s another great way to consider connecting specifically with the parents of VBS kids. If your church did not purchase the VBS 2012 Family Flight Log Parent Guide: Logging Time Together to Discover God’s Amazing Power! (005404243), mailing a copy of this small “flight log” that reinforces the Amazing truths kids learned about God’s power can be a great way to connect with parents.

The guide contains five daily devotions for families, fun activities to do as a family, and the ABCs of Becoming a Christian. It’s a great way for parents to reinforce what kids learned during VBS, and it’s an excellent opportunity for churches to let parents know they care about their kids and them as a family. The guide is an inexpensive way, priced at $3.49 for a package of 10, to connect with parents as the summer comes to a close and families begin to get back in normal routines.

Visit your local LifeWay Christian Store soon while VBS supplies are still available and purchase enough packages to send to all your VBS kids. Don’t miss this opportunity to make another connecting flight on AWA airlines!

VBS at Parkway Baptist Church

VBS is always fun at our small church and somewhat a bit challenging. For the last 9 years our church has been meeting in a local middle school. We usually run anywhere from 150-250  in Sunday worship. So that means space and volunteers can be somewhat limiting. But God is faithful and each year we have exactly what we need to host an amazing VBS experience for our community (we have babies through adult classes).

This year I led the fourth grade class using the AWA curriculum. It was amazing (no pun intended, just the best word to describe VBS). Each night attendance went up and more children were exposed to the gospel. Relationships where built and visitors attended worship the following Sunday.

One of the biggest blessing was seeing one of our youth who made a profession of faith during VBS be baptized in a nearby lake two weeks after VBS. We are looking forward to seeing the seeds that were planted come to fruition through God’s amazing power.

VBS at My Church

What an exciting week we had experiencing Amazing Wonders Aviation at my church— Brentwood Baptist Church in Brentwood, TN! When we entered the sanctuary, it looked like an airplane had come straight through the ceiling and was just hanging there! Great way to kick off the aviation feel each day. Our average daily attendance was 1,846 (1,380 kids plus 466 volunteers)!

I taught in one of nine kindergarten classes. We usually had 22 kids and six workers in our “Kindergarten G” group! (“Go G-fliers!”) Three of our helpers were teenagers who did not take on leadership roles, but assisted the three adult teachers. That was a great help! For many of the senior high students this VBS is “training” for those who will travel to Chicago to conduct VBS there.

Our church provided a training event called “VBS University” where all volunteers had an opportunity to receive age-group or rotation group training prior to VBS. Our leadership also provided enrichment sessions such as “Leading a Child to Christ,” “Using Teens Effectively as Volunteers” or “Guiding Behavior.”  It was a great time to get folks excited and prepared for VBS.

This is not the only VBS that happens—it’s just the first. The materials are reused to conduct six other VBS events in downtown Nashville, Chicago, Georgia, Hong Kong, South Africa, and Israel.  The missions offering taken during VBS goes to help support the ministry of these other mission VBS events.

Most importantly, 52 children made professions of faith this week. We expect that many other lives were influenced and changed, and that we will continue to see children ADMIT, BELIEVE, and CONFESS.