Wow! What a summer it’s been! VBS week at SCC was nothing less than spectacular! We started the week with 146 kids. About half of those were kids from our church, and the other half were friends of our kids who had been invited over the previous weeks to attend. We were praying for an enrollment of 200. We even stepped out in faith and bought enough T-shirts for that many children!

The Challenge
Throughout the week of VBS, I challenged the children every morning to call their friends and invite them to come. I promised them a candy bar if they brought a friend who wasn’t already registered … one for themselves and one for their friend who came with them. The kids were highly motivated. They invited their friends. They worked the phones. They applied peer pressure. They wanted candy!

Candy Bars! Candy Bars!
Over the next four mornings I gave away 118 candy bars! That’s right. Fifty-nine kids brought a friend with them to VBS! Fifty-nine kids stepped out of their comfort zone, risking rejection to invite their friends to come and learn about Jesus. And fifty-nine new kids came, because they were invited. They played. They sang. They heard the Gospel. And many of them responded by asking Jesus to be their Savior. Who knew candy bars could have such eternal value? With such a positive result, one of our staff wondered aloud what it would take to get our adult church members to invite others like that … probably a lot more than chocolate!

Adventures In Science
Exceeding our attendance goal, with over 200 kids present and almost 100 adults and teens volunteering, “Adventures in Science” was one of our biggest Vacation Bible Schools ever. Four different groups of children experimented and sang and snacked and gamed. They were treated to some of the most hilarious science antics on video and were captivated by some dramatic life lessons in the laboratory of Dr. Petri Oppenheimerstein. He and his android lab assistant, Flask, illustrated and reinforced the Bible lesson every morning. Amid all of the fabulous hands-on activities and creative outlets, team leaders and small group teachers shared great Bible truths and life lessons to the eager youngsters. What a jammed-packed week full of great, new experiences!

VBS Sunday Finale
Sunday culminated the entire week with a great finale. The morning was a “lights, camera, action” sort of event with strobes flashing, video playing to recapture the week’s highlights and actors acting. The children, though, were the main event as they sang their hearts out, performing the songs that they’d worked on during the week. (We identified several future worship leaders from among them.)

VBS Party & Baptism
And if the morning was the finale, the afternoon Baptism Party was the grand finale! Nearly 400 people showed up in a light rain to cheer on 13 kids and grown-ups who were baptized. The water slide and Sno-cones were loads of fun, but 13 people whose lives are changed forever ... priceless. It all ended with one last hoorah to commemorate the week. Twenty-five 2-liter Diet Cokes loaded with Mentos exploded on cue to the “ooo’s and ahh’s” of those watching, sending a geyser of soda spewing 30 feet up in the air! It was a sight to be seen and a great way to end a great week!

Thank You, Volunteers!
Such an enormous undertaking could never have been pulled off without the intense involvement of many devoted and hardworking volunteers. We had nearly one adult or teenager on campus for every two children present. Now that’s what I’d call a church that cares about kids!
I’d like to convey my deepest thanks to each person who gave, not only of their time and energy, but of their hearts, to support and serve during this crucial week in the life of church. In addition to hands on help during the week, we were flooded with additional support this year with snacks being brought in by our church family to provide all that was needed. Thank you for giving so abundantly!
VBS’s “Adventures in Science” wasn’t just another week of summer, trying to keep kids entertained. It was a week of new friendships being formed and positive steps on a lifelong journey of discovering God’s goodness and love. You made a difference in the life of a child for eternity.

God Bless,

Pastor Jerry