Vacation Bible School Roundup

Local churches rang in the summer by hosting Vacation Bible School (VBS) to engage the youngest members of the community.

Asbury United Methodist Church

Asbury United Methodist Church (AUMC) kicked off its VBS festivities on July 12 for “Rocky Railway - Jesus Pulls us Through.”

“It was all about trains, and the main theme was Jesus' power pulls us through life's ups and downs,” said Kris Neale, who coordinated VBS this year at AUMC. “Each day focuses on Jesus' power, whether it's Jesus' power that helps us do hard things or Jesus' power that gives us hope and helps us to be good friends.”

Neale said the children were initially nervous, but as they did crafts and obstacle courses, they began to warm up.

“By the end of the week, the kids didn't leave,” said Neale. “We had a celebration that following Sunday and so many of the families came back and with the kids. They were all still so excited about what they had done throughout the week.”

The week went off without a hitch thanks to the team of volunteers who put everything together in less than a month.

“We could not have done this without our volunteers,” said Neale. “They were amazing. The youth volunteers, the adult volunteers and just everyone who made it possible.”

Neale was happy to engage the youth in the church community. During the pandemic, with everything getting canceled, the youth were left out of many activities.

“There wasn't a lot of opportunity to really have that connection with our youngest,” said Neale. “And this was a great way to do that for everybody.”

Severna Park Baptist Church

April Montagne is celebrating her third year as the children’s coordinator at Severna Park Baptist Church (SPBC), and her third summer leading VBS. Last year, Montagne introduced family VBS outdoors. Children were not dropped off, and she modified the idea this year to include indoor activities. On July 20 through July 22, families gathered at SPBC for Concrete and Cranes, a construction-themed VBS.

“The theme was building on the love of Jesus Christ,” said Montagne. “The concrete and the cranes were building on Jesus' foundation.”

The theme was supposed to be used for 2020 but was moved to make room for the modified format. With much of the major planning out of the way, this year was the easiest to plan yet.

“The major planning starts ramping up mid May; that's when we start recruiting our volunteers and having meetings,” said Montagne.

Montagne said her favorite part of VBS this year was watching the children learn about the Bible with their families.

“It was just so heartwarming to be able to do something like this again after being cooped up for so long,” said Montagne.

Severna Park United Methodist Church

Severna Park United Methodist Church kicked off its Vacation Bible School on August 2. This year, the theme was “I Wonder.”

“Kids wonder about so many things, so we are going to lean into all their wonders,” said Erica Benjamin, director of children’s ministries, as the VBS was getting underway. “Kids will be encouraged to think about what God created them for, what their gifts are and how they can use them, and what people around them can learn from.”

Benjamin has been running the VBS at SPUMC for 11 years. In 2020, she planned a virtual VBS experience for students.

“It was fun but definitely lacked the in-person energy and enthusiasm,” said Benjamin. “So, this year, we planned a mostly outside VBS.”

She started planning in January with a survey sent out to parents to gauge how comfortable parents would be with sending their children to an in-person VBS this year. Aside from staying mostly outside, children were placed in smaller cohorts to keep the 120 kids and 55 volunteers safe. Students engaged their imaginations while experimenting with science, technology, mathematics and engineering.

“We will be spending a lot of time in the scientific process beginning by asking questions and posing hypotheses,” Benjamin said early in the week. “Asking questions and finding answers is an important part of our faith, just like the scientific process.”

When it comes to choosing a favorite part about VBS, Benjamin said she loves everything.

“I love working alongside our volunteers, so they feel empowered to share their gifts,” she said. “I love hearing the laughter, singing and energy of the kids. I love when kids have that moment of getting it and realizing how loved they are by God.”

Benjamin is hoping to welcome 300 kids to SPUMC next summer for a food-truck-themed VBS.