VBS (Vacation Bible School) in the Park

Submitted by Victoria Drive Gospel Hall, Vancouver, BC

Concept

Children on summer holidays usually have a lot of free time and parents often welcome any diversion to occupy them as the summer wears on, especially if it is “educational” in nature, or it captures their attention. The opportunity to conduct children's meetings outdoors is well worth trying. Summer weather in most places is usually suitable for being outdoors, and there is no need to transport children if there are children in the area.

Another important consideration is the development of interest in young believers for gospel work. What better way to spend a summer's day than to be involved in bringing the gospel to others, and it could result in expansion of the children’s work and blessing for the assembly. Young people should seek the fellowship and support of their elder brethren before embarking on any gospel work, and in turn, elder brethren should encourage any initiative shown by young people in whom they have confidence. 

History

In 2010, the Victoria Drive assembly in Vancouver tried this in an outdoor basketball court of a housing complex close to the hall. This resulted in contact with a large family that continue to come to the Sunday School, so it gave encouragement to try it again.

In 2011, the work expanded to two city parks, with a week in each one. The response was encouraging, and the weather cooperated so that no day had to be cancelled. Again, new children were acquired for the Sunday School. 

In 2012, young brethren and sisters felt they could handle four week-long series in four parks over July and August. Three were in the evening and one in the afternoon. It was wonderful to see some parents listening to the gospel who had never before been in the Gospel Hall. Again, the weather was phenomenal. Between the four efforts, some 179 new contacts were made, with a few of these becoming regular attenders at Sunday School.

Venues

Public parks would seem to be an obvious choice for most places. It would be wise to check with the parks department about regulations for public gatherings in case a permit is required. It is unlikely a permit is required for a small group as long as the area chosen does not interfere with any scheduled event. 

Choosing the location is critical. It would be wise to scout for an area that is frequented by children. The nicest park may not necessarily yield the best response. It may also be a consideration to go to an area where your assembly already has contact with children. These could form a core group of attendees who would in turn encourage friends to come. 

Other venues that could be considered are school grounds, or common areas in housing developments, both of which would likely require prior approval. 

Personnel 

To make a VBS effort appealing to children it will require some effort and creativity. If an assembly has members available during the day, a morning or afternoon session could be possible. If not, evenings would result in more help from those who work during the day. 

Theme

It was decided that the VBS should have a theme or focus, the same for all four efforts. This helped in the choice of verses and messages, and also made it easier for the children to learn systematically, to make connections and better retain what was learned. 

Format

Each session was 1-1/2 hrs. in length, Monday through Friday. Activities were organized for the children, and contrary to usual practice, it worked well to have activities immediately after singing and praying with the children. Once they had run off their energy, they were quite contented to participate in the quiz, learn a verse; then listen attentively to the message. Each session concluded with refreshment. 

On the Saturday afternoon following the Friday session, a barbecue was held to which children and parents were invited. There was no activity planned for this day, but the opportunity was not missed to give another gospel message. 

Equipment

Whatever equipment is used should not require a moving van. Everything should be portable or collapsible. Basic equipment to consider is:

1.       A table and a couple of chairs (folding preferable) - for registration/refreshments
2.       Tarp - this is used for children to sit on in case the grass is damp, but it also defines the exact place where you want the children to sit. If it is large, it can be folded to suit the size of the group (have children facing away from distractions as much as possible).
3.       Folding canopy - 10 x10 or 10 x15. This is not a necessity, but the main advantage is that it provides a focal point for the event which conveys to passers-by the perception that something is happening here. However, it could have several other uses: 1) shelter for a small group in case of a shower. 2) a source of shade in the absence of trees or buildings. 3) a cover over the registration table. 4) a backdrop for the speaker - if used with one side attached, it can serve as visual barrier for the children or to attach visuals to.
4.       An easel - for chorus sheets, white board, flannel graph, etc.
5.       Additional equipment may be required to support whatever activities have been planned - eg. sports or crafts. 

Advertising

On the Saturday that preceded each VBS week, about 600-700 small, colorful invitations were distributed in the areas immediately adjacent to the park. 

The Weather

Surprisingly, for Vancouver, a session has never had to be cancelled for rain for three summers, although on a couple of occasions, a tarp was erected to ward off a shower. It would be wise to keep an eye on the daily and log-range forecast, and have a contingency plan in case of rain, or to make it known that each session is weather permitting. 

Admittedly, there may be some climates that are not conducive to being outdoors. The weather could be too hot like Tombstone or too cold like Tuktoyuktuk. However, most parts of North America have some part of the day that would be pleasant enough for this kind of activity. 

What Measures Success?

Yes, it would be wonderful to see a child saved during a week of VBS, but maybe our efforts are only part of series of things God will use to reach a soul. Results cannot always be seen, and sometimes results are delayed.  "… that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together." John 4:36

Don't be unduly excited or discouraged by numbers. The largest session this summer was over 100 children and parents, but for the last week, there were about 12 children plus two or three adults. It may have been a wrong choice of location, but what if one of those 12 children, or a parent, was saved as a result?

Victoria Drive Gospel Hall  (click to email) Vancouver, BC

Haitian Migrant Workers in New Jersey

Verlandieu Marcellus fellowships with the believers who meet at the Pennsauken Gospel Hall. We asked him to write the report below so others might pray for this work but also be encouraged to do something similar in their area when the opportunity presents itself. No tents or buildings are required. Set-up is minimal. A love to reach lost sheep is the prime motivator and essential ingredient in this work. In reading the story below don’t miss another story – as to how Verlandieu came to Christ. How much more encouraging does it get!

The gospel work among the Haitian people in Hammonton, New Jersey, started in the summer of 2002. Sisters Trudy and Judy Odom of the Barrington Assembly (NJ), and others, were visiting Mexican migrant-workers the previous year with the gospel in Spanish. At that time they took notice of the Haitian people nearby at the Mohawk-farm. However, no one in the group spoke Haitian Creole, which meant, unfortunately, nothing could be done as far as Gospel outreach was concerned.

Trudy Odom taught English at Woodrow Wilson High school where I was a student. Miss Odom was my teacher during 2001 and she invited me to an after-school Bible study that she and Don Draper held at the school. Two to three months later, I came to faith in Christ.

The following year while the Christians were visiting the Mexican laborers again, I was asked along to translate for Brother Andre from the Barrington assembly who was to preach to the Haitian people. My Creole was poor and my translation, at best, were paraphrases of Andre’s messages. Since that time, I have been associated with the work with the Haitian migrant workers.

 

At different times, others have been a tremendous help through much-needed encouragement, prayer, help with the cost of driving-expenses, typing and printing up Creole hymn sheets, providing Bible-texts, tracks, Bibles, reaching out to the English-speaking children and even with the preaching.

 

Nine years later, four new farms have been discovered while the work that started at the Mohawk-farm still continues. Visits begin around the first of June and run to the end of July or the first weekof August. My work schedule restricts the number of evening visits I can make; but I am often free to make three visits per week.

In the past, we took the Gospel to two or more farms per evening. But we have found that such a schedule leaves us with very little time to visit with the people after we preach. As well, for those who come along to help, who are either older or have a demanding career, the late-evening return after visiting two farms makes it impractical. We have, therefore, tried to keep the visits to one farm per day if it could be helped.

 
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It is a thirty to forty minute drive from the Pennsauken Gospel hall to Hammonton. We often arrive around 6-7:00 pm, not long after the people finish work. Those willing to attend would hurry for a bite then return to stand for the singing and preaching. For the past couple of years, we usually take fourteen folding chairs from the Gospel Hall for the comfort of those who would prefer to sit.

 

Receptivity varies year to year, farm to farm, week to week and visit to visit, but on the best day this year we had over forty in attendance and  on the lowest - six. Women, with the exception of one farm, usually make up over 75% of the meetings. Our meetings are usually outdoors as we do not like to impose on those who are resting - especially those who aren't interested. At one farm, the women prefer that we speak indoors and if there is ever a threat of rain we are always asked inside.


Visible fruit is obscured by the fact that the same people do not always return. Every year, therefore, there is always the added excitement of finding out how we will be received. But the Lord has been good in that there have always been those who wanted to listen.

 

For our part, we count it a privilege to tell precious souls of God’s free forgiveness of sin through faith in Christ while not pushing formulaic prayers, nor encouraging empty professions to affect results. If there has been any fruit, we are content that it is known to Him.

BBQ Hamilton, ON - Nash Road Gospel Hall

The Nash Road Gospel Hall (Hamilton, Ontario) held a Community BBQ on May 7th.  It was, to say the least, overwhelming by the response.

Being in a new location for only 1 ½ years has its challenges in trying to become known and established in the community.  We had an excellence response from the community.  Notices were inserted in the local newspaper in the general area near the hall.  From 11AM to 2PM we had a steady stream of cars arriving for the BBQ – all folks who had received the invitation.  Many others walked from the area.  The believers responded well in talking to the visitors and inviting them to the Mothers Day program on Sunday as well as the Gospel Meeting.  Upcoming events such as the DVBS were also promoted.  

Paul Glenney kindly submitted the report in response to a request.

You have just read the above report. If you happen to be aware of some outreach activity in your area, please consider submitting a little report with accompanying pictures. Just because the activity is not new to you does not mean it is not new to others – so do not hesitate to share it.

Using Your Backyard for DVBS

You can't find a suitable building in your neighborhood to have a week or two of kids meetings. You would like to have a Daily Vacation Bible School this summer but all the facilities in your community are either booked or too expensive. You can't afford to rent a tent for a week so you think you will just have to scrap the idea. Don't give up yet. Do you have a backyard or a front-lawn? Or maybe you know someone who does. All you need is some lawn space, a few chairs and tables and the rest will all come together.

Recently at the home of Irving and Sheryl Payne in Oak Ridges (Toronto, ON) a week of kids' meetings was held. No rental fees were paid, no permits were required and no big tent was erected. Simply, they used their own yard.

The registration desk was set up in their driveway. Some came on their bikes. Others were dropped off by parents or walked.

The chairs were set up in the most shaded part of the yard. It had been predetermined that 40 children was the max that could be handled in this setting. So no incentives or awards were given for bringing friends. Instead, rewards were given for those who could say not only the memory verse of the day but the memory verses from the preceding days. 

The first hour was the Bible class where songs were sung, verses were learned and Biblical stories and truths were taught. A small sun-shelter tent was erected to provide sufficient shade for the songs to be visible on the screen. (By the way, this is Bryan Joyce doing a great job of the singing and teaching the verse.)

Peter Lansing provided a five minute 'Discovery' lesson each morning - as Dr. Discovery. In the picture above he is teaching from a model of the heart. You can see Payne's house in the background.

At break time, refreshments were served in the parking lot and people stored their empty styrofoam cups in the spruce tree - rather than getting a new cup each time they needed a drink.

After the 60 minute Bible Class was over and the refreshment break had ended, another hour was spent on crafts and activities.

At the closing, every student had painted their own t-shirt.

It was a great week. Teaching Bible verses, Bible songs and Bible stories to the young is an activity of eternal significance!

Will Neighbors in an Upscale Area Attend Your BBQ?

The answer is yes!

This past Saturday (July 10) it was thrilling to see people from the community walking down the street (some drove) in ones and twos and in families to enjoy a great outdoor Saturday community meal offered by the Christians in the Langstaff Gospel Hall parking lot in Richmond Hill, Toronto, Ontario.

The first two years of hosting a community barbeque yielded very little response from the community. But like everything else, don’t give up after one or two attempts. Try again.

