Holden Smith, pastor of Gilbertown Baptist Church, is a fan of Vacation Bible School.
“VBS is work, but it is a work worth doing,” Smith said, describing VBS as the church’s “largest outreach” each year and a way to reach families in the community by ministering to their children.
This year Gilbertown Baptist had around 75 kids enrolled, and 60 people volunteer to help.
Subscribe to The Alabama Baptist today!
SIGN UP for our weekly Highlights emails that hit your inbox on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Smith said he realized two things after doing VBS for a while. First, most curriculums have a moment where the gospel is presented. And second, many children who come to VBS are unfamiliar with the Bible and what it means to be a follower of Jesus.
“The background knowledge that is typically used in a rural Southern Baptist church is getting less and less,” he said. “You may get a group of children in and many of them have very little understanding of any of those basic foundational principles for what it means to be a Christian.”
Core beliefs
Smith uses his VBS class to teach kids core beliefs — who God is, what sin is, the authority of Scripture and the work of God through Christ. He also explains what the Bible says is necessary for someone to receive the salvation Jesus offers. At the end of the class, rather than asking for a decision to be made right then, Smith takes the names of the kids who have more questions and seeks to connect with them through their parents or their pastor. If they do not have a pastor, he connects with the families himself.
Laura Floyd, VBS coordinator at Gilbertown Baptist, said, “We are not real pushy about the decision itself. We more want the information and the invitation to be there, but there’s no pressure on the kiddos to make a decision in that moment.”
There are two times in life when people are most tender to the gospel, Floyd said — during childhood and after a catastrophic event.
“We try and make sure the community hears the gospel during childhood,” she said.
This also gives church members the opportunity to serve after VBS by doing follow-up. Smith gives church members the opportunity to go with him as he talks to families. He also encourages them to share the gospel with others.
“I would say reaching the children in their youth, that is my biggest hope for them,” Smith said. “God is seemingly well pleased to love and draw children to Himself. We are very moldable as children. What we learn as children sinks in, and it stays with us for a very long time.”
Proverbs 22:6 approach
Smith points to Proverbs 22:6 for this approach: “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he gets old, he won’t depart from it.”
“Vacation Bible School lets us do that in part,” he said. “It lets us sow a seed.”
Smith said the church prays the seed will grow in each child, especially those whose families aren’t in church, and that “the Lord will be pleased to water it through various different means throughout the child’s life, and they will eventually come to faith in Jesus.”
It’s like the parable of the Sower, Floyd said.
“Whether [the seed] grows or not is not up to me,” she said. “I have fulfilled my job by just slinging the seeds, but the more seeds we throw, the more likely they are to sprout.”
Pieces of success
The number of decisions during an event like VBS doesn’t reflect success or failure, Floyd added.
“If no one raises their hand, it is not like you failed because the outcomes were never yours anyway,” she said. “You did your part by putting [the gospel] out there, by loving on kids, by creating an environment where they are comfortable, by doing the decorations, and the food and the snacks, and all the things you did to get them [to VBS].
“Each of those little pieces is a success.”
Share with others: