Whispering Pines Church hosted a Vacation Bible School (VBS) in Coal Creek Canyon. This year’s theme was Monumental. VBS was from August 1 through August 5. The director of this year’s VBS, Jessica McMullan, described it by saying, “It’s a way of spreading God’s love to kids in the community in an engaging way. It is also a hands-on experience.”

Does this VBS cost money? No. Kids, whose ages range from 5 to 12, participate in games, songs and projects that are hands-on and Biblically based. Kids were separated by their grade. Each grade had a crew leader who led them to each station.

Every year VBS collects money that was fund-raised and donated by the kids, for children around the world. This year the money was collected to give to kids reservations. The money will be used to collect school supplies for the whole year. Thanks to an organization called World Vision, one dollar will supply a child with all the supplies needed for that year. Mrs. McMullan is hoping to collect a dollar from each kid. This would give a total of $33.

There are four stations plus a snack that the kids rotate through. The day starts with the opening at 9 a.m. The kids sing and dance to songs, watch a funny skit, share God sightings, and answer questions with their crew. They will also learn that day’s motto. Each time the motto is said the kids get to shout, “Awesome God!” After this they will continue to their first station. Mid-morning everyone will meet for snack time. They will continue with their crew to two more stations before ending the day with the closing.

The four stations are; KidVid Cinema, Games, Imagination Station, and a Bible Story time. Each station is about 20 minutes long.

At KidVid Cinema kids get to watch a video about a child with a story. They are also given their Bible Buddies with the motto of the day. This station askes engaging questions about how God helps them in different situations.

Game time is a common favorite. There are two games played a day and they change every day. They usually involve getting wet. Each game has a meaning relating to the motto. Game time is most likely the loudest station.

Imagination Station starts with a funny “would you rather” question. Then the kids are told a project to do, and given a take home item. This station is fun and once again based on the motto.

And last but certainly not least is Bible Time. It is here that the kids are told a Bible story and get to participate in acting the story out. This year they learned about the story of Joseph.

VBS is an exciting way for kids to have fun locally, within their community and learn more about God. You can ask your local church if they have a VBS program. If you are too old for VBS there are plenty of ways you can help out. You may be needed as a crew leader, or to lead a station.

To find out more about Whispering Pines Church, check out their website at https://whisperingpines.church/