Vacation Bible School 2007

The first time I taught VBS, I was 14-years-old. I'd rather not mention my current age, but I'm significantly older now. This becomes more and more obvious each year. This year, I knew I was old (1) when I had a very tough time singing AND doing the hand motions at the same time, and (2) when the other teachers looked to me for advice.

Like in past years, I taught the Bible stories to the youngest children (kindergarten to 2nd grade) on August 6-10, 2007. This system requires me to teach the same Bible story three times each day. After only 3 hours of VBS each day, I was truly exhausted. Again, this showed my age. =(

Each year, teaching VBS tires me out. But, I still continue. The reason is because of the kids. It's amazing to watch them comprehend Bible stories and theological concepts. When that little light in their heads flicker on, it's actually possible to see it through their expressions. This is something you rarely see in adult students who have a tendency to appear bored. Also, it's such a joy to Iisten to the kids memorize Scripture... if only I could memorize Scripture with the same enthusiasm.

The youth are great at being teachers and helpers at VBS every year, but it is my hope that more of the older adults will join in. It's physically tiring, but it's a way to really affect the spiritual lives of children in our community. Many of these children are from non-believing families and they may actually be the ones to minister to the older generations in their families. So, if it's possible for you to take mornings off of work for one week during the summer, I believe you will find it very rewarding to teach VBS... and try to see if you can sing and do hand motions at the same time!

Lesson 1 was Trust: "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him." Jeremiah 17:7

The other lessons were Unite, Train, Follow and Lead.