A large vinyl banner advertising the community barbeque was erected on the property adjacent to the street. For the benefit of the many Jewish neighbors, the availability of Kosher food was advertised on the banner. Those with a Jewish background seemed to deeply appreciate the effort the Christians went to prepare and serve Kosher food.

A tent filled with tables and chairs was available so people would have some shelter from the hot sun while they ate. A table with Gospel tracts, CDs and information about the Langstaff Gospel Hall was at the back of the tent.

An inflatable kids’ play area was available and used non-stop throughout the two hour barbeque.

Older children and teens played soccer in the parking lot.

Face painting was offered as well. Children and parents seemed to enjoy themselves immensely.

Some adults went home and brought more adults with them to enjoy the free food.

Benefits of such an activity:

1. Bridges the disconnect that often exists between the building and its people and the neighborhood it is trying to reach.
2. Allows the neighbors to see the non-formal side of Christians when they are relaxing casually outdoors, enjoying the sunshine, food and casual chats about life in general. “These are real people afterall - that go here!” “They're not as stiff and aloof as I thought they were. They’re actually quite nice.”
3. Without hearing a sermon, the neighbors get to ‘see’ a sermon. They see Christians happily serving a free meal with a smile on their face. They see the tracts and texts hanging around and can absorb the information in an non-threatening atmosphere.
4. Opportunities arise when Christians can share their faith or what they believe with the neighbors – using wisdom and caution.
5. Provides an opportunity for Christians to work together in a labor of love in reaching the community.
6. This particular BBQ event coincided with tent meetings so it was an excellent opportunity to advertise the Gospel tent meetings.
7. Add to this list by leaving a comment.

The success should not be measured by only the number of neighbors who showed up but by all those who drove by or looked out their windows and saw something positive happening in the parking lot. Maybe next year, they too will come.

Submitted by Peter Ramsay who was privileged to enjoy the community barbeque.

First Contact was the Hall Barbeque on the Front Lawn

Not every outreach effort can be linked directly to the salvation of precious souls but the experience below is just one of those encouraging stories you will want to read and share. Ken Kember , with the River Road Assembly in Ottawa, Ontario kindly responded to our request to have this story posted. It speaks for itself and it may give others the encouragement they need to try something similar.

About three years ago, we decided to try having a barbeque/open house at the hall to encourage our neighbors to check out the hall in an informal, "no-obligation" way. The hall has been in this neighborhood for many years, but many of our neighbors have never been through our doors. So we made up invitations and hand delivered them to the houses around the hall, inviting people to join us on a September Saturday morning for a free hamburger and to check out the hall. We don't have a parking lot, so we set up a couple of barbeques on our small front lawn and cooked up M&M pre-cooked tasty burgers, served soft drinks and cookies/squares for dessert. We opened up the doors to the hall and cleared away the chairs from the auditorium. We had a few tables with crafts for kids, and some places to sit down to enjoy the burgers.

We weren't sure what kind of response we would get, but we were pleasantly surprised with a really good turnout. It seems that people really appreciated the chance to "check us out" without feeling some sort of obligation. Several folks who had never been inside the hall ventured over for a burger and stepped inside and visited with the Christians. One young couple in particular living just down the street came over with their little girl. A couple of months later this couple came out to a breaking of bread meeting. They began attending regularly, and some months later came to faith in Christ, and are now in the fellowship.

Needless to say, this has become an annual event for us every fall. It is not a lot of work to set up but has the potential for great results. Many neighbors who would never step foot in the hall for a meeting have joined us for lunch. The Spirit of God is able to use this brief contact to generate some thinking and perhaps bring them back at a later date. The barbeque/open house format provides a great opportunity introduce ourselves to our neighbors, to give something back to the community in which we are located, and create a potential opening for the gospel.

Submitted by: Ken Kember

If you are aware of other outreach efforts in your area going on, be sure to send us an email so others can benefit from your experiences. Even if someone else submitted a similar report from their area, we still need yours. There will be something unique about your event.

Inexpensive but Effective Outdoors Kids Work

Scott Hayes, gathering with the Christians at Cedar Falls, IA submitted the post below. He notes that in the States ‘Section 8’ Housing is all over the country, so there are plenty of opportunities similar to the one described below.

After a year of telling ourselves there was no place to have children's meeting in a nearby ‘70’ unit, (a subsidized housing complex) we finally took some action. We could see the place was full of kids, but totally void of fathers.

Inexpensive Summer Outdoors Outreach

Last summer we purchased a 10'x10' pop-up sun shade. We erected it on the grassy courtyard between some of the buildings. By the time we finished setting up on the first day we had kids milling about wondering what was going on.

Our only advertising had been to hang an announcement in the office with a picture of the tent and an explanation of who we were and what we would be doing. We started having meetings every night for a week and then went to one night per week. If it rained we would just wait a night. Everybody soon learned the obvious: if the tent was up, we were going to have a meeting.

It is a very difficult place to speak. As you can imagine, there are plenty of distractions. However, since we were outside we could get a little more creative with the types of games we played at the end of the lesson. The kids would help to put everything away and then we would get down to some serious playing. The only prizes we gave away were for necessary school supplies and everybody got the same thing.

What occurred after the meeting ended was probably the most important. Almost every night a few of us would stick around to play some ball, fix their bikes, or just hang out with them. Quite often this is when mothers would come wandering by and we were able to start building relationships, which is vital if we ever hope to see them attending any kind of a meeting inside a Gospel Hall. 

Transferring the Interest to the Fall Bible Hour in the Hall

Now it was time for the fall Bible Hour in the Hall. The goal then became convincing both the mothers and the children that it is okay to get in a van and go someplace else. If their response had been no, then I would not be writing this. But by this time we knew nearly all the kids by name and most of the mothers. We were able to assure them we were only moving what we had been doing outside to the inside. On the first night we were able to pick up about twenty kids.

Transferring the Contacts to the Regular weekly Sunday School

Now for the hardest part yet. Could we get them there for the regular Sunday School every week? I am happy to report that have been ten very regular students. Last week was our spring Children's Bible Hour with over twenty five attending some nights from the complex. But the story gets evening better. Just this past Sunday we were able to pick up four new kids for the Sunday School - to go along with the ten regulars!

There is not one traditional family in this complex and most are not going to a Sunday School of any kind. Since many of these mothers have more kids than money, the children are not enrolled in as many things as other children are. Many of these kids are craving love and attention. You had better be ready for a lot of hugs if you are going to try this. (*) If this has worked this well for us, it can work other places for you. I would call this a very low budget, high energy, fun project.

(*) An article on appropriate and safe contact with children will be posted at a later date.

Suggestions for using the 10' by 10' Sun Shield.

1. We used the tent mostly for identification purposes. When visiting early on, we would always refer to the tent to identify ourselves. A picture of the tent sun shield also appeared on any posters we put up. But best of all, whenever somebody saw the tent was up, they knew we would be having a meeting shortly.

2. Be flexible in place and time. We moved the tent around, in or out of the sun as necessary. Cold or rainy? Just don't put the tent up and stay home. And if in the middle of your lesson half the class goes home for supper, you will soon want to change the time.

3. Don't worry too much about the distractions all around. Keep focused on the main objective: to get these kids into your regular Sunday School class. In order for this to happen you must get the kids to like you (playing ball, games, showing a genuine interest) and the mothers to trust you (fix the bikes, be reliable). Time must be spent with them, and at their place.

4. Come up with a name! The Children's Bible Hour just seemed way to stuffy for this setting and we weren't calling ourselves anything, so of course the kids came up with their own name for us and called it "Outside Church". And to anyone who couldn’t remember my name, I was simply known as ‘the church man’.

Submitted by Scott Hayes, Cedar Falls, Iowa