Well, summertime is here and with it comes an amazing opportunity for the local church to have a powerful impact in their community by hosting a Vacation Bible School. I know that this probably sounds old-fashioned, and maybe even outdated to some who have done research and studies into the real impact that this type of event can have, but I want to encourage churches to “just do it.”
AtkinsMany will say that Vacation Bible School is too expensive, if you look at the amount of money that a church will spend in light of the number of children that will come to know Christ. Really? You have got to be kidding me, if we are going to look at the feasibility of something based on the immediate tangible outcome of an evangelistic event. How can you measure the immeasurable? The answer is, you can’t.
My fear is that some of smaller churches that may not have a lot of young people in attendance have closed the door on the possibility of hosting a Vacation Bible School because there are not any of “our” kids that would attend. The other fear is that some of our larger and more contemporary churches may have also closed the door on the possibility because to do a Vacation Bible School is not “edgy” enough for our culture. Really? When did evangelistic outreach events have to be just for “our” people and have to be “edgy” enough for our culture in order for God to bless such an event? So I pose the question again: How can you measure the immeasurable? The answer is still the same, you can’t.
As I write this article, Powdersville First Baptist Church is hosting our yearly Vacation Bible School. We have done this for the past six years I have been pastor. We have seen attendance grow from only a handful in the early years of my ministry here at PFBC to hundreds of children and adults coming and hearing the good news of the gospel. Is it just attended by “our” children? No, I am thankful that our VBS is a picture of the song “Red and Yellow, Black and White, they are precious in His sight.” Is it “edgy” by the standards of our culture? Not unless you call an airplane made out of plastic drums on a trailer that I pull behind my 4Runner as a kiddie ride “edgy.”
So what has been the “Impact” of doing VBS at PFBC? The reality is that I will never know the answer this side of heaven, because you can’t measure the immeasurable. Churches that are not doing VBS, backyard Bible club, kids camp, youth camp, mission trip, community block party, or any other event aimed at reaching their community this summer will never know what their “Impact” could have been.
Do it “old school,” make it “edgy,” get “creative,” whatever works in the community you are called to minister in. Just make sure that you do something to have an “Impact” through Great Commission Living in 2012.
– Atkins is pastor of Powdersville First Baptist Church and president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention.