August 2007 Newsletter


"VBS and More"  

By: Craig Rippy

  Wow! As I write this article, we have experienced Vacation Bible School through Wednesday. The Solid Rock servants are working hard with smiles on their faces. The kids are happy and excited about being here. Greg and Kelley Campbell have been administrating things well. And, we have been having record attendance. God must be very pleased.

VBS is one of those ministries that get us exited. We go all out to reveal the awesomeness of our God to kids. Brian and his helpers deck the halls and every other place with realistic sets. Some of us dress in parts and all of us give our all to serve Jesus in this way. Praise God!

Well, by the time you get this Avalanche Ranch will be history. Yet, what God is doing in the hearts of the children will last an eternity. Yes, an eternity.

Our Godly example and teaching will settle into their little minds with power. The Holy Spirit will make the experience life changing. Even some of the parents will be affected for good.

Some of the children already have a church home, but others are in need of one. We have revealed the attitudes I hope they want to be a part of. Who wouldn't want to join in on kindness, love, joy and peace?

Brother Greg reminded me of another important fact about VBS. It brings the congregation into deeper fellowship. We work together to put on VBS as no other time. There is a lot of work we do together. Serving together is a great part of genuine Biblical fellowship.

If we can truly fellowship together, we are a healthy congregation. If we have poor thoughts about each other, complain about things, and would rather be home parts of our body are not healthy.

We have had nearly 90 servants serving each night. Many came up to prepare for the event and I'm sure many will show up to help Brian take down and store the sets.

Events like VBS can exercise spiritual muscles. We develop deeper relationships. We learn to appreciate others we may not have known well before. And, we begin to have a real love for each other.

I guess I could go on and on about the blessings of fellowship. I'll choose to move to something else, like how tired we get when we give our all for the Lord. As I write this article, I am worn out. I'm sure there are typo's and grammatical mistakes everywhere in this article. Maybe Debbie will clean it up to make it readable.

When we work, we get tired. When we get tired, we need rest. Well, it's hard to get enough rest during VBS. I hope each of you were able to rest up afterward. The question now is, how much rest should we get before involving ourselves in the next service assignment?

Matthew 11:28-30, 28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (NIV)

Going to Jesus is to be restful. Jesus was a busy man. At one point he and his disciples needed some down time. They went to a solitary place desiring to attain the rest they needed. Instead the crowds found them. Mark 6:30-44 records the story. Jesus teaches the crowd until it is late. Then he has such compassion upon them that he feeds them. What a labor of love (1st Thessalonians 1:3)!

So how do we get rest? Mark 6:45-46 reveals the answer. Jesus found a few hours to pray. He was revitalized when he took time with the Father in prayer. Going to Jesus is going with Jesus in prayer to the Father. You do know we are to pray in Jesus' name? We pray with the mediation of Jesus and in the service of Jesus. We find comfort, rest and direction when we spend time in prayer.

I hope each of you have found much time to be with Jesus, get rested up, and receive instruction for your next service in God's Kingdom. You know, this is what it's all about, serving God in the fellowship of believers.