WILLARD – Children and families involved in the Vacation Bible School program at First Baptist Church here raised $3,600 for the Willard school district – allowing the district to start the school year without any lunch debt remaining from the previous year.
“There was $2,800 in student debt for lunches, so we put out the challenge to another group of people, and they just kept giving and giving,” said Pastor Mark Milioni, according to KY3 News.
Some children in the VBS program went so far as to pull their loose teeth so they could give their “tooth fairy money” to the offering.
In a statement released by the district, Phil Broyles, Director of Nutritional Services, said, “Our nutrition department and district is extremely grateful for this display of generosity. On behalf of the students who will benefit from this amazing gift, we would like to thank First Baptist of Willard for their donation.”
FBC Willard’s VBS offering is only one example of the ways Missouri Baptist churches have expanded their ministry impact through Vacation Bible School programs this summer.
“I have seen some churches, particularly in the boot heel, bring in school supplies and do backpack ministries,” Christy Nance, the MBC’s state Vacation Bible School director, told The Pathway. “They collected the items, brought in the backpacks, put them together and distributed them for school kids.”
The ministry of VBS is intended to reach not only children, but their families and the broader community, Nance added. “And you can do that in a two-pronged way: Train your adult leadership, and then incorporate them into developing relationships with families.”
Both strategies have been emphasized this summer at four VBS training events that Nance and her team organized. Attendance at the trainings increased this year to 192, up from 150 last year.
Nance added that the training events have expanded to include multi-age curriculum from various sources, rather than limiting the training to VBS curriculum from LifeWay Resources.
Whatever resources and strategies a church may decide to use during VBS, she said the goal is ultimately to impact the hearts of children with the gospel message.