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VBS Success Equals Stress

by Jennifer Champion  
5/12/2015 / Church Life

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.(Romans 12:2)

I live in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. My town is composed of over eighty Baptist churches not to mention all the other congregations. Some are small, and some are quite large. We are not home to a mega church yet but there have been some that tried and failed. As we approach the end of another school year and the onset of a blazing hot southern summer, Tuscaloosa's churches are preparing for vacation bible school, commonly called VBS. It is an outreach program that typically last around a week. It takes planning, people and money. I took over the role as VBS Director three years ago at my church, Rosedale Baptist. I went to the community training meeting my first year in my role and was in the company of practically every Baptist church in the area. We learned about crafts, music, and how to be entertaining. We learned about message delivery, classroom rotation, and schedule making. We learned about snack ideas and about making VBS fun. I left feeling excited after listening to the other churches talk about their VBS from previous years. Some of these churches would have over one hundred children attend! They spoke about how many of these children came to know Christ and even came back for Sunday school once VBS was over.

The VBS I conducted that first year was exciting! We even had the local Sheriff come in with his helicopter and perform tricks with it on the front lawn of the church. No one else had a real helicopter. We had snow cones, crafts, music, missions, tons of decorations and about twenty five children. I was heartbroken. I wondered what I had done wrong. VBS was not a success. I felt like I had let my church down. We should have had one hundred kids at least; I mean we had a helicopter! What is worse is that none of the twenty five kids we had attend accepted Christ. We were failures for the Lord. At least that is how I felt.

My second year of VBS was no better. I started off with a meeting looking for fresh ideas to bring the kids into our church but in the end we had less than the first year. Again, I felt like a failure. So, this year will be my third year and I'm doing things different. Out with the old and in with the new. We won't have a helicopter. We won't have hallways lined with tons of decorations. We won't have some fabulous local celebrity to speak and sign autographs. It will be simple and it won't be compared to other VBS's in town. This year, we would hold VBS even if it is for one child or one hundred children because whatever number shows up will be the exact amount God sent to us. I will not let numbers constitute success.

What defines success for you today? Are you a businessman or woman and define your success merely by the dollars you make? Are you a pastor and define success by the number of people that come to the altar during the invitation? Are you a mother or father that defines success only if your children talk to you about their life and behave perfectly? Are you a doctor that only claims success if you save a life?

If so, we all need to rethink success today. Success is not about comparing yourself to the rest of the world. It is not being perfect because that is unattainable. It is about seeking that which is perfect and by doing what is good and acceptable in the Lord's eyes.

Dear Lord, thank you for showing me that I do not have to be perfect to be a success to you. I pray that I will see what is right and act on it when called upon and that by doing so, I can be a success for you. Amen.

Jennifer Rubino Champion is actively involved in prison and jail ministry in Central and West Alabama. She and her husband Patrick have five children and a fur baby, Maggie. She is an author and artist and you can visit her website at www.jenniferchampion.com

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My son wants to read The Diary of a Wimpy Kid. So glad to hear they are enjoying VBS. Enjoy your trip to Disney, and my pryares go out to your father. God bless you! 2015-12-23

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