As a young boy our church had a two week Vacation Bible School each summer. Try to get your church volunteers to sign up for that!
Many churches are now gearing up for their VBS programs this year. Many will be a week long. Some might only be three days, and I understand some have their VBS one day a week for a month. How a church does it isn't important. What's important is that it is offered in some format.
For some children, VBS is the one contact they have with church. Their parents may not attend church and may not even have much interest in spiritual things. However, most are willing for their child to go to VBS if no other reason to get them out of the house for a few hours. For those children in such environments it is important to give them some contact with Christian people, and more importantly with Jesus Christ.
Nearly 40 years ago our family did not attend church very often. I was working in a factory and often worked 6-7 days a week. I was also doing a little farming on the side so my days and evenings were pretty busy. A neighbor lady asked if she could take our daughter to their church's VBS. Our daughter had already attended three VBSs that summer and enjoyed them all so we quickly agreed. We certainly did not have anything against church, and in fact each of us had been raised in churches as children.
When we sat down to supper on the Friday at the end of the VBS my wife said our daughter had something to tell me. That little eight-year-old proceeded to tell me she had accepted Christ into her life at the end of the closing service. The pastor had told her if she was sincere she should come to church on Sunday and make a public profession before the entire congregation. She intended to do so.
My wife knew I was scheduled to work overtime that Sunday and asked what I was going to do. I responded that if our daughter was willing to do what the pastor asked I would be there to support her. When the invitation was given that Sunday morning our daughter never hesitated but immediately went forward to make her decision public.
A few days later the pastor came to our home to ask what we thought of her decision. We all agreed she was mature enough to understand what she had done so he agreed to baptize her. He then asked me what Christ meant to me in my life. I had nothing to say because I knew He meant very little to me at that time.
To make a long story short, a few months later I invited Christ into my life, and within a few more months my wife did the same. Two years later I was licensed to the ministry and have been serving in ministry ever since. It all began when a neighbor invited our daughter to VBS.
Some question the value of VBS in today's culture, but I will never be convinced it's not important. However you conduct your VBS, be sure to have one this year. Invite every child you can find to attend and be sure to give an invitation. It might just change an entire family.
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