A Different Kind of VBS
As the conversation began around VBS at the Journey Yoder campus, it was decided that we would not have Bible School at Yoder. Instead, those that wanted to would team up with the VBS happening at the South Hutch campus. However, we still wanted to do something for the Haven area. Last year we had a number of kids come from Haven but the majority of the kids were from families who were Journey attendees. Some of the Journey attendees also attended the VBS that was held at Journey South Hutch. So, we decided to partner with the South Hutch campus and then explore ideas in the Haven community.
As the conversation began around VBS at the Journey Yoder campus, it was decided that we would not have Bible School at Yoder. Instead, those that wanted to would team up with the VBS happening at the South Hutch campus. However, we still wanted to do something for the Haven area. Last year we had a number of kids come from Haven but the majority of the kids were from families who were Journey attendees. Some of the Journey attendees also attended the VBS that was held at Journey South Hutch. So, we decided to partner with the South Hutch campus and then explore ideas in the Haven community. When conversations began about the Haven community, we wanted to make sure we weren’t doing something in the community that wasn’t helpful, and we didn’t want to take away from those things that were already happening. So, we looked at the things that are already going on in the community and built off of that. We discovered there are a lot of kids that are staying home all day with nothing to do while mom and dad are working. So we felt we could help make an impact by having something for the kids once a week in the morning when there are not other activities. We chose to take the current bible school curriculum that Journey is using this year and modify it a bit. Instead of doing five straight days we are doing Tuesday mornings for five straight weeks starting in July. This way we are not taking away from the other activities that are going on in the community. We will be using the community center and playground for games, crafts, a time of worship and a bible story lesson. We will finish the morning off by grilling hot dogs for anyone who can come.
By doing something in the Haven Community the hope is that more kids will be able to participate. Also, there are 7 churches represented in a community of about 1200 people all of which are small and struggle to put on any kind of VBS. Because of this, we are inviting the other churches to partner with us and make it a joint effort.
-Pastor Philip Kauffman
Posted on May 31, 2017 in Congregational Stories Weekly Word