The other day I drove down one of the main streets of my city. Along this particular street, I pass about a dozen churches over three or so miles. Nearly every church had a sign in front of the building inviting the community to their Vacation Bible School.
Don’t worry -this is not a “hate on VBS” post. Keep reading.
As I passed sign after sign, many of them repeats in theme and style, some even in days and times, I could not help but ask a simple question, “To what end?” Let’s say that each of these churches had their best VBS turnout ever. The most kids and families they’ve ever had. The most volunteers from church participating. The most money raised for mission or for a local charity. The best VBS ever.
What would that mean for the church? What would that mean for the community? What would that mean for the kingdom of God?
I know it’s an uncomfortable question. But I think it’s an important one. Not just for VBS, but for all the things we “do” in church. However, keeping with the VBS theme, we all know that many people in our communities use VBS as a psuedo-daycare in the summer. Newspapers will print or post a schedule of local VBS opportunties and parents/caregivers will schedule out their children’s summer accordingly.
That could be the answer to the question! If the goal of the church is to provide local parents/caregivers a safe and loving environment for their kids to spend a few hours for one week in order to alleviate some of the summer childcare needs, then a traditional VBS format is perfect. It meets the need. It hits the goal.
But most churches I talk to share that their main goal in choosing to offer VBS give the following reasons:
- Because we always do – Honestly, this is the big one. We’ve always done it. Our families seem to like it. It’s in the budget. We have to do it. It’s expected.
- Because we want to get more families involved in our church – I hear this one frequently enough that it’s worth mentioning although most ministers I talk to recognize that the families that attend their VBS either alraedy have a church they attend regularly or do not plan to attend church at all. VBS rarely brings new families into the church.
- Because it is something the church community can do together – VBS often provides a space for older generations and younger generations to do something together. Youth volunteer, elderly members serve, other serve as teachers or craft creators or worship leaders – it’s one of the rare spaces where the whole church does something together.
There is no doubt that VBS is a LOT of work. I know. I’ve hosted a few of my own and it’s a ton of time and organization, not to mention the money. But for most children’s pastors I know, it simply is. No questions asked. We do VBS. We just do.
And while I’m picking on VBS, this is true for every program we have a church. Fall Fests and Sunday School. Winter Jamborees and marriage retreats, Bible studies and home groups. Everything we budget for. Everything we say “We’ve always done it” about. Often, we just do…but we don’t question. We don’t even really know WHY we do. We just do.
The question I asked myself that day – “To what end?” – is a worthwhile question. Before we do and even before we plan, to simply ask, “Why are we doing this? What is the goal? To what end?”
Each church has a mission, a vision, a call to serve in their community. How does whatever is being done help reach that goal? Each ministry has a purpose, a place to serve within the church? How does their programming meet that need?
The mission at ReFocus Ministry is to connect generations in meaningful relationships for lifelong discipleship. Everything we do, from coaching to conference, is intended to help make the journey from connection to relationship to discipleship a reality. The mission at my local church is to love God, love others, and share the peace of Christ in and around Lexington. Everything we do should reflect that mission and achieve a goal related to that end.
What is yours? Whether it’s VBS or Sunday school, mid-week services or youth group mission trips. What is the goal and how does it reflect your mission?
Ultimately, we, the church, the body of Christ, have one goal. It was set before us by Jesus right before he ascended and given as a commission to the earliest believers – “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matt. 28:18-20). That’s the best place to start as we consider “to what end” our programs and opportunties have for us and for the community we serve.
Generations Together is a one-day online conference designed to inspire and equip church leaders, volunteers, and ministry teams to build bridges across generations.
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About the Author
Christina Embree is the founder and director of ReFocus Ministry. She holds a masters in ministry focused on Children, Youth, and Family Ministry and a doctorate in spiritual formation with a focus on age segregation and intergenerational ministry. In addition to coaching churches of multiple denominations and traditions all around the globe, Christina serves as the Minister of Generational Discipleship for the Great Lakes Conference of the Brethren in Christ and as a pastor at Plowshares Brethren in Christ in Lexington, Kentucky. She is widely recognized as a speaker and author in the areas of generational discipleship, intergenerational ministry, and family ministry. As the mother of three children, she is familiar with the challenges of faith at home and pastoral ministry. She along with her husband Luke share a love for the church, their community, and the global work of peace and restoration through Jesus.
