VBS Blessings
I’m an event guy. I get energized by the nitty gritty details of a good event like Preview. After all, who wouldn’t get a little excited about an event that requires a jam-packed 53′ semi truck to haul everything from location to location?
So what does an event guy do when he is not planning or participating in an event? Watch documentaries about events of course.
A few days ago I watched a documentary about the big events held annually at Great Britain’s Windsor Castle. Talk about perfection! Penalty for not doing so just might mean the loss of your head – at least that was a possibility a few hundred years ago.
A brief statement about floral arrangements caught my interest. Evidently, following an event, Queen Elizabeth takes a personal interest in donating all decorations to a variety of local charity organizations. Sounds a little like VBS doesn’t it?
Decorations are a wonderful part of VBS. I’m old enough to remember the pre-decoration days of VBS (prior to 1997), and believe me, decorations are a valuable addition to the experience.
One of the most rewarding aspects of my time as Lifeway’s VBS Ministry Specialist has been the stories that are told by VBS leaders just like you – especially the stories of a VBS leader and church that has been blessed by another church donating decorations and resources.
More than once I have had a VBS leader tearfully recount how God provided needed decorations through the generosity of another church. Who will be blessed by the decorations you create for VBS 2017?
We are a large church and have a lot of decorations. We have worked with several churches the past few years that come on Friday afternoon and load up their vehicles with all our stuff. This past summer, several other churches that needed crafts and teaching materials for vbs and mission trips were added to our list of give aways. I love that our stuff goes to minister to so many more people beyond our week of vbs. We are blessed as a church with resources and thankful we can pass them on!
Our church partners with 5 other area churches for VBS…we have made lifelong friends by doing this.
We have been on both the giving and receiving end of passed-on VBS decorations over the years. It is a huge blessing in both cases. Our churches need to do more networking together in other areas as well rather than keeping to ourselves, inside our own walls.
We have even kept and used several decorations we’ve made and/or received from other churches to use in future VBS’s or even other events. One in particular was a fireplace we were passed down made out out of boxes and insulation foam. Whoever made it did a beautiful job. We now use it every year to decorate our fellowship hall stage at Christmas as a living room setting as part of our Walk Through Bethlehem event. An area photographer was a guest this year and wants to “rent” the fireplace for a photo backdrop and wants to make a donation to our church for its use.