My third year as VBS director at our church has come to a close. It’s hard to believe that two years ago was my first year as a director of vacation bible school. I hadn’t ever even attended VBS as a child. I felt completely unprepared and worried about screwing something up. I only had an 18 month old at the time so I hadn’t even had a kiddo go through VBS.
But everything turned out fine! Little Mister danced and enjoyed and, to this day, will still dance to the songs if we play them.
So then fast forward to this year. After two years as director of the evening VBS, I had moved up to the big time – director of daytime VBS. I was suddenly going from organizing a VBS for a little under 100 kids to a VBS for 400 kids. Talk about a little intimidating.
But we scheduled meetings, we started recruiting volunteers, we altered some of the activities and curriculum, and we got ready for kiddos to start registering. It was slow at first, we had a few struggles getting enough volunteers but my fellow directors had complete faith and continued to reassure me that it would all work out.
We were able to fill all of the volunteer spots that we needed by the skin of our teeth. And then between the Thursday before the start of VBS and this past Tuesday we had 100 additional children register to attend VBS. 100. One zero zero. What an absolutely incredible blessing. We were suddenly able to bring the word and love of God to 100 additional kids.
It was something that I completely didn’t expect. This was a number that was higher than previous years. In some ways we weren’t prepared for these kinds of numbers. But God is good and provided what we needed.
Not only did I have the amazing opportunity to volunteer and be director of the daytime VBS at our church, but my kids and I were able to help out with the evening as my husband was leader during storytelling.
There is something about doing VBS as a family. We joke that my husband is “volun-told” but the truth is that he loves working with storytelling. Every year, for the past three years, he has helped lead storytelling, bringing the stories of the Bible to life for the kids. Last year, he created a “campfire” for the kids to circle around. This year, he used a beautifully patterned towel of ours to create a kind of “rug” for the kids to sit around.
At the end of every night, we go and sing and dance with the kids in the sanctuary. We watch the closing videos and cheer on the leaders doing the skit. We learn the messages and stories together. We memorize dance moves and songs. We experience the joy and love of God as a family. It’s an experience I recommend for every family.
Tonight, I sat in on the end of his final storytelling group for the year and listened to the kids excitedly say which of their stories was their favorite. Each kid had a different story that was their favorite. Some loved going through the parted Red Sea while others shouted that carrying the Ark of the Covenant was their favorite activity. Seeing these stories make an influence on these kids where they remembered the stories past just a few minutes or hours was amazing.
I love watching all of the kids dance and sing, light up with the Bible messages and shout that, “God is good!” I love watching the smiles and laughter as the leaders perform skits. I love seeing all of the crafts that the kids have created. I love volunteering and helping organize this amazing week for the kids.
But you know what? I also love that, starting tonight, I’m going to finally get some good sleep. I’ve missed sleep. Until next year when we start the process all over again.