Local Churches Kick Off Vacation Bible School

Hundreds of kids are participating in local VBS programs that seek to bring a better understanding of God and the Bible’s message in a youth-driven, informative way.

At kids from preschool to 6th grade are taking part in Pandamania, a nationally recognized VBS program created by Group, a Christian publishing company. Group designs a rotation schedule of activities centered on a major theme.

“Kids learn the bible lesson four or five different ways through different stations,” said Moe Lawson, SUMC's Director of Children’s Ministry.

This year, the participants follow five animals as they embark on a spiritual journey through a fictional bamboo forest. Each day, the kids tag along with a particular character that guides them through a point specific to a story in the Bible. This year’s story was that of Elijah.

As they rotate through each session—music, crafts, food—they are reminded of the Bible story’s message and are encouraged to chant, “Thank you, God!”

The students are branched off into “crews” with crew leaders who take them to each activity. Color coded shirts identify the participants and volunteer staff and keep VBS running smoothly. The curriculum is separated between the preschoolers and grade school groups so that each learns the same information at different paces.

“We basically have two VBS’s running at the same time,” Lawson said. “This is the one time of year that we use the entire campus.”

Next door at , the church’s Vacation Bible School program takes a much different approach to how it designs its curriculum for its participants.

Jennifer Cook, who has been the director of First Baptist Snellville’s VBS since 1999, forgoes the prepackaged VBS planning materials and draws on prayer and devotion to create a new program from scratch each year.

“I had been praying about what I believe the Lord wants me to do and has put on my heart,” said Cook.

So she decided to go with a military theme this year. For the five-day program, the students are taught to be soldiers for Christ using principles such as excellent character and prayer to engage the kid’s faith and understanding of God.

Cook designs her programs to incorporate individual breakout sessions with a large group worship session that fits the overarching theme.

“The whole program has to fit together; the classroom has to match sanctuary time,” she said. “That’s why we write our own.”

This year, Cook brought a member of each branch of the military (except Coast Guard) to speak to the participants each day. The activity rooms are designed with military insignia and colors. Some of the volunteers are dressed in camouflage.

First Baptist Snellville’s VBS also breaks the children into groups, which range from pre-K through 6th grade. The 6th grade group is the newest addition to the VBS program this year.

“The 5th and 6th graders are different from 1st through 4th graders,” Cook said. “They want to feel more grown up.”

A live Christian band was brought in to entertain the older participants. The church also provided a room full of moonwalks for the children.

On the last day of the program, parents will be invited to a special presentation by the participants, where the children will present what they learned.

“This is the biggest outreach event we put on all year as far as children coming into Christ,” said Sheila Ridgeway, First Baptist Snellville's Preschool Ministry Director.

A little hard work goes a long way

Like with most Vacation Bible Schools, both churches dedicate a lot of time and man-hours to put together the programs. Lawson started preliminary work last December, while Cook has been planning her church’s VBS for nearly a year.

“We are in sync with our desire to bring kids to Christ,” said Ridgeway. “It’s become a well-oiled machine.”

Both churches receive a lot of support and huge commitment from their congregations through donations and volunteering. All these efforts manage to bring people from a variety of backgrounds together to reach out to the community for a common cause.

Snellville United Methodist Church member Jennifer Moore, who grew up in Snellville, has been a part of the church since 2000 and just started volunteering with VBS a year ago.

She finds that her five-year-old daughter has an opportunity to continue friendships with kids from the church’s Sunday School program through VBS, while she makes new friends with other parents.

“I have met four or five moms and have had lunch with them and keep in touch,” she said.

Community outreach is a major initiative for First Baptist Snellville’s VBS program. Through the children, they are able to venture out to the homes by visiting with the families to continue spreading their message of faith.

“VBS is a huge door in opening up our church,” said Cook. She said that they hope to attract Christians and non-Christians to a positive environment where they can enrich their understanding of Christ or begin the steps to accepting Jesus into their life.

VBS programs also help empower high school students and young adults to build leadership and teamwork skills as they volunteer to assist the younger participants.

“It teachers servant leadership,” said Cook.

The goal of Vacation Bible School is not just to learn a Bible story or recite a passage. It’s more about building strong followers in Christ.

“Kids want to know, ‘How can I apply God’s Word and be changed by it,” said Cook. “We want them to leave different than when they came in.”