VBS Archives - Page 3 of 5 - Kathie Phillips

Wilderness Escape VBS: Day 1 (and a picture of God’s grace)

07/14/201407/14/2014 Kathie Phillips 2 Comments

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:

Day 1's God Sighting Poster - I can't wait to see footprints covering this tomorrow! — Day 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! — 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! — The other side of our stage – our campfire was a big hit with the kids!

It’s almost time for VBS!

07/10/201407/10/2014 Kathie Phillips

For the past 5 months, we have been planning for this year’s VBS, which we affectionately refer to as Summer Bible Camp (SBC). Like previous years, we selected Group’s Holy Land VBS, Wilderness Escape. The intensity in prepping has picked up significantly as SBC is close – we kick off on Monday!

Let’s talk numbers for a bit just so that you can get an idea of what’s involved:

17 leadership teams
25 leadership team members
235 campers (rising K – rising 6th Grade)
45 infants, toddlers and preschoolers (children of our volunteers – we provide a scaled-back, age-appropriate SBC for our preschoolers)
>200 volunteers (students & adults)

This week, it’s an all-hands-on-deck approach for the entire church staff:

Our facilities team is prepping the building and helping with take-down, set-up, moving tables and chairs, etc.
Our worship arts department is prepping for our daily ‘Celebration’ times as well as Friday night Celebration Service for volunteers, campers and their families.
Our communications department is printing materials, ordering larger signage, and updating the website and Sunday morning announcements.
Our missions department is helping to coordinate our outreach project for the week.

Our leadership teams are:

Reviewing (and reviewing and reviewing!) notes, shopping lists, supply lists, email, voicemail…lots of details to oversee!
Making last-minute purchases
Gathering supplies
Meeting with team members to review logistics
Conducting rehearsals
Processing last-minute registrations
Reviewing volunteer assignments and making last-minute adjustments as needed
Drawing set-up maps in preparation for Sunday afternoon’s set-up

What about me, the SBC Director? All things considered, I’m relatively calm. (Don’t tell anyone, but I’ve even found time to read for the past few evenings!) This week, my primary concern is being available to my leadership team leaders. I have tried to clear my afternoon schedule to be available for team leaders who need closets unlocked, come in to gather supplies, have questions/concerns/a need for hugs and encouraging words, etc. Our leaders have been working so hard that I get pleasure from supporting them and equipping them to lead well.

Here are just a few pics of what we’ve been up to. We won’t reveal too much now – you’ll have to check back next week for more!

Our mountain backdrop - it looks AMAZING - I can't wait to see it up! — Our mountain backdrop – it looks AMAZING – I can’t wait to see it up!

Who knew that electric Christmas lawn reindeer could become wilderness sheep?

Each camper will receive a bag with these items

We’d surely appreciate your prayers as we serve next week – come back next week for daily updates and more pictures!

Athens VBS: How One Family Was Impacted

07/17/201307/17/2013 Kathie Phillips 2 Comments

Photo Credit: Group Publishing

Last week, our VBS (or Summer Bible Camp as it’s known in our church) wrapped up. (You can read about our VBS in earlier posts.) The end of camp was very bittersweet for me because of the amazing stories of how God was working not only in the hearts of children but of volunteers, too. I didn’t want the enthusiasm to end.

One of those stories was shared with me after camp on Day 2. The mom of a camper, who also served as a volunteer, granted her permission to share their story with all of you. Enjoy!

This week has been unbelievable and transforming as Central Presbyterian has been turned into Athens and we have been learning about Paul’s bold journey to share his faith! It has been life changing and unbelievable.

On Monday night, I was putting [my son] to bed and reading the devotional, Jesus Calling Bible Storybook, with him. We were looking for stories about Paul and came upon the story where Lydia believes from Acts 16. The storybook bible had John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”. It then went on to say that as hard as you try, you cannot get to heaven on our own. Everyone does some bad things – mommies, daddies, teachers and boys and girls. There is no place in heaven for sin, and this is why you need Jesus in your heart. I am your only way to heaven says Jesus. I am the one who washes away your sins and opens the way to God the Father. This started the most amazing conversation with me and [my son]. The door was opened because he has been fascinated by the daily Summer Bible Camp skits with Paul and Timothy and how brave Paul is, and how Paul wants to tell EVERYONE he meets about the one true God (Yes! It’s true!). The devotional we read paired up so beautifully with the teachings in SBC this week.The Greeks worshiped so many false gods and statues that it has been such a privilege and a gift to talk about our living God and how He LOVES us. Each day keeps getting better and better. Anyways, [my son] went on to say that he believes in Jesus and wants to have him in his heart. So, we prayed together and then he wrote in his Bible the sweetest note. I have attached a picture so you could see his spelling and handwriting: “Dear Jeses, Plaes come in my heart bcuaes I Love You. Love [boy’s name] July 8 2013

Actual letter written by the writer's son — Actual letter written by the writer’s son

It melts my heart thinking about it. It has been so fun and easy to boldly tell these children about Jesus and God’s love and what eternity means (forever). We heard today about how Paul had been Saul and how we truly need Jesus to save us. The verse on the back of our tee shirts was John 3:16 which has all new meaning to me now. It’s so exciting.

My verses to share with you today are two:

1 John 4:4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater then he who is in the world.

1 John 4:15-16 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us, God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

This story gives me goosebumps! I’m so thankful for the opportunity to see this unfold and walk with this family long after camp is over.

How did this story impact you? Do you have a similar story of transformation as a result of VBS? Share below!

Athens VBS: Day 5

07/16/201307/16/2013 Kathie Phillips

Photo Credit: Group Publishing

You can read about Day 1 of our VBS here, Day 2 here, Day 3 here and Day 4 here.

Day 5 of our VBS (or Summer Bible Camp as it’s known in our church) was very bittersweet. I was sad to see the week end but so thankful for all that God did in the lives of adults and children alike. Here’s a recap:

We provided coffee and bagels in the morning for all of our awesome volunteers. They were so appreciative of a the gesture on what turned out to be a very rainy day.
Because of the rain, games were held inside for a second day in a row.
Gifts to volunteers were distributed.
Our Celebration Time (worship) was extended a bit to sing all of the songs learned during the week.
Our Security Team was encouraged to be extra diligent as we didn’t want to let our guard down on the last day.
Our partial clean-up plan was in place and volunteers ready to help with tear down after SBC ended.

I had a few God Sightings on Day 5:

Lots of hugs and laughter as the children enjoyed their last day together at camp.
Overflowing outreach project bins (items were brought in for a local one-day missions event as well as a local food pantry we support)
Seeing the children worship God during our Celebration time. The energy was electric!
Watching our children’s God Sightings walls be filled to capacity.
Safety for all of our campers and volunteers.
Parents and volunteers who shared stories of life-change as a result of the camp.
Our church staff who worked so hard to help set up rooms, answer phone calls, help with copying, help with greeting the children, assistance with sound and lighting, etc. It really is an all-church production!

God used the gifts and talents of many to bring glory to Himself this week. I am so thankful to have worked with fabulous people to make this week unforgettable. Who knew that learning about Paul’s journey to share the truth of God’s love could be so much FUN?!

Verse for the day:

“Just as I have loved you, you should love one another.”

John 13:34

Here are a few pictures from Day 5: