Wow! VBS 2015 is complete, and our VBS and His Little Feet Sunday has come and gone. What a beautiful 7 days to be a part of and witness! Many have asked me, so how do you feel VBS went this year overall? It's difficult for me to rate this VBS against others, but this is what I can say:By far, of four VBS seasons I've now been a part of at Horizons, this has been the most spiritually engaging of them all, which I LOVE! Horizons staff and leaders make it a priority to be in prayer for each event and effort we offer. Yet, as the saying holds true, one can never pray too much. This year more than any other, we quickly found the need to be in deeper prayer during the week. Here's why:
Few churches can boast about their VBS being to the same caliber as Horizons'. It's one of the areas in which we absolutely excel! Yet, because the event and its success seems to come so easily to Horizons, we run the risk of thinking the event will nearly take care of itself. This year we were reminded that it takes the WHOLE church, it takes EVERY volunteer, it requires EVERY invite, and it still demands EVERY ounce of passion we've poured into previous years. One might propose we were reminded to work harder. But in truth, more than we needed to put more effort into the week, we needed more prayer. As we found ourselves short on volunteers this year and lower on registrations than usual, the opportunity to be in greater prayer became apparent. And so we prayed! By prayer and prayer alone we witnessed the miracle of volunteers come forward and invites to friends increase. Never have those attending VBS invited more friends during the week than this year. That's how powerful prayer is!
VBS is Never Just About VBSWithout the focus prayer brings about in our hearts, it's easy to hope and strive for something for the wrong reasons. We LOVE VBS. We yearn for it, get excited about it, and we push to ensure it goes well. Yet, as we truly set our hearts to praying for the week, we were reminded what it's all about. It quickly feels funny to ask God to make sure VBS is big. It's like asking God to let the Huskers to win the championship. Does God truly care about who wins the championship or how big our VBS is? This last week, prayer reminded us of the deeper, more life-changing reasons why we have VBS. It's through VBS that hearts, lives, and stories are brought to life, are redirected, and are filled with Jesus' life and light. That's why we have VBS! God DOES wish to bless things that will bring more of His people back to Him. Our constant practice of prayer over the week reminded us THIS is our true purpose and intent behind the events we hold.
Small Visions Cast Small Nets
Without prayer we often forget how powerful and grand God is. Without prayer, we might feel as though it's only possible to welcome 200 children to VBS. We look at numbers, trends, resources, our energy levels, and the energy of others, and predict by ourselves what is possible. But in prayer, God reveals what His plan is. It was God who brought thousands to faith in Jesus in just one day during the growth of the early church, not the efforts and estimations of the apostles (Acts 2:41). Without prayer, our visions tend to be too small, and our efforts often render small results. But in prayer, God gives us HUGE visions, blesses the efforts of servants, and renders unbelievable results!
Even Greater Things Can and Will Happen
Without prayer, we strive to meet all our goals and simply hope we might get there. But as we saw this last week, in constant prayer and devotion to God's will, God will bring about even greater things, things far beyond what we could hope for or imagine! It was while we were in prayer this last week His Little Feet called to ask if we would consider hosting them that Sunday. Only God could have orchestrated this. VBS and HLF children together? It was a dream come true.
And even beyond that, through our prayer during the week and our focus on what VBS is really all about, God's power truly worked through our words and actions. Jesus showed up, and the Spirit breathed ardently into the hearts of our children and adults. By the end of Wednesday night, 56 children celebrated giving their hearts to Jesus, inviting Him to be their Lord and Savior. Without prayer, this seems impossible and uncomfortable. Through prayer, we confident and assured--this is our greatest desire and highest effort!
Small Visions Cast Small NetsWithout prayer we often forget how powerful and grand God is. Without prayer, we might feel as though it's only possible to welcome 200 children to VBS. We look at numbers, trends, resources, our energy levels, and the energy of others, and predict by ourselves what is possible. But in prayer, God reveals what His plan is. It was God who brought thousands to faith in Jesus in just one day during the growth of the early church, not the efforts and estimations of the apostles (Acts 2:41). Without prayer, our visions tend to be too small, and our efforts often render small results. But in prayer, God gives us HUGE visions, blesses the efforts of servants, and renders unbelievable results!
Even Greater Things Can and Will HappenWithout prayer, we strive to meet all our goals and simply hope we might get there. But as we saw this last week, in constant prayer and devotion to God's will, God will bring about even greater things, things far beyond what we could hope for or imagine! It was while we were in prayer this last week His Little Feet called to ask if we would consider hosting them that Sunday. Only God could have orchestrated this. VBS and HLF children together? It was a dream come true.
And even beyond that, through our prayer during the week and our focus on what VBS is really all about, God's power truly worked through our words and actions. Jesus showed up, and the Spirit breathed ardently into the hearts of our children and adults. By the end of Wednesday night, 56 children celebrated giving their hearts to Jesus, inviting Him to be their Lord and Savior. Without prayer, this seems impossible and uncomfortable. Through prayer, we confident and assured--this is our greatest desire and highest effort!
I am grateful for this journey. The experience of prayer and the reminder of how important it is to be in prayer, constantly welcoming God's Spirit, has grown my heart and our hearts as Horizons staff and leaders. Praise God for that! While our record number of registrations may only have been matched this year, so much more happened. Kingdom things happened. Amen!
More to come!
Jason <><
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