Last year our church did away with the ever traditional Vacation Bible School. The backlash from this decision was unbelievable. For some people, no VBS meant they needed to attend a different church. Some folks just needed to bitch and moan about it until they thought the decision would be reversed for this year. Unfortunately for them, the decision stands.
I, for one, stand behind the new summer program called “Rock the Block”. Our children’s Pastor took a look at the purpose for VBS, which is to share Jesus with other kids in our community, and who was attending. Turns out that about 90% of the kids who came that week, were already regular attenders of our church. And while we love to continue to share the gospel with them, this was not our target audience.
“Rock the Block” is also a week long program, but it is done in the communities where we live. Families within our church host the program in their subdivisions or at local parks and invite the people in their neighborhoods. In this way, new relationships are formed and people who may have never heard the Good News are getting life changing information.
I loved this idea, but my kids were signed up for camp the week that “Rock the Block” was to take place. Still, it inspired me to do something in my own community and I came up with a Backyard Bible Study. I decided to schedule a kids’ bible study twice a week throughout the summer. I made up a simple calendar and wrote a letter to the neighbors on our street inviting them to join us any time they could.
Savannah and I came up with ideas of what we wanted to do for the study. I choose a book we’ve had on the shelf for quite a while called My ABC Bible Verses: Hiding God’s Word in Little Hearts and Savannah picked some of her favorite worship songs that I put on a CD. We also do a craft each time that involves writing out the verse we are trying to memorize.
It’s been a fun summer project and I’d like to do it again next year for a few different reasons. First, it’s been a great way to hold me accountable to doing a summer bible study with my own kids. Second, it’s allowed me to meet some neighbors that I hadn’t spoken to before. And third, even though all the kids that came are members of other churches, I think it was a good way to share our beliefs with one another.
I want to encourage anyone reading this to consider starting bible studies in your own neighborhood. I remember getting an invitation in my mailbox once when I was pregnant with Savannah. A woman down the street I had never met before was opening her home one night a week for a woman’s study on marriage. She didn’t do anything special. We each brought a snack to share and she went over the review questions that we had in our books. We ended with prayer and fellowship. And even though we did not become life long friends (I can’t even recall her name at the moment), the study was a good one that grew my walk in the Lord. And isn’t that the point? Yes, it’s fun to study God’s word with our friends. But other people need to study it too. This Backyard Bible Study was a baby step for me. Next year I’d like to extend the invitation past the 5 houses that surround ours, to other families in the subdivision I’ve never seen before. What will be your first step in sharing the gospel with the people who share your street?
