It’s August, and a lot is happening this month. Church picnic, community parade (featuring a float by LWFC), back to school, a solar eclipse, and more! But as I write this, we have just finished VBS, and my heart is full of gratitude to God and to you, my church family. I know you heard about it in the prayer mails during the whole week of VBS, and by the time you read this you will have heard about it in church, but I still want to write about it, so maybe you can look back on this once in awhile, and be reminded and encouraged.
I want to avoid naming names, because it’s almost a certainty I would leave someone out, but you know who you are. Thank you to everyone who sacrificed a Saturday (or two, or more) to spend time at the church making decorations. Thank you to everyone who donated or loaned us items for decoration, and who donated food for the snacks and for the meals for the workers. Thank you to everyone who served as a guide for the children (perhaps the most stressful job of the week). Thank you to those who served as heads of the different stations (crafts, snacks, bible study). Thank you to everyone who served preparing, serving, and cleaning up after the pre-VBS meals for workers and their families; the meals were delicious and the fellowship was sweet! Thank you to those who served at the registration/welcome table. Thank you to those who made the name tags, monitored the halls, helped with restroom trips, etc. Thank you to those who took pictures and videos, and those who appeared in the videos. Thank you to those who ran the sound system, and those who stayed on top of the thermostat. Thank you to those who gave so generously so the children could bring such a great offering (more on that in a minute)! Thank you, all of you who came out to support VBS at the closing ceremonies/open house! I was thrilled that so many stayed, and I heard great things about you from visitors! Thank you to all who regularly support LWFC with your tithes and offerings; that is what enabled us to purchase what we needed to run this program. Thanks to those of you who were here throughout the weeks leading up to VBS to continue to do vital prep work on non-VBS workdays. And I will name one name: Big thanks to Erin Knight for keeping all the threads in hand and doing a dynamite job her first time as VBS director!
I’m sure I’m forgetting a detail or two, but here’s my point: VBS is a shining example of how beautiful it is when the body comes together and functions like a body. VBS worked because of what every joint supplied; everyone did his or her part. And what was the result? Well, we did make some great connections with some unchurched people. I spoke to two families who said they would be visiting us in the near future. Much seed was sown in the bible classes; God’s word will not return void! We took in over $1,700 for the Rackleys’ ministry in Mexico and Central America! Enough to buy 400 Spanish-language bibles (our goal for the week) and enough over our goal to “adopt” five villages (i.e., fund the production of a VBS in each of five villages)! Perhaps my favorite moment of the week was right after Emily G. announced the weekly total. Those kids were screaming, laughing, twirling, and jumping! It was some of the purest praise I have witnessed! I mentioned earlier in this column that I appreciate the generosity of the parents, but I am well aware that many of these children emptied their own piggy banks in order to give generously. I am excited for them to learn how God rewards that kind of unreserved giving!
Also, seventeen young people prayed for the first time to commit their lives to Jesus Christ! I have had to check my attitude about that in the past. It’s easy to doubt, to wonder what will happen to the unchurched among those who prayed. But I really do believe the angels in heaven were rejoicing when those prayers were made; and I want us to be praying fervently for them and for their families, because God is able to bring the work He did in their lives to fruition. People get saved when the body of Christ acts like the body of Christ, and nothing is more important than that!
Not everything we do requires the physical preparation and active participation of a VBS. And while I believe God was honored in the work we did, I also believe the key to its success was that we bathed the whole enterprise in prayer. To God be the glory! Think about that in terms of an “ordinary Sunday”. If we approach every opportunity to assemble in His name as an opportunity for God to move in the lives of people who need Him, how extraordinary will the results be? That is what we are about in this year of prayer. God is doing great things at LWFC, and I’m blessed to be doing church and life with you, the best church family I can imagine!
With you in Christ,
