After more than a year of struggling under virus restrictions, things are slowly getting back to normal for the Village Church in College Place, Washington. This means more group activities, more people meeting face-to-face and more opportunities to connect with the community.
Few things emphasize this point better than the return of Vacation Bible School, live and in-person at the Village Church. Through a five-day event of learning and fun, children were able to spend time together, make new friends and learn about God and His love for us.
The theme of VBS "Called to Surrender" told the story of Moses and the children of Israel and how God rescued them from Egypt. More than 160 children, ages 5–12, attended the program, where they made crafts, attended worships, sang songs, saw skits and played games. There was a wide variety of activities for all the different ages, and all were designed to help them learn more about the story of Moses and how God works in our lives.
The groups were organized in circuits, visiting rooms where they would engage in different activities. Every day started with an opening worship where the children sang songs, led out by some of their group leaders, learned the day’s memory verse and theme, and watched a skit depicting a scene from the life of Moses. Then the children would split off into smaller groups in different rooms: the prayer room, the craft room, the library, the indoor and outdoor games and the snack market. There was even one room where they got to meet Moses, played by Village Church associate pastor Dan Solis, and listen to the message he would give them. After that, it was back to the main sanctuary for more songs and another skit from the story of Moses.
Each day had its own skit, Bible verse and lesson to explore. Monday began with baby Moses being found in the Nile, teaching the children how to trust God when we don’t know what to do. Tuesday continued with Moses growing up, learning to trust God’s timing rather than his own. Wednesday and Thursday told the tale of the plagues in Egypt and how we can still trust God when things are difficult or scary. The week culminated with Moses and the Israelites crossing the Red Sea, where the children got to see the miracles God can work for us when we surrender ourselves to Him.
Vacation Bible School was a large and exciting project for everyone and it would never have been possible without the hard work and generosity of the volunteers. Every activity and event station required its own dedicated team of helpers, whether it be group leaders to corral the children, organizers to set up the snacks, crafts and games or cast members to portray iconic Bible characters. There were 39 volunteers involved in the making of VBS. Through their hard work and dedication, children were able to see one of the great stories of the Bible brought to life and gain a deeper understanding of what it means to surrender our lives and our choices to God.
The Village Church is sincerely thankful for the helpers and volunteers involved. They are grateful for God and recognize that it’s His helping hands that makes Vacation Bible School possible. The Village Church looks forward to next year’s VBS and is excited to introduce more children to God and His word.
Each day the children watched as scenes from Moses' life was acted out by the volunteers. This scenes is of the Israelites after they crossed the Red Sea.
Samuel Schafer, Time Greenlaw and Becky Thompson lead out in the VBS song service.
Depicting a scene of pulling the baby Moses from the river is Katherine Ayerdis Jennings as the princess with Lauren Ellis and Emeline Duncan as her maids.
Water transfer outdoor games played with Kristen Wagner looking on.
