Reflections on 20 years of VBS
By: Sarah Hogue, Director of Children Ministry and Member Formation
I just completed my 20th year directing Vacation Bible School (VBS)! Prior to joining the Dutilh staff full-time 12 years ago, I was a volunteer VBS leader. How time flies! Much has changed over 20 years, but my love for VBS remains as strong as ever!
While our team of volunteers has evolved over the years, our willingness to adapt and fine tune our program has remained constant. Every year I wind up with a pile of notes about small things we can change to make it just a little bit better.
When I first started, we had over 80 preschoolers! While this was great, we had a hard time convincing the upper elementary students that VBS was relevant for them. Now, after some fine-tuning, we have over 80 3rd-5th graders, and those grade levels are the first to reach capacity each year.
There was a time when we were desperate for volunteers. I would drive around and pick people up in the mornings because I was so desperate for help. Now, we have over 125 volunteers every year, and we’ve created new volunteer roles to ensure there is a place for everyone who wants to serve. Praise the Lord!
For a time we collected school supplies as our mission project every year. Then we decided to turn that collection into an offering for a different mission focus each year. We set an offering goal, and when we reach it we allow the kids to throw whipped cream pies into the face of a volunteer of their choosing. It quickly became a favorite VBS tradition, and we have raised tens of thousands of dollars for worthy causes!
The opening and closing large group sessions are my favorite part of each day. Each year I wonder if the kids will connect to the music, skit, and Bible points. Even as time (and musical tastes) moves on, those sessions continue to be my favorite, as the kids continue to bring unbounded energy and passion. The excitement in the sanctuary is insane! To look out and see 350 volunteers and children with their hands in the air praising our great God is incredibly moving.
Early in this 20-year journey we sang a faster version of the hymn To God Be The Glory, and it was a fast favorite. I loved how the kids rallied around these older songs with such meaningful lyrics. Another memory is from years ago when we sang My Lighthouse. It was at the beginning of a surge in attendance by upper elementary students, and I can still hear them singing that song so exuberantly! A few years ago, we sang He Reigns. It is a slower song, and the lack of pace often means it won’t be a big hit with the kids. But this one was amazing! To look out and see “all God’s children” singing “Hallelujah, He reigns” is a moment I will never forget.
Many things have changed over the past two decades. The one thing that hasn’t changed and needs no fine tuning is the Gospel. Every year the focus of VBS is that all of these children will hear how Jesus died on the cross and rose for them, and they will be presented with the opportunity to receive him as their Lord and Savior. All our work in planning VBS is for this moment - an opportunity to have an eternal impact on children, many of whom don’t regularly come to our church. When I think of how many children we have been able to share Jesus with over these two decades, it energizes me to say, “Sign me up for twenty more!”