Vacation Bible School (VBS) is the
highlight of the year for Baptist churches. It is an opportunity to
teach children about Jesus and make contact with new families. This
year we had a spectacular VBS on the
Baptist Temple campus. Not because of our enrollment, 249, nor
the number of workers, 96, not even the 32 professions of faith. Many
churches have eclipsed those numbers. What was remarkable was that
four churches sharing an inner-city campus joined forces to provide a
top caliber VBS experience. The congregations included a Spanish
language and a Deaf congregation. A 30 member short-term mission team
from Houston added to both the success and the extraordinary nature
of this bold ministry endeavor.
The stories are even more noteworthy
than the numbers. The 32 professions of faith included children whose
families are hostile to the gospel. This is not a dark cloud
overshadowing a joyful event. This is the light of Jesus penetrating
the darkness. “This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine,”
will be the theme song of these young lives.
One woman, who recently committed her
life to Christ, asked for a copy of the adult VBS class picture. It
was her first Bible study. Ruby, one of our seniors, attended the
adult class. She was not sure why God led her to attend until she
gave away a Bible on the first day. She brought a Bible to give away
each day of VBS.
Our mission project this year was to
prepare emergency meal bags. One child overheard another telling us
he had no food at home. He decided to give his bag to the hungry boy.
Hunger is a problem in our community.
Over 90% of the children in our three closest elementary schools
qualify for free and reduced lunches. We provided a free dinner each
night for the folks involved with VBS, along with a healthy snack.
VBS helps us to minister to both the
spiritual and physical needs of our community. Moreover, we created
new relationships through which we can share God's love to the
families in our community.
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