Vacation Bible School Turned Grace Christian Fellowship Into A Woodland Camp For The Week

By Shannon Hicks

As children and parents begin seriously planning for their first day back to school next week, memories of Vacation Bible School (VBS) at Grace Christian Fellowship are still quite fresh in the minds of more than 200 children. The church hosted its annual summer program last week, with children from age 4 to those who had finished sixth grade in the spring enjoying a week of crafts, games, classroom time, and other activities. Bible lessons were interspersed with a lot of fun and a special outreach project that will benefit children of the same age range in a nearby city.

“We always get a good turnout, including a lot of repeat kids because they have so much fun,” said Jean Hughes, an adult volunteer.

Following a curriculum presented by Gospel Light, Grace Christian Fellowship transformed its building into a woodland camp for the week of August 17–21. Children and adults worked together and learned the importance of the week’s theme, which followed 1 John 3:1: How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God.

Campers began each morning in the church’s sanctuary before breaking into their groups and heading toward their activities. Son Rock VBS met each day from 9 am until 12:30 pm.

Teachers, pastors, and other adult volunteers would be seated on the stage in the front of the sanctuary, which had been lavishly decorated to look like a campsite complete with a full tent, a set of camp chairs and related camp equipment, and even a pseudo fire pit. The entire building, in fact, had been decorated to look outdoorsy and rustic. A waterfall display greeted everyone as they walked into the church’s main entrance, and murals had been painted during the weeks leading to VBS to keep the outdoors theme consistent everywhere anyone looked.

Each day’s lesson was introduced by way of a skit performed by young adult volunteers, refreshments were served, and a celebratory atmosphere surrounded the campers.

“We start in here, with everyone together, to get the kids pumped, to get them excited to be here,” said Pastor Adam Fredericks, the church’s children and youth pastor and an organizer of VBS.

“We have kids from 25 churches, plus a few who don’t attend church,” Mr Fredericks continued. “We like to give them a foundation, an introduction to the idea that Jesus Chris will help them through life.”

Each day was devoted to a different scripture and subtheme, beginning with Accepted By Jesus on Monday, which introduced the week’s theme of 1 John 3:1. The week continued with Protected by Jesus (following Isaiah 41:13), Saved by Jesus (Romans 10:9), Forgiven by Jesus (Psalms 86:5), and Living For Jesus (Ephesians 2:10).

The entire building was abuzz with activity during VBS. On Tuesday there were groups having water balloon fights outdoors, while other groups were inside. Some were in classrooms, talking about the day’s scripture. The third grade class was in the sanctuary, playing a memory game that, organizers hope, will help them recall their VBS verses for the rest of their lives.

The fifth grade class was in a downstairs meeting room, answering questions about the day’s scripture and earning raffle tickets toward prizes. Still another group was working on crafts — some were making calendars, others were making small boats from foam and paper, and the youngest group, the preschool children, were busy coloring pictures of woodland creatures.

One lesson the children may not have picked up on was the spirit of sharing that came from St Rose of Lima. The Roman Catholic church had already held its Vacation Bible School earlier this summer, Pastor Adam said, and members of the church contacted Grace Christian to offer some of their decorations to the church.

“That helped tremendously,” said Pastor Adam. “It’s just great, obviously, when everybody works together.”

In addition to the fun and education, the children also helped Grace Christian Fellowship fulfill an annual outreach project. Each class was given two backpacks at the beginning of the week, and students filled them during the week with back to school supplies. This week the backpacks were donated to The Women’s Center of Greater Danbury.

“We usually do backpacks for children of women who have been affected by domestic violence and find themselves in need of the center’s help,” said Pastor Adam. The backpacks were taken to the Women’s Center last Friday afternoon. “They were super excited about getting them,” he said.

Eight-year-old Ryan Booth was one of this year’s campers. When asked on Tuesday whether he was having fun, he replied, “yes, absolutely.” The games, he said, was his favorite part of Vacation Bible School.

Friday’s session included ice cream that had been donated by a Stony Hill ice cream shop, and the entire church family reconnected on Sunday morning for Son Rock Sunday.

“We invited parents and families to come for one last Son Rock service,” said Pastor Adam. “We did things together then, playing songs and games, and then tied everything up with the message ‘Living For Jesus.’ When Jesus lives inside of us He expects us to do something for others, not just keep it to ourselves.”

Son Rock Week finally met on Sunday with a BBQ following the morning worship service.