I’ll be honest—I used to be that pastor who rolled my eyes at VBS, convinced it was just glorified babysitting dressed up in Bible costumes. After spending years on the planning side of things, watching volunteers transform our worship center into a spaceship and witnessing high schoolers serve alongside grandparents, my perspective has completely shifted. It turns out that VBS isn’t just about teaching kids Bible stories for a week; it’s about showing them (and their parents) that they genuinely matter to our church community. When I watched our congregation of all ages come together to serve 80 kids for five nights straight, I realized VBS might just be the most powerful community-building program we have. Who knew that the ministry I once dismissed would become the very picture of multi-generational discipleship I’d been preaching about all along?
