From the Heart of the Pastor- "VBS"

It saddens me to think about all the attempted “programs” in Southern Baptist life over the last decades.  For the most part, I am convinced programs are a substitute for genuine, biblical discipleship.  I believe genuine Christian maturity doesn’t come in a box.  Maturity comes as God’s people are amazingly transformed when they engage His word individually and corporately.  That is not to say that God does not occasionally do something great through a man made program.  I think one of the greatest examples of this is Vacation Bible School.  I love VBS!!  Year after year, decade after decade God blesses this time in the lives of both children and adults.

According to Willie Beaty in his book New Horizons in Vacation Bible School, “VBS was the idea of Mrs. Walter Aylett Hawes, a doctor's wife. Her goal was to get children off the streets of New York. In 1898 and 1899 Mrs. Hawes rented a beer hall in New York's East Side to conduct her Everyday Bible School. In 1900 Mrs. Hawes' pastor, Howard Lee Jones, insisted that the Bible school move to the church building, Epiphany Baptist Church. After two weeks it became clear that children from the East Side would not attend at the church, so Mrs. Hawes moved the school back to a site near the beer hall.”

“In the early 20th century, VBS became a growing trend. While Mrs. Hawes was indeed a Baptist, VBS was a non-denominational event in those early years. In 1922 the Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention assigned the work of VBS to the Sunday School Administration Department. In 1924 a Vacation Bible School Department was formed and Homer Grice, a pastor from Georgia, became its first director. At that point VBS was usually a 4-week event!”

Vacation Bible School is a unique opportunity for outreach.  This week we have a chance to share the message and love of Jesus Christ with many children.  Some of the children will be here at Oak Crest who might not come to a church any other time of the year.  What an opportunity!  Pray for the children and workers who are working so diligently in VBS this week.  I am so thank for all the work Stephenie Stokes and so many others have put in not only this week, but in the weeks leading up to VBS.  Pray that God will do awesome things in the lives of both children and adults. The Bible says, “And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, "Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."  Mark 10: 13-14
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In Christ,
Blain Craig