The Storyteller Tells a Story of Faith…
On the evenings of July 17th through 21st, a dedicated group of guides from Barnitz and Mt. Zion churches took a bunch of adventurous spelunkers on a “Cave Quest”. Held in the darkened cave basement of Mt. Zion Church, the space was transformed into the mysterious inside of