I am a member of a small church that has two high school students and three younger children. Occasionally grandchildren and other children visit. Most of our church members are grandparents several times over by now, and many of their children have moved elsewhere to find better jobs. With so few children and a limited number of volunteers, it has been tempting to give up on VBS altogether, as have many other churches in our area. But to me, giving up on VBS was equivalent to giving up on children and the future of our church. So I have resolved to find other Christian churches in similar situations, and to team up with them to have a community VBS. I did not concern myself with denominations, only that they teach Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

Last week we completed our second community VBS at my church, and it has exceeded our expectations and surprised a lot of our church members. A year ago we pulled off a small VBS on very short notice. This year we had more time to organize, and we found very competent leaders. I won’t say it has been easy. I have spent hours collecting names of pastors, youth leaders, and their phone numbers. Many of them are part-time with limited time to “beat the bushes” so to speak to find the people who might be willing to help us. Many pastors and their membership are quite discouraged with the idea of children’s ministry. Some had no children at all in their churches.

One church in my community decided three years ago to do VBS even though they had no children in their tiny church. They worked with the Boys & Girls Club in town as well as a year-round private school. They also had cooperation with the elementary school so their VBS could be held at the school. About 150 children participated. Most of their volunteers came from two Presbyterian churches in our community as well as a large Presbyterian church in a neighboring city who took it on as a mission project. I also volunteered though I’m not a member of any of those churches, and I recruited a few teenagers who had helped them to also help in the VBS I was working on.

The local private school and its leaders were especially instrumental in making our VBS successful this year. They brought 24 children in addition to the 20 other children who came from various churches in the area. Eleven of the children were related to members of my church.

God was there – pulling for us all the way. When VBS was only two weeks away and I feared everything was going to fall through, I wondered if I should just give up. But encouragement came from one of the teachers who reminded me that we couldn’t give up on our children. When I contacted the mother of one of the teens I had asked to help from the other VBS, she suggested several adult and teen volunteers that I might contact. Two of those people eagerly took up the challenge. One of the pastors I had been in contact with produced a kindergarten teacher who took an older age group she feared she would not be comfortable with, but she was great with them.

It was so exciting to see the VBS do so well. Our music leader took on an extra challenge of teaching the children to play the Suzuki Tone Chimes that had been sitting around in a case and collecting dust. Every child played and did well. We had a supper and a program on Friday at the end of the VBS day with 90 people attending including the children, staff, and parents. The classes performed with their Tone Chimes and sang and danced to some of the VBS songs they had learned.

We must never give up on our children. They need us and we need them. I’m not sure how many churches were represented with our staff and children, but suspect eight or more. We must learn to pull together instead of competing with one another if we want to see our children in God’s Kingdom.

PS: A simple tip for getting VBS material at a lower price. Use VBS materials that are a couple of years old. When you purchase them you will get everything at discounted prices.

Written by Janice D. Green, author of The First Christmas and The Creation.

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