What an awesome privilege we had at VBS ministering to the children this summer! The theme was “Weird Animals Where Jesus’ Love Is One of A Kind.
We were mingling and interacting with the kids, injecting golden nuggets about Jesus’ love being “One of A Kind”. Each day teachers encouraged and reminded the children about how special and powerful Jesus’ love is — no matter the circumstance, Jesus loves them.
Imagine being at school where you are ostracized, ignored or intimidated by your peers. On the first day’s lesson we focused on how it feels to be left out. The scripture reference was Luke 17. There were 10 lepers who were social outcasts. However, when Jesus visited their city, He changed their lives and cleaned them up. They had an opportunity to be included with family and friends. That’s the power of Jesus’ love and new beginnings!
A teenage volunteer at VBS wore a tee shirt that said, “You can’t sit with us.” Of course she had no idea that the lesson for the day dealt with being left out and that the statement was offensive. This statement is one example of how children openly and blatantly choose to leave out their peers, making them think that something is terribly wrong with them.
We know that the theme — “Jesus’ Love is One of A Kind” can alleviate fears and can teach them how to deal with such unkindness. Of course another important lesson — Jesus dies and comes back to life with the Bible point: “Even though you do wrong… Jesus loves you!” The children learned that Jesus’ love covers their imperfections and they can be empowered to turn the other cheek. Putting all of these lessons together certainly gave our children spiritual truths on how to deal with some of the harsh realities of life.
CHGC is conscious of this harsh world we are living in, and that’s why we make a vigorous effort to accommodate as many children as possible. We want them to hear the good news that can transform their lives so they can experience new beginnings. We are happy to report that 21 persons, both children and adults, are experiencing new beginnings.
The preschoolers also had their share of fun learning about Jesus’ one of a kind love in Ozzy’s Preschool Park. They experienced fun Bible-learning activities in their red, blue, orange and yellow rooms. We also had the privilege of hosting 10 of our preschoolers at the church. They were accompanied by Cheryl Squires and a few other teachers. It was certainly a blessed experience for Cheryl because she was led to the Lord by Sister Gwen Bonner. Sister Cheryl also enjoyed listening to our Bible story teller – Sister Yvette. She was fascinated with the demonstration in one of the lessons when the children were washing each others’ feet as Jesus did with the disciples, showing His love and humility for others.
VBS is a fun experience for both children and adults. This year we even had a Weird Dress Day. We thank God for this opportunity to serve and we thank those who served willingly and diligently. Special thanks to our teen volunteers. I encourage you all to keep growing spiritually, continue to attend and support Sunday School and the Youth Ministry with your presence. There is a need for VBS teachers and God can use you to be a part of the teaching staff next year.
This was originally published in the second printed issue of Agape News in October 2014.
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