Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Why a VBS program?

It’s the beginning of the new year and here in Chicagoland that means snow, cold and ice have already made their appearance. Winter has come earlier than normal.

Even though some are enjoying this year’s early winter precipitation (while others are putting up with it), we at Pioneer Clubs are already looking forward to summer and a whole different kind of wet. Why? Well, after 75 years of ministering to children through midweek clubs, we are producing our first VBS program—The Wacky World of Water. It may be snowing outside but we are putting the final touches on a 5-day curriculum that focuses on a totally different form of H2O.

Under the banner of Summer Bible Club, The Wacky World of Water uses accounts from Scripture that feature water to help children understand how the Creator of heaven and earth deals with our sin through His own Son, Jesus Christ. Through Bible lessons, music, games, crafts and even snacks, kids will come to understand how much God loves them and how he can be trusted in all of life and for all eternity. We are excited to make this new program available to churches to reach kids in their church and community this summer.

Now I am sure some of you are asking, “Aren’t there enough VBS programs available already? Is another one really needed?” That’s a question we wrestled with before making the decision to publish this curriculum. So we talked to numerous churches and found that many struggle with current VBS curricula because they are extremely demanding and difficult. From staging to costumes to high-level production, it takes a lot to run some of these programs. Other research shows that nearly 50% of smaller churches have given up on even trying to hold a summer VBS.

So we decided to simplify things. In fact, we built The Wacky World of Water on a core ministry philosophy that literally demands simplicity. After more than seven decades of children’s ministry, we have found that effective ministry to kids is dependent on building strong relationships. As I observe the kids in my neighborhood during the summer, I see kids who just love to be with one another. They don’t need a big production to have fun; they just enjoy relationships with each other. So our VBS program seeks to help kids develop relationships with one another, as well as with caring adults. And most importantly we want them to develop a strong relationship with Christ. To make sure there is plenty of opportunity for building relationships, we have done our best to keep things simple and provide plenty of time within the program for doing just that.

So we are excited here! And though it may be freezing outside, we are working up a sweat to get everything ready so that this summer, churches can reach children with God’s love. Hope you jump in and join us in this endeavor.

Visit us at wackyworldofwater.org to find out more.