This is not your grandma’s vacation Bible school. Three area churches recently presented weeklong vacation Bible schools (VBS). Each resonated with the truth of God’s Word, presented in a vibrant, high-tech manner, with elaborate sets guaranteed to get the attention of little ones who grew up on Sesame Street and Transformers.

Both Marco Lutheran and First Baptist had their schools the week of Aug. 10. The Lutheran VBS was in the morning and the Baptist VBS was in the evening. New Life Community Church of God had a morning VBS the following week.

Each started with a high-energy video sing-along. The children would next move from station to station to learn a Bible lesson, play games, do a craft and have a snack. A church staff member was in charge of each VBS, but all the work couldn’t be done without a cadre of enthusiastic volunteers. Among the volunteers were teens and preteens who crossed denominational lines to work with the children.

This was the first VBS for each of the individual VBS directors. Guy Seter, director of Christian Education Intern for the Lutheran Church, came to Marco seven months ago. The Lutheran VBS was entitled “Crocodile Dock.” It took place in an imaginary bayou, where kids discovered God’s presence, power, love and care.

“Our goal for VBS is to connect kids to God. We offer a safe environment to discuss faith, and the whole program is geared to reinforce the truth of God’s Word. We encourage kids to express their faith, ask questions and to seek God in everyday activities. We want to present the Gospel, model Christian ethics and ethos and encourage kids to get to know more about the God who created and loves them,” said Slater.

Not everyone is aware of the planning, organizing and work that go into a successful VBS. Planning for the Lutherans officially began when they purchased the starter kit in April. Seter felt that they began rather sluggishly, in terms of participant pre-registration, volunteer recruitment and materials procurement. However, the last four to six weeks had been a whirlwind of activity. He was very pleased with everyone’s enthusiasm and excitement.

Both Seter and his wife have theatrical backgrounds, and they enjoyed sharing some quality time with their five-year-old daughter, Riley, putting the program together. One of the scenes, an elaborate bayou on the stage in the great room, complete with cypress trees and Spanish moss, took him and his wife two weeks to construct and paint. The other decorations around the building were on loan from St. Michael’s Lutheran Church and School, in Ft. Myers.

“Prayer was constant throughout VBS planning and implementation. From the first perusal to the closing program, we are continually asking for the Lord’s direction and discernment of His will,” said Seter.

“My biggest thrill is looking out over the crowd during the opening segment, as the kids are singing and doing the accompanying hand motions. The energy that fills the room as all those young people are worshiping invigorates my heart and soul. A close second would be the relationship connections that are being forged. Volunteers grow closer to each other; kids are making new friends among their peers, as well as the bonds they are forming with the adult leaders. Through all this, our corporate relationship in worship, we are being drawn into a more personal relationship with our Lord,” said Slater.

VBS volunteer Dani Perrine said, “It was a joy this year at VBS to be able to volunteer and teach the children about Jesus. I was amazed how many of them did not attend church on Sundays. Those little faces just were so interested in hearing the stories and playing the games.”

This was first opportunity the Rev. Roger P. Felipe, D.Min., director of church planting at First Baptist Church, had to plan a VBS. He had been a youth minister 20 years ago with previous experience in organizing large events. The Baptists began planning about six months ago, but most of the preparation was done during the last two months. Their VBS was entitled “Paul and the Underground Church.” It took a month-and-a-half to build the elaborate sets—a portion of the wall of the coliseum; a Roman building with the word “Extollo” (praise) on it; a cave, complete with the sound of dripping water that represented an underground church; a prison cell where the apostle Paul was held; and a marketplace where the children did crafts and dramas unfolded.

“Prayer was part of every meeting and essential to the event,” said Felipe. “We prayed that God’s spirit and kindness be manifested as we minister to the children and that we would be filled with the joy of the Lord.” He continued, “Without Him, it’s only an activity. Every man, women and child here is a messenger of Jesus Christ.”

An essential part of Felipe’s planning was to find leaders for each of the following areas: food, marketplace, emergency response team, worship, registration and “family.” Each leader was responsible to recruit volunteers. Children at the Baptist VBS were not segregated by age, but were assigned to “families,” and their parents were encouraged to attend. The families would then move from activity to activity.

Among the highlights of planning for Felipe was when the sets were finally put together. Each day, he would see more and more of the sets completed. Other highlights were excitement of the marketplace experience and the dramas.

Many of the children were touched by Jay Peelier’s performance as the jailed apostle, Paul. Among them was 10-year-old Eddy Ludwigsan, “My favorite part was when we get to visit Paul, because he tells us more and more about God than we never knew.”

Jonathan “Moose” Jones played the fearsome Roman guard, Brutus, who was chained to Paul. “This has been a great time to get the community together to meet other families and to learn what it was like to be a persecuted Christian in Rome,” said Jones. He smiled and continued, “Even though I make the kids cry.”

Renee Maile, a newcomer to Marco, said, “Morgan, age five, can’t wait to get here every night. She loves the underground church in the cave.”

This was also the first VBS for island newcomer Jean Rowles, who began her position as children and youth director at New Life Community Church of God on July 1. The curriculum was chosen before she came on board and planning began in earnest a week before she arrived. The Church of God had help from the Huntington University Women’s Soccer Team with the set building. The team wanted to be of service to the churches during their stay on Marco. “Their creativity really helped things to come together. Watching Linda Chambers work with different materials to make the set come alive was truly marvelous,” said Rowles.

The title of the Church of God’s VBS was “Camp E.D.G.E.” “Our goal was to reach out to the kids in the community and teach them something new or draw them for the first time to God and Jesus. We wanted them to experience and discover God everywhere,” continued Rowles. Videos of extreme sports and rocking contemporary music were used to supplement the crafts and games. They also taped their own video lessons for the project. Rowles, Garett Gallus and Bobbi Lansdown acted and Kerry Rowles served as cameraman.

Many hours were spent planning lessons and games and scheduling for each day. But most important were the hours of prayer. “More hours of prayer from so many people than you would believe. This was a serious undertaking and God was implored frequently for the success and planning of the project,” said Rowles.

Directing her first VBS was a rewarding experience for Rowles, “Hearing how the kids looked forward to coming each day. Knowing that we were helping kids draw closer to God in a way that really spoke to them was definitely the best part of the whole experience.”

Jim Whitman, father of one of attendees, Kloie Whitman, age seven, summed up the sentiments of many parents: “[She] came home singing all of the songs and talked about what they learned that day. She just couldn’t wait to get back the next day to VBS.”

Kathleen Tuttle, a Marco Island resident since 1987, has written articles for various non-profits for more than 25 years. Kathleen is a community volunteer, former science teacher and microbiologist.

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