Day 2 of our five-day Summer Bible Camp (aka VBS) was great! (Read about Day 1 here.)
I always love the chance to roam around and personally say ‘hi’ to everyone, so I took some time this morning to visit with most of our family groups. While visiting, I heard children recite Day 1’s Bible verse and hear some of their God sightings. I also got attacked (I mean hugged!) by some of our campers, which was very sweet. My heart was filled even more when I walked past two of our God Sighting posters and saw them filled with all sorts of ways that our campers have seen God around them.
Another highlight was carrying around a box of doughnut holes for our volunteers. By carrying the snacks around vs setting them on a table, I was able to personally thank them for serving and hear how their first day went. I LOVE that.
After our opening worship celebration, I was able to sit in on the drama – today the children tasted ‘quail’ (marshmallow peeps) and ‘manna’ (frosted flakes) – and see our sand art and rope making stations in action (I will share more specifics about this tomorrow).
Verse for the day:
“For your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!”
Matthew 6:8
Here are a few pictures from Day 2:
Showing our volunteers a little love – they were a BIG hit!
These personalized onesies for our little attendees are so very adorable!
This sweet girl loves her Wilderness Escape onesie!
Moses in his ‘tent’, sharing how God know what we have need of before we even ask.
One of our God Sighting posters – the children’s God sightings are written on footprints, which follow along a path. Very cool!
One of our bins holding canned and boxed food that will be donated to a local food pantry that our church supports.
Some of the treasures created at the Sand Artisan tent.
Today we kicked off our five-day Summer Bible Camp (aka VBS). Here I talked about how we were getting ready.
Yesterday was our set-up day and it was refreshing to see so many volunteers (of all ages) pitching in to transform our church into the wilderness. When the majority of the set-up was complete, I left the church in a very reflective mood. In fact, I was in a reflective mood for much of the day, thinking about the extravagant grace that God has extended to me time and time again.
You see, some Sundays I walk in to church more confident than others – yesterday was a day where I felt pretty good but I just couldn’t shake the feeling of being so thankful for God’s graciousness toward me and the ministry I lead…for the many, many ways that He has provided for our needs, for the awesome privilege it is to be able to share His love with children and seeing it ‘click’ in their eyes and the list goes on. And as only God could orchestrate, one of our SBC volunteers came up to me yesterday, thanking me for being gracious to her (she felt that she was ‘out of the loop’ because of a family issue) but the fact that she still wanted to give us a smidgen of her time, we were thankful to her!
As I stood before the campers and volunteers this morning, my heart was again filled to overflowing. All of our months of planning and preparing had brought us to this point. At that very moment, I was thankful to God for His grace for all of the details that have consumed my thoughts and time for the past few months. I was truly thankful for each and every child, teen, and adult in the room. They were my very first God sighting for the day!
As I walked through the building for the duration of the morning, children were engaged and learning, volunteers were teaching and engaged with the children (I heard, “That was soooo cool!” countless times), team leaders were leading, and everyone was owning their piece of the VBS pie. It was truly a beautiful sight.
Verse for the day:
“God answered, ‘I will be with you.’ “
Exodus 3:12
Here are a few pictures from Day 1:
Our main setDay 1’s God Sighting Poster – I can’t wait to see footprints covering this tomorrow!A closer view of one side of the stage – I LOVE the color of the mountains!The other side of our stage – our campfire was a big hit with the kids!One of our tribe signs
A few weeks ago, I shared importance of leaders staying connected to the Vine (you can read that post here). In that post, I shared why it’s important – and necessary – to stay connected to the Vine, Jesus.
If you’re like me, you lead a busy life. Sometimes that busy life can get exhausting and overwhelming. Sometimes we are asking God for clarity, wisdom or direction. Sometimes we just need to sit quietly in His presence. Sometimes all we have to cling to are the promises of scripture. According to bibleinfo.com, there are over 3,500 promises in the Bible. I know when things get particularly difficult for me, I go back to those scripture verses that I’ve memorized and/or verses that I’ve highlighted in my Bible.
I thought I’d share just a few of my ‘go-to’ verses when my soul needs to be encouraged. You can download a copy of those verses here. Feel free to print it off, hang it up or tuck it in your Bible or journal. Stay connected to the Vine!
What are your ‘go-to’ verses when your heart needs encouraging? Share them below and I’ll add them to our list!
Last week, I shared that I was coaching one of our elementary small group leaders in effectively leading her group. (If you missed that post, you can read all about that here.)
This past Sunday, I sat in on the group again and saw something AMAZING. The entire atmosphere in the group had been transformed – for the better. Here’s what I observed:
A new routine was established.
Last week, I suggested that the leader establish a routine when the children arrive to the group after the large group teaching time. She determined the following routine: When you come to the small group area, grab your Bible and circle up on the floor. So this week, the children who were there the week prior did just that – amazing! Of course, the children who weren’t there didn’t know what to do but that takes me to my next observation…
The routine and simple guidelines were reviewed.
She asked me to review the routine and the guidelines with the group of nine children. I began by praising the children who remembered what they were supposed to do when they came to the small group area. Then I explained the routine to the children who were absent the week prior and why this routine was being implemented.
Then I explained the guidelines, which we’ve intentionally kept short, sweet and simple:
Respect the adult in charge. (I gave examples of what that looked like.)
Respect the other people in your group. (I gave examples of this too.)
I briefly explained the ‘whys’ behind the guidelines. All in all, this took about two minutes to explain. This wise investment of time made for a more calm, pleasant environment even though more children were present this week.
The Bible story was reviewed in a more engaging way.
The leader did a fabulous job engaging the children while reviewing the story. She asked great questions (mentioned here). She also kept children engaged by regularly referring to them by name.
The leader was more aware of when it was time to change things up a bit.
Because the children were more within her eyesight, she was able to notice when children were getting restless. When she noticed this, she changed things up a bit. How? Read on…
The children were able to move around after the discussion time.
Last week, I suggested that the children get up and move around after the discussion time on the floor. She had them complete their journal activity at the table before doing a Bible verse activity at the whiteboard. It was very effective. Changing up the ‘scenery’ came at just the right time because she was more aware – and prepared.
The leader was more confident.
I wish you could have been there. Her voice was surer and her posture more upright. She was prepared with her ‘cheat sheet”. She was more relaxed. Her body language screamed, “I can do this!” It was such a God-thing to see this after just one week.
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My goal in coaching this sweet leader was to not only help the children have a great time but also to help her strengthen her leadership muscles. I think she’s on the right track! Moving forward, I suggested that she:
1. Take time at the beginning of each session to briefly review the guidelines.
2. Have fidgety children sit on either side of you or directly across from you. This will allow you to correct behavior with a gentle hand on a shoulder or eye contact.
3. Sit where you can see the clock. This will help you keep track of time. (Note: There is no clock in this leader’s area, but there will be next week!)
4. Break up your 30 minutes into three 10-minute segments.
5. Build anticipation for next week with comments like, “I can’t wait to see you again next week!” or “Next week, we’ll ____. I hope to see you then!” or “If you come next week, you’ll hear more about ____.”
Now it’s your turn to share…How do you coach your small group leaders to lead effectively? Post your tips below!
