A Pastor's Delight--Vacation Bible School

This week, the church's fellowship hall has been filled with amazing decorations, scenery, props, crafting materials, and food.  It has also been filled with the excited activity and laughter of children, as the annual Sussex United Methodist Church's Vacation Bible School has been underway.

Instead of the normal plain paneling of the fellowship hall walls, we have seen a ship's railing, the ocean and a bright blue sky.  Instead of a piano, we have stood in front of a two tall sailing masts and a quarterdeck with a conning wheel and ship's bell, as a parrot has looked down on us from the crow's nest.  We have assembled beautiful crafts, sung exciting new songs, shared dramatic re-tellings of scenes from the Acts of the Apostles, played great outdoor games, and enjoyed snacks that reflected our daily lessons.  The kids who are participating in this year's VBS are having a great time, and so are all the leaders and helpers.

I've really looked forward to playing Jack, the dim-witted and somewhat bumbling sailor in our opening skits, and it's been a great outlet for my natural hamminess.  And I can't offer enough praise to adequately thank our Sunday School Director and everyone else who has helped organize and put on the program.

As fun as the week is, Vacation Bible School is also very important for the church.  Our congregation is amazingly blessed to have a large number of active children and youths, and they are tremendously important to our church's ongoing life--not just in the future, as they grow into adulthood, but also right now.  Our children enrich our worship, deepen our adults' understanding of the faith, and signal to newcomers that this church is a vital and energized faith community.  The faith development and active discipleship of our young people are crucial priorities that need the attention of everyone.

If you have not helped in Vacation Bible School or Sunday School, then, I hope you will start doing so in some way.  You do not have to be a trained teacher or an experienced leader of children.  If you have children or youths in your family or neighborhood, I hope you will encourage them to participate in our worship and in all of our ministries.  Your commitment could not be more important.  (And it'll be fun!)