Sunday, May 18, 2014

THE IMPORTANCE OF VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL



 BY STEVE DUNN

One of the most popular forms of outreach for a local church is that of the Vacation Bible School. With more and more working parents looking for meaningful experiences for their kids during the summer, the potential for VBS remains undiminished.  It is clearly the front door to the church that even secularized parents appear willing to open.

Some people within the church resent being used as a babysitting service  and even seed the soil negatively by expressing that thought within the church.

Resist that feeling.  It comes from hell and smells like smoke.  Do we think Jesus resented the people who came to him in crowds out of their unspiritual needs?  No, Matthew 9:38 says clearly, “He saw that they were harassed and helpless … he had compassion on them.”  He prayed for more harvesters.

VBS is important for these reasons—especially within an increasingly unchurched culture.  (1) People like Jesus but not the church.  It is a chance to let them the love and joy found in the real church. (2) It allows people to learn what’s in the Bible and find practical applications for life.  This may be the only time these children receive any Bible teaching (and God’s Word does not return to Him void.)  (3) This babysitting can be the first step in building redemptive relationships—building bridges to the Bridge.(4) VBS is not a tool of church growth—it is a resource for evangelism and discipleship. (5) VBS gets your people interacting with the community in practical ways. (6) VBS gives your people practical ministry experience as a team. (7) VBS says “children matter God” and they matter to us as a church.

(c) 2014 by Stephen L.Dunn

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