Rome VBS

Over VBS week, our Arden Hills building was transformed into the bustling, ancient streets of Rome, where kids were immersed in Paul’s world and God’s love. They heard the story of Saul to Paul and learned the reality of persecution. When seeing a skit of a Roman soldier closing a merchant’s store for being a Christian, many students bravely opposed this soldier from the audience by yelling, “No!” or “I’m a Christian!” It was beautiful to see their resistance in the face of an intimidating soldier (well, if you can call our own Jason DeShaw intimidating!)

Throughout the week of story time, crafts, snack, and games, kids learned that God’s love is a gift, changes us, saves us, and is worth sharing. We encouraged students to write down God sightings, a time where they saw God show up over the week, and we recorded over 360 God sightings! We also raised $2,653.45 for Metro Hope. We are impressed and awed at the kids who generously gave their cash and change to bless families facing addiction.

Raising so much money triggered a roar of celebration, and the cause was twofold: 1. Families would benefit from the kids’ generosity and 2. Far surpassing the goal of $500 meant both Sweden and Janelle would get a pie to the face. This pie wasn’t any old pie; it was a Caesar salad pie! It was a priceless moment that the kids loved.

Another priceless moment was when kids shouted the salvation prayer to Jesus. Then on the last day, they learned about the importance of not keeping that good news to themselves but sharing it with the world! We can’t wait to see the fruit that comes out of this week, and we trust God that it will be extraordinary! Thank you to everyone who helped with this year’s VBS. We’ll see you next year!