A New Year, Anonther Opportunity!

Hello and Welcome!

A New Year!

"And so this is Christmas, 

and what have you done,

another year over, and a new one just begun...

I've always liked Happy Christmas (War is Over)

by John Lennon/Yoko Ono.

So what are we going to do with this new year?
Have you made plans already?

I've actually been waiting for this month to arrive for I do have plans!

Plans to begin organizing a Vacation Bible School Workshop for the teachers of next year's 5 day VBS! It is our intention for us to get a head start with lesson ideas, lesson/classroom visual aids, songs, games, etc.

The theme and titles have already been picked and I am so excited to get started!

Our Theme:  

"Livin' the Dream" - Joseph - Genesis 37-50

Day 1

"The Dreamer" - Joseph's Coat - Love/Jealousy -
Genesis 37:1-11 Joseph's character - Honest
Day 2

"The Dream Becomes a Nightmare" - The Selling of Joseph - Kindness/Revenge - Genesis 37:12-36, 39:1-21a 

Joseph's character - Obedient

Day 3

"The Dreams Come True" - Joseph in Prison/Interprets Dreams - 

Doing all for God's Glory - Genesis 39:21b-41:57

Joseph's character - Glorified God

Day 4

 "Wishing it Were a Dream" - Joseph Tests his Brothers - Honesty/Reputation - 

Genesis 42:1-44:34, Joseph's character - Cautious

Day 5

" More Than a Dream" - Joseph Forgives his Brothers - Forgiveness -  Genesis 45-47; 50:15-21,

Joseph's character - Forgiving

Vacation Bible School has been around for generations and I found Wikipedia's information on the history of VBS to be somewhat interesting. As with any program, VBS has seemed to evolve but has thankfully kept the relevant term of Bible, to help children learn about God and His truth!

As a child, my experience of attending VBS was very exciting!

Our congregation had a very active bus program where families of the town were invited to ride the bus to attend our VBS and learn about God and His love. (I actually got to ride the bus and witness all the excitement of those coming to Vacation Bible School because my Daddy was one of the drivers.)

When we arrived, we began in the auditorium with an introduction to the theme of our week together and that day's particular Bible lesson and went on to sing, sing, and sing! There weren't any decorations upfront but we were all happy and excited to see what the evening held for us.

Lots of teachers /helpers! 

Lots of kids! 

Class began and we were always made aware that our lesson came straight from the Bible!
Class activities were always fun and everyone looked forward to snack time outside where we had a little free time to play.
Upon returning to the auditorium, it was always exciting to see who the "banner class" would be by having the most students in attendance!
We sang some more and then it was time to find out who had brought visitors that day.

I remember the "brought 1 buttons" that were passed out to each person who had brought a visitor! One child by the end of the week had his shirt covered in these particular pins and was so very proud!!

It all began on Sunday evening and ended on Saturday with a picnic in the park where we played relay races and most importantly, awards were given out for perfect attendance and such and those who had brought the most visitors actually received a Bible!

Those were fun years of VBS in my childhood.
Those memories have actually made me be excited to be involved as an adult!

Thank you to all those who tirelessly worked those long VBS days!

I have been involved in the teaching and planning end of things and have participated in a 5 day, 3day, and even a 1 day VBS. My favorite is a 5 day so I can learn the names of my students and interact with them longer so the teachings of God may touch their young hearts and help them see the church is made up of people who care for each of them and their parents.

VBS is a wonderful opportunity to not just have a "fun time" for the kids, but to reach out to the families of your community. I have seen and been involved with VBS where it is organized with Bible classes for children only and then also where there are adult Bible classes offered so the parents can have an opportunity to learn along with their children and we have opportunity to get to know the parents who may be a good prospect for a home Bible study! But no matter if there are adult classes or not, a VBS program should be designed to reach out to the entire family to bring them to Christ!

That is where follow up comes in.

Remember all those kids who attended VBS?

Each parent/guardian most likely filled out some kind of registration form 

before dropping their child off. 

There you have it! 

The information needed to reach out to each of those families! 

I wonder how many of these parents remember having a fun time attending Vacation Bible School? 

It is no wonder why they are sending their children!

A new year, another opportunity!

Thanks for stopping by and feel free to leave a comment!