Day 6 - Celebration Church

VBS week is always a busy and exciting week for any church. Imagine running THREE VBS events in the same week at 3 different venues: morning, afternoon & evening!

When Celebration Church, Montrose, decided on a project to present God’s truth and love through the gospel message Jesus Christ to the children of Montrose with they made a plan to go out to where the kids hang out…in the parks. The project started long before the event with planning and preparation and then outreach and publicity the week prior to VBS. Flyers were delivered door to door and posters were put up in local businesses. The venues were Buckley Park, Fox Park, and a church member’s home.

Bibles, craft supplies, games & equipment, name tags and registration forms and snacks were all prepared and ready for the simultaneous events. Members of Celebration Church were also ready. But an undertaking of the magnitude required additional help. Joining them were; A team of 10 from Zoar Baptist Church, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, summer missionaries Max McClure and Lance Knight, Mountain Man Steve Hoekstra, and Larry Walker and his block party team.

Morning VBS, held at a church member’s house was venue #1. Located next door to a day care center, venue #1 allowed those kids, along with others from the church and neighborhood, to take part in VBS.

Afternoon VBS, venue #2 held at Buckley Park, drew many kids from the neighborhood. Some responded to the flyers and ads, others just showed up at the park and saw other kids having a good time and wanted to be part of it.

Evening VBS, venue #3 was at Fox Park. The first night, no one showed up even though flyers had been handed out door to door in the neighborhood. Instead of giving up and going home the volunteers prayer-walked the neighborhood. The next night 15 kids came!

Throughout the week, 69 Bibles were given out along with John 3:16 tracts. The kids chose from a selection of Bible covers provided by the church. Julie Hale, Celebration’s children’s leader, said, “When we were handing out Bibles, even kids who weren’t taking part in VBS lined up to get a Bible!” She also expressed her appreciation for the Colorado Missions Offering assistance saying, “We could not have done VBS this way if not for the funds we received.” By taking VBS to the parks and a member’s home, they reached kids who would not normally come to VBS or church.

Pastor Martin asks that we pray the seed that was planted will come to full fruit as evidence of salvation. Pray that Celebration will be bold and watchful for new opportunities to reach their community with the Gospel.