Posts Tagged ‘Big Apple Adventure’

September 11th Remembered

Hi everyone! I know that I’m usually blogging on Friday (Foto Friday) but I think I would be remissed if I did not share a word with you all on the 10th anniversary of Setember 11th.

I’ve been thinking about this blog post all day, trying to figure out what to say.

I thought I could talk about where I was when it all happened. . .I was in my office at LifeWay huddled around a TV watching the events unfold.

I thought I could talk about how we (the VBS team) almost produced an NYC theme for 2010 but we felt the Lord saying, “not yet” and then how He brought Big Apple Adventure together for 2011.

I thought I could talk about the solemn walk I took by myself around Ground Zero, while we were on a photo shoot trip to NYC last year for Big Apple Adventure. While walking. . .saying a silent prayer.

But as I was trying to figure out what to say, I pulled up this year’s Biblical content and it kind of spoke to me, particularly Day 3, Day 4, and Day 5.

Day 3: Connect with Trust!

For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (HCSB)

This date changed everybody. It changed how we view the world. But even though our world changed, the Lord is still Lord. Jesus still died on the cross for us. And He still loves us tremendously!

Day 4: Connect with Others!

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. Matthew 28:19-20 (HCSB)

The last part of this verse spoke to me. No matter what happens, He is always there. While the events of that day were unfolding, He was there. Do you all remember the Footprints poem. . .particularly the end of the poem? “The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.”

Day 5: Connect with Life!

Be alert, stand firm in the faith, be brave and strong. Your every action must be done with love. 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 (HCSB)

We all must be alert and stand firm in our faith. We need to remember that the Lord is always in control.  ”Be brave and strong”. . . I just read this as, He’s got your back!

As we observe the 10th anniversary of September 11th, remember that the Lord:

  1. loves us
  2. He will be with us, to the end of the age
  3. He is always in control. . .He’s got our back (I’m not a theologian but this is what the verse said to me)

Thank you for reading my post, I hope that you all take time to remember and say a prayer for our country. God Bless!

This blog post is dedicated to everyone who was effected by 9/11/01. . .to the firefighter’s, worker’s, police officers lost in the twin towers; to the passengers/flight crews of Flights 11, 175, 77, 93; to the personal lost at the Pentagon; to the families of the lost.

Foto Friday. . .More Photos!

Let’s do some math! What do you get when you add Friday and Photos together? Here it is in equation format: Friday + Photos = Foto Friday! w00t!

This week, I was surfing our VBS Facebook page, looking at the photos and I came across several more that I really like!

So, here we go. . .!

Now this is just cute!

Wow! I love this painting! Great job!

Cool! Someone did my "Subway Tiles" from my Crafts set I built for the catalog!

Very creative for next year's VBS!

Carol! How many Diet Mt. Dew's did you drink today! ?! ! ?

Sorry, I HAD to post this photo of Carol! lol!

Is Rhonda "working"? LOL!

This is SUPER funny! Great Job!

Foto Friday. . .Volunteers! ! !

Volunteer. What does this word mean to you? Merriam Webster defines the word as “a person who voluntarily undertakes or expresses a willingness to undertake a service”.

VBS volunteers are incredible! This last year at my VBS, I witnessed so many volunteers helping out in any way possible! Youth helping in the younger classes. . . adults teaching/decorating. . .senior adults teaching, counting pennies, serving snacks (even serving snacks to the volunteers!). . .even kids helping decorate!

A volunteer’s enthusiasm, energy and willingness is incredible! They are like a shot of adrenaline!

I’m not a trained theologian but I would imagine a VBS director’s verse might be:

Judges 5:2 When the leaders lead in Israel, when the people volunteer, praise the Lord.

So, here’s to all the unsung heroes of VBS. . .the volunteers! Thank you! ! !

 

I like this photo. . .VBS present and looking forward to the future!

Connecting Faith and Life

Meet Ana Melendez. Ana teaches VBS in lots of ways . . . as a national and state leader/trainer for our Spanish materials, and by teaching VBS on mission trips and in her own church in the Chicago area. We asked Ana to share some of her favorite stories. Read on . . .

“While in Guatemala, our team went to this town called Guazacapán. Here we worked and spread the gospel with more than 350 kids. It was honestly really amazing to see over 350 kids singing along to songs from The Big Apple Adventure in Spanish and how they even followed the choreography and steps. On that specific day, between the women and kids, 30 of them made the amazing decision to accept Christ as their personal Savior, and many more lives were impacted at this event.

“Our VBS back at home was held June 13-17. In my adult VBS class on Wednesday, the day of evangelism, this young man came to my class and he was a totally new face and person to the church. He was putting a great deal of attention to the class and seemed very intrigued. When I asked who wanted to accept Jesus to come into their lives and hearts, this new face immediately responded to the call of the Lord, and he, on the day of evangelism, became a son of God. I asked the class to come to the front and welcome this new believer to the family of God. It was amazing to see the ladies from the church take this total stranger and give him hugs, advice, and words of encouragement on what it really means to become a Christian. Praise the LORD for the miraculous ways he works in people’s lives.

“It was also so nice to see Camila, a 5-year old-girl who came to VBS with her older sister and brother. Camila came early every single day, and she waited at the door of the church for her teacher. She didn’t want to miss any of the Bible studies of the week. For Camila, music was fun, games were fun, snack she enjoyed them, but in Bible Study, I am really sure that the Lord touched Camila’s life in a wonderful way.”

Thanks, Ana, for letting us tell your story. Connecting faith and life . . . what’s your favorite Big Apple story?

VBS Kits for Kids–Connecting Kids Who Care with Kids in Need

It’s mid-August and that means it’s been back-to-school time for many states. That also means many families have done some back-to-school shopping! Number 2 pencils, scissors, and rulers may have been on the list! These items were also on the list of needed supplies for the VBS Kits for Kids project that many churches participated in as part of the Missions Rotation of Big Apple Adventure. The kits for kids collected during VBS have been making their way to the warehouse in Richmond, Virginia. Over 5600 kits have been received as you can see from this Web site: www.vbskitsforkids.com. However, if your church has not mailed your kits to the warehouse, many more kits are still needed. The deadline for shipping the kits to the warehouse is October 31, 2011.

The address to mail the kits is: Baptist Global Response, c/o A&O Services, 2109 Loumour Avenue, Richmond, VA  23230-4109. From this warehouse, the kits will be mailed to children living outside the U.S. to children who need educational supplies in order to attend school. Many of these children may be living in poverty areas, where their families cannot afford to purchase these supplies or in areas of recent disasters, where the supplies are not available.

Also, if your church collected offerings to help with this project, you can mail a check to Baptist Global Response, 402 BNA Drive, Suite 411, Nashville, TN 37217 or make a donation online at www.gobgr.org. These offerings will help with shipping costs to get these supplies to children who really need them.

If you are looking for a mission project for your kids to be involved in, between now and the end of October, you can find the shopping list of school supplies for the kits for kids at: www.baptistglobalresponse.com/kitsforkids/pdf/shopping%20list.pdf. More kits are needed and it’s a great way to connect kids who care with kids in need!

Make the Connection From VBS to Bible Drill

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Got any Big Apple Curriculum laying around? Want to help your kids learn Bible verses in a fun way? If you answered yes to those questions then why not pull those leaders guides back out and find some ready made activites that you can adapt with any Bible verse.

Oh, what’s that? You already gave away your curriculum. No worries, Sue Harmon with the South Carolina Baptist Convention recently contacted us about an article on their site that connects activities from the Big Apple to use with Bible Drill. Check it out here.

As you can see,  there are lots of great ideas for adapting VBS teaching resources to be used with Bible Drill, Wednesday night fillers, or anytime you need a great way to reinforce Bible skills. Share with us how you have used VBS teaching materials at other times.