Nobody did Vacation Bible School
like Long Beach C&MA. I really should have someone else write this chapter
as I was on the outside looking in. But what I saw was terrific,
It seemed everyone in the church
pitched in to make this work. People took vacation time just to be part of it.
Neighbors came along and volunteered. Attendance was double the size of the
church. Ever tiny little space was used.
The program was for kindergarten
through junior high. As soon as kids left junior high they came right back as
volunteers. The planning for the following year would begin almost immediately
after the last one was completed.
They often used a typical VBS
curriculum, but that was only the foundation. From there teachers took off and
make the teaching their own. I know I was involved both summers I was there,
but not as a leader – as a teacher. The year I remember was the second one when
I led the junior high group.
What a terrific group. I had
gotten to know many of them and saw they had a huge interest in movies. Super 8
cameras were all the rage and there were a few kicking around in church
families. I found some help for editing (some
of the kids could do it themselves). The plan was to cover the foundation
of the lesson the first day, have them write their script on day two, film and
edit on day three and four and show the film on the last day of the program.
They worked on this outside of pouring heart and soul into their projects.
The kids were divided into three
groups (I guess we only had three cameras).
There was an adult working with each group being there only for advice and to
drive them to various locations for their scenes. They were there for editing
help as well, but some didn’t use that.
I wish I would remember the subject
matter. What I do recall is that each film was tackled with great enthusiasm
and the thoughtfulness that went into their scripts hit the Scriptural concept
right on the head.
To this day I remember with pride
what these kids accomplished, and the films were terrific. I do wonder it
anyone still has his or her film – not likely.
Two things in particular made this
VBS unusual: 1) there were cool snacks. Not just a cracker and juice box, but
food and thought went into that side of the equation. 2) The crafts were
incredible. Prep work on crafts was done all year and each was age appropriate.
These were crafts kids wanted to take home. The craft area was always buzzing
with activity. I know the craft leaders were there early and stayed late to
make sure everything was ready. Crafts were also the major draw for returning
families and returning community volunteers.
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