Liz had asked me a when I first posted about our church's VBS theme how it compared to the Lifeway selection.  I haven't compared them--I can only speak as a student from the adult class. I liked what I saw very much. My pal Kasey over at SOUTHERN FRIED could probably answer more specific questions about the curriculum.

First and foremost, six children accepted Christ as their Savior. That is what makes it a success!  We are very thankful for these precious little ones!

This VBS seemed to flow very smoothly. Having been in church all my life, as some of you have, it's probably no surprise that VBS sometimes turns into a drama-charged showdown between competing creative/administrative types.  Hopefully that's never happened to YOU, and it sure hasn't been the case the last few years at Friendship. We have two great administrators who keep Christ  the focus of VBS, can cheerfully motivate others, are good financial stewards, and just plain fun to be around. They take the Bible VERY seriously and start planning VBS in January with much prayer to see souls saved. That is THE goal.  Keeping Jesus first is the most important ingredient for any program--not just VBS.

Then, we are overflowing with helpers. I've never seen anything like it--from folks who naturally know how to organize registration to people who can decorate on a dime, to an audiovisual team that seems to pull miracles out of their sleeves [at least that's how all the "tech" stuff looks to me] to teachers who just want to share Jesus--everyone just seemed to take the job they were given and do their very best. More than once I thought about Paul's analogy of the body watching these amazing people work. And there was such a spirit of joy, too.

In my humble opinion, stressful vacation Bible schools happen when folks try to do too much. The goal this year was to simplify and streamline--to keep it completely about Jesus. Crafts were simple but fun, lessons were straight forward, and the opening and ending ceremonies [including puppet skits ] were short and sweet.  Schedules were clear, right down to which class went to the fellowship hall for snacks when.  Kudos Mark and Kasey for a great VBS!

Our decorating team turned the sanctuary into a jungle with bamboo poles, dino trails, paper flowers, greenery, insulation board dinos, paint and contruction paper. Not being very creative myself, I love watching people who are.  They built a puppet set out of pvc large enough to hold three people . We aren't a deep pocketed church--these people did all this on a dime! A tree fell on our decorating team leader's house the Sunday VBS was to start. Her son and son-in-law cut the tree off her house, and proceeded to bring more greenery in for decoration. Talk about turning lemons into lemonade!

Teachers decorated their own classrooms. It was very nice to see that the classes for the little ones were rather spare on decoration. These teachers weren't there to show off at ALL--they knew that too much visual stimulation would detract little minds from the message! [Yes, many of them were homeschoolers or public school teachers/aids!]  The older classes got into the theme a little more and their students really appreciated it.

The puppet skits went so well. The two in charge of that area recorded all the skits beforehand on cd after practicing to avoid that "drop the microphone while performing" effect. Then, they had several people practice with the puppets. That way if one person couldn't be there, someone else could easily step in and work the puppets. There were at least six different people who were able to do this. The script for each night was attached to the back of the stage so the puppeteers could keep up with the pre-recorded voices.  I got a good view of this from the piano bench and got tickled more than once at the puppeteers antics--especially when Michelle and Jessi worked the puppets. They are just such joyful women, you can't help but smile around them, but when they get tickled---look out!  The kids loved it too.

Crafts were so simple this year. What a REFRESHING change! They were simple and easy enough for kids to carry home each night.  In years past, some of the more involved crafts--while generating oohs and ahhs--generally got left behind for church folks to try to find a place for in the hopes children would return to claim them, or were so detailed that time ran out before kids could finish them.  After about six or seven months of waiting around in various classrooms, the items eventually get tossed. Honestly, how many painted painted terra cotta pots, concrete sidewalk pavers, birdhouses, and popsicle mansions really become valued keepsakes? Not many judging by the way kids and parents would leave them behind!  

The Dino Detectives materials came with long coloring strips to handout. Our kids really enjoyed them because they could bring them home to finish. The craft team added some other crafts like  dino puppets and painted picture frames with pictures of the student.  Older classes made fleece baby blankets to donate to the neo-natal unit at the local Children's hospital to put over incubators. The kids were good sports about not taking a "craft" home and this sort of thing appealed to the teens. They were crafting for a good cause!

I like this particular VBS theme because it included materials for all ages. Our VBS is at night and the whole church gets a class of their own. Our administrators had a hard time finding a curriculum that included teens in their materials.  It was a good introduction for people who may be scared of Genesis and the questions it raises, or for folks who aren't familiar with good ministries like ICR or AiG. Our adult class enjoyed it and had lots of serious discussion.

We reached an offical high of 191, but I think we made it past 200 on several nights because some adults later in the week admitted they hadn't registered---they thought only the children were supposed tp do that!.  The offering was huge, and the ice cream social was a success. I was there but couldn't eat any. Baby Atkins #3 is very tempermental about what Mom gets to eat!  Everyone around me said it was really good. Over and over again. [sigh]

We did have a bit of cheating, though, in one class. The teen class had a goal to reach forty in attendance. Their teacher had promised to shave his head for summer if they hit forty. By Thursday night they hadn't quite made it, so the adult class offered to help. Word apread quickly, "GO TO THE TEEN CLASS--KRIS NEEDS A SHAVE!"  We had young married couples, middle aged people, and seniors in wheelchairs show up. Obviously we weren't teens, but we were young at heart. By the way, I'm sure the teen teacher is appreciating his new summer 'do with the soaring temperatures this week!

We are looking forward to several baptisms soon as a result of the professions of faith. God is so good! I think this was the best VBS I've ever seen.