“Carmen, this is the best thing we do all year.” These were the words from my supervising pastor during one of my seminary internships as the church we served was gearing up for VBS. These words have stuck with me over the years as I have had the opportunity to be involved in the Church’s ministry of Vacation Bible School in a variety of ways. Often my role was to equip a large group of teenagers to serve as leaders to the young children in VBS. Other times I supported my colleagues who supervised children’s ministry during the all-consuming season of VBS preparation. More recently I have had the joy of my own children attending VBS at the churches in which we are involved. I love seeing their delight in all the effort that has been made for them to have a memorable experience connecting with Jesus and the truth of Scripture. Often VBS music gets played in our van and home year round. Yet of all my VBS experiences, I think my favorites are the opportunities to help implement VBS events in other countries. This January’s experience in Honduras marks the 4th country in which I’ve been privileged to lead VBS. The contrast to the U.S. experience is significant.
