The Wednesday before camp begins marks the start of a precarious countdown. It’s the moment we start moving our carefully laid out supplies and begin setting up shop in the Ministries Center. This Wednesday, we were facing a bit of a conundrum. Looking at the radar, there was a large swath of green heading for us. In the education building, there were boxes and baskets packed with supplies, giant tissue paper flowers, and a team of volunteers with the singular question, “Can we beat the rain?”
“Of course we can.” Everyone moved into action: boxes that were larger than the volunteers, carts packed a bit beyond their capacity, carefully prepared props, and a pile of tarps all started to make their way across campus. Even when the sky began to spritz, the team didn’t slow down.
On the one hand, Vacation Bible Camp is a week designed for our youngest members and friends to learn more about God and themselves. But camp is also an expression of the church. It is a multigenerational affair with an 80-year age span. It is a leadership incubator with our youth stepping up to lead and to guide. Camp is an expression of gifts as adults share their expertise and their willingness to learn. It is an expression of love shared in 1,000 different ways from the materials you collected that will become art projects, gardens, bird feeders, instruments, and more. Camp is love expressed in the time given to preparing materials, and in those who take a week of vacation to serve. Camp is the trust families extend by bringing their children to our care.
I have one last request! Please keep VBC in your prayers next week:
- Pray for our 3-year-old campers as they experience camp for the first time.
- Pray for our Prek-3rd-grade campers as they explore God’s Very Good Creation.
- Pray for our 4th and 5th graders (and their leaders!!) as they head out into the community to serve.
- Pray for our youth volunteers as they step into leadership.
- Pray for our grown-ups as they pour themselves into a high-energy week.
- Pray that we stay cool, despite the heat.
- Pray for wonder and awe to shape our time together.
- Pray that every child has a sense of belonging.
- Pray for new friendships to grow.
- Pray that we don’t miss the incredible gift of growing in faith together.
