Outdated Idea or Great Outreach Tool

Recently the Lincoln Journal Star had an interesting story about churches that offer Vacation Bible School as a summer program.

By Dan Moeller
Pastor of Children's Ministries

It related an interesting trend: the number of U.S. churches offering VBS has decreased by 38,000 since 1997. In 1997, 81% of churches in America offered VBS in comparison to 68% that do so today. With such a trend, has VBS become an outdated idea, a quaint children’s program that is fading into American Church history? Why do we as a church continue to pour so much time and so many resources into our VBS program?

The reason is this: we, as a church, value children. We believe that God wants us, as a church, to strategically and deliberately reach out to children in our community. We continue to believe it is one of the most effective means of sharing the love of Jesus Christ with children — some of whom will not darken the door of a church on the weekend but are willing to come and hear about Jesus at “Bible School”. We also value the extended time we as a ministry have to connect more deeply with children who we otherwise only see for one hour each week.

VBS is a lot of work and it requires a tremendous number of volunteers who plan, prepare and then serve during that week. But when you consider the magnitude of touching young lives with the life-transforming gospel of Jesus, there are few things that are more important. Consequently, whether it be 5 Day Clubs, VBS, and/or Anomolie Summer Theater Camp...

...the objective of our summer children’s programming is to connect with children, to help them understand how much God loves them and values them, and to provide experiences that will help families establish great lifelong spiritual foundations.

So how can you be a part of transforming children’s lives? You can pray. Pray for the children who will be participating, especially for the large number of children who will come but are not a part of our church. You can pray for those who are serving, that they would experience God’s strength and endurance as they seek to connect with the children. You can also get involved. There are always service opportunities available in Children’s Ministries. Maybe it’s too late to help with VBS but you could help continue the work in a child’s heart by serving in our weekend ministries, AdventureLand for Kids, or during Wednesday nights in one of our Kid’s Clubs. Children matter to God and they matter to LBC — won’t you consider participating?