beaconchurches

Hi everyone. Miss you all. Blessings, chip

Hi, Chip. Miss you too.

Anyone have anything to talk about?

We're having VBS June 1-4. ABGirls are going to roll bandages at the House Party again this year so our ABW group made up 41 and sent them out.

I only had 8 (of what was 14 five years ago) churches report on White Cross and one of those groups is folding.

Our church is having a Church Picnic, a wedding shower, a wedding, AND the annual fireworks and 4th of July get together all within a fortnight of each other.

Anyone else busy or just us?

E.

Hi EH,
Appreciate how you tie in some missional stuff to your VBS. We have always at least tried to have kids bring in canned goods for a food pantry or something like you’re doing. Our theme this year is “Knowing God” (No Jesus, No Peace; Know Jesus, Know Peace). We are teaching lessons from Christ’s ministry. Our church in recent history has made VBS like “Day Camp”. They poured 100’s and 100’s of dollars into it and didn’t see much return from guests assimilating into the church. We were actually charging for VBS. We were paying for professional curriculum; purchased water slides/rented equipment, and had the best snacks money could afford. It was ok. Last year we knocked all that off. A dear retired school teacher wrote her own curriculum (recycled old VBS stuff from years ago). We turned the worship piece over to the teens. We kept the snacks simple. We targeted toward our immediate neighborhood instead of the city. We kept it simple and it paid off. Tons of donations came in because it was free. Unity, growth, and success are worth its weight in gold. We assimilated many neighborhood kids and parents, had more volunteers, and weren’t in the red. This year we’re trying it at night and incorporating both an adult Bible study and a Spanish Speaking one too. We are also doing it the last week of June and I feel the pressure of a ticking clock. I guess we’re never quite ready.

Thanks for sharing what’s going on. I will be praying. Chip.