West Salem Baptist Church - 2014 VBS - Video Recap

This week was an incredible week at our church.  Our staff and congregation worked hard to portray the gospel aka the "good news" of Jesus Christ, to all of the children who attended our Vacation Bible School.  A story/skit/play was created and each night the children learned a new piece to the puzzle.  By the end of the week, the children were able to put the story together and relate it to the gospel.  

The plot was taken at a place called "Edendale".  It was to represent the garden of Eden. The children learned about our forefather and mother, Adam and Eve, who's original sin created darkness in this world and because of it, we are all born sinners.  

The main characters were:

The King - representing God
The Prince - representing Jesus
The Squires - representing BELIEVERS, disciples of this world
The Dragon - representing Satan
The Scroll - representing the Bible

The squires were constantly faced with challenges: be it hunger, self-reliance, or temptations of worldly treasures and they were forced to choose between the scroll the Bible, which would eventually lead them to a road of hope and eternal life, or self-reliance/worldly passions, which would eventually lead them down a dark road to hell. One squire failed when he threw his scroll away and leaned on his own understandings and desires.  He was taken into the arms of Satan and cast away as God's child. One squire, failed, but recognized his sin and repented of it, then asked the Lord for forgiveness, and he was welcomed back as God's child. Finally, the other two squires were heavily reliant on the scroll aka the bible and seemed to overcome temptation and worldy passions. All along, the Prince Jesus, was always there, by their side, never leaving them to fend for themselves. It was a beautiful depiction of the challenges, trials, and struggles we face as believers.  As believers, we are expected to live in this world, but not be a part of it, not partaking in the sinful ways of those living in darkness.  We will fail because we are not perfect. There was ONLY ONE who lived a perfect life and that was Jesus Christ, but the HUGE difference between a believer and a non-believer is that we HATE our sin and do all that we can to turn away from it.  When we do sin, we turn to God/Jesus for forgiveness, knowing that His blood has covered the sins of all who believe.  

At the end of the story, the dragon was defeated by the Prince and the squires and the gift of eternal life/God's kingdom were awarded to the squires. 

The kids had a total blast.  One of my girlfriends, who's family does NOT attend our church, said her daughter said "Mom, I wish VBS was EVERY week!"  I think you'll be able to tell from this 10 minute video recap how much fun the kids had.  Our church puts an intense amount of time and detail into making the gospel be known and understandable to the students. ENJOY!

A special thanks to Erin (children's director), Nick (Pastor), Gretchen (Pastors Wife, Lead Dancer), Dancers, ALL TEACHERS and everyone else's hardwork and dedication to this week. It takes a lot of sacrifice to to volunteer during this week, but we know that that's what the Lord calls us to be.... slaves for His Glory and to enhance His kingdom.  Darren was responsible for the video footage and youtube video you will see below. I love watching his work!!! I was able to take a TON of pictures, which I will share in my next post. BUT ultimately, what really matters, is NOT our deeds, but the message.  I know the Lord was totally glorified and trust that seeds were definitely planted in many of these children's lives.

The last night, we spent recapping the story for the children, in the sanctuary, we had our last Bible challenge and physical challenges and then off to celebrate the good news with ice cream and water fun.  Wait until you see the photos of it!  Priceless smiles and memories that will last a lifetime.

My description of VBS and the story line was written FAST... with little to no thought, so I may or may NOT have depicted it entirely correct, but for those of you who know the gospel, that's what was taught.  The story line was just a fun way to teach the gospel and a fun way to learn the gospel from a children's perspective.

For those of you who have wondered where I've been all week, this is where.  LOL!  I still have such a blog backlog, it's not even funny.  I hope to catch up a little tonight, especially on my Disney vacation.