Dear Friends,

In about eight days, we will begin Vacation Bible School. This is one of my favorite ministries in the life of the church. We get to hang out, play, pray, and learn together. It is always creative and fun, and it creates some of the best memories a church can have!

One of the struggles in a community like ours is scheduling Vacation Bible School. Our community has numerous churches, and many of them like to do this kind of annual outreach to children. And though we try to never schedule on the same week, sometimes we inadvertently do so.

This year, St. Thomas Lutheran Church, our neighbors down the street, asked the question, “What if we worked with another church on VBS?” The long story short of this is that our churches are doing VBS together this year.

Working together means both churches are learning to be flexible and creative. We both must give a little to get the most from this new partnership.

Several times this spring and summer, I have walked into meeting rooms in the church where a couple of people are animatedly talking about something. I recognize one person, but not the other. What I walked in on each time were VBS leaders – people from each of the churches working together on their parts of the program. It is truly exciting to see a shared ministry
like this develop.

This is what Christian unity is all about. The pastors and leaders of both churches want to reach children with the good news about Jesus. Why not do it together? And who knows – perhaps this will lead to ministry partnerships in other areas! That an exciting possibility!

In the week ahead, please keep Molly Rogers Blue, and the teams from both churches in your prayers, as we enter this final week of preparation for Vacation Bible School.

Blessings,

Pastor John