Gospel Light Vbs

Local Vacation Bible Schools gear up for summer fun

LANCASTER -- In late June, the sanctuary at Millersport United Methodist Church will transform for one week into a fun and wild landscape complete with games, crafts, snacks and a chipmunk puppet named Chatter.

The reason? Millersport UMC, like many other churches throughout Fairfield County, will have its annual Vacation Bible School program.

With fun, educational lesson plans that vary each year, local churches become exotic beaches or leafy jungles where children can spend their days having fun and learning about God.

Best of all, it's free and, according to several VBS directors, a great way for parents to introduce their children to church.

"We've found the ones who have done (VBS) from the beginning want to be more involved in the church as they grow older," said Vicki Widener, children's director at First Presbyterian Church in Lancaster. "They'll come back and help; they might help lead music or do skits, which is great."

Vacation Bible School typically is a week-long program with a theme. The program often is geared toward children who are kindergarten through fifth grade.

"There is always a positive message -- this year's is to teach these dear children that God is wildly in love with him," said Tina Milenovic, VBS director for Millersport UMC.

Milenovic said the church's program, "PandaMania," offers crafts, snacks, music and a video featuring a chipmunk puppet named Chatter that interacts with real people while teaching children about the Bible.

"Each of the Group Publishing programs has Chatter and the kids just love him," she said. "They always come back wanting to see what Chatter does next."

Milenovic said her church typically has about 150 kids attend the program, a number of whom don't attend the church.

Widener said her church is conducting the Gospel Light program Son Surf Beach Bash this June. At the end of the week, students perform a skit for their parents.

She said her church's VBS program has a number of stations students rotate to throughout the week, including crafts and music. She said the church gets anywhere from 100 to 125 kids.

"I think it's a good way for them to spend part of their summer ... it gets them away from the video games and cell phones," she said.

She added First Presbyterian's program, which is taught by directors Kim Johnson and Maris Mahler, also brings in children who might not attend the church.

"For some of the kids who haven't gone to church before, it may be the first time they hear about Jesus and his love," she said.

Lay Renewal Ministries » Blog Archive » Gospel Light VBS 2011 Son ...

. Each day, children will explore an aspect of Jesus’ life and understand some of the big questions about Jesus. Even if your church isn’t located in beautiful Ventura, CA (home of Gospel Light), you can have a lot of fun with this beach-themed offering. AND BE CREATIVE! If you don’t live near an ocean, consider what you can do at a local lake. Think about an end-of-VBS party for the community at a park with a pond. REMEMBER: There is no box!

Gospel Light is also offering a “re-do” of one of the requested “classics” of VBS: Son Harvest County Fair: Growing in the Fruit of the Spirit! As the name would imply, kids will spend the week exploring the gifts of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). If you church has never used this particular theme, it has been VERY well received over the years. We receive many churches requesting information on this material every year so we are glad it is back. (Consider getting a kit for your church resource room. You never know when you might need it!)