God is already working through VBS 2011!
Sarah shared her story with me about how God prompted her to start a homeless ministry in her church after she began going through her VBS sampler. We were able to visit with Sarah at our VBS preview event in Fort Worth, so we did a little video with her.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjQE8yQ9Xlk]
The audio is hard to hear on the video, so if you can’t hear it, here’s an excerpt of her email to me that tells about her story:
I just wanted to let you know a little more about what God has done. Ben Hayes asked me to partner with them making homeless carepackages. I really prayed about it and the Lord just spoke to me that I really couldn’t do something for the homeless in Houston when I’m doing nothing for the homless in Beaumont (we live about 15 miles from there). It was urgent to begin immediately, so I asked my church to take a Ziploc bag and fill it with things that would make a homeless persons life easier and bring it back the next Sunday. They brought about 40 back, and we went that afternoon and passed them out downtown Beaumont. I had 7 people participate.
While at the Salvation Army we saw a young woman with a small baby. I shared this at church that night. Then next morning a friend of mine called (she did not go with us but I had told her about it at church) – she was very distraught over this lady with the baby – she felt we had to do something to help her. She had been awakened crying over it several times during the night. I called the salvation army and got alittle information but not really any help. My friends’ husband is a police officer, so the next day he stopped by and talked to her. He found out that her baby is a special needs baby, that she has been homeless for at least 6 months, that she has never been in any trouble, and that she was saved and baptized last march. She told him that she was signed up with the housing department. He contacted some people and found that she wasn’t signed up in right place and since she has a special needs baby, she can get emergency placement status. So they helped her take care of all that and now she is next in line for an apartment. When they asked her if she needed anything, she pointed up in the sky and said, “Nope, I’m content. He’s taken care of everything!!!” Unbelievable- a homeless person with a baby that has nothing and she is content – WOW!!!
What is so awesome about this to me – other than that he let me be a part of this – is how he orchestrated all this to take care of one of his children. It started with Lifeway and VBS to Ben Hays to me to my friend and her husband. They were the only ones I know that have the connections to help her. I cannot wait to see what he is going to do next!!! I am praying that this will inspire others to listen to His voice and step out in faith and act even when you have no clue what you are doing. Our homeless ministry is called Feet on the Ground ministries and we are going once a month the homeless in downtown Beaumont. Thanks so much for listening – I pray you are able to share this and others will be inspired to connect with faith, with love, with trust with others with LIFE!!!
I’m so excited about all that God is going to do through Vacation Bible School 2011! I hope that you are all believing that He is going to do great things through your community because of your faithfulness to Him!!
I would love to hear more stories about how VBS is impacting your community. Anyone willing to share???
I don’t know if this is the right place to send this…but a note to Jeff Slaughter…I am so dissappointed in the 2011 Big Apple music…it’s so worldly, rappy, and truthfully, I would be embarrassed to present and would refuse to do that garbage for our kids…I loved all of his music from the heart in the past…but Jeff you’ve gone off the rails in my book…and others in my church agree…please Jeff…what happened to you? please come back to Christ!
In addition to my previous blog…Also the music/song Rock Bottom for the Beach Blast VBS sounds overly provocative….Jeff!
The VBS music is so full of scripture. It is different from the past years, but I believe it will speak to the heart of kids today. My kids(mostly 3rd-6th grade boys) are growing in Christ, learning the music, love it, have discovered the scriptures and we discuss what the songs say to our hearts. We love “By Faith!” Great job Jeff, you speak to kids of today, without the baby candy coating I’ve heard lately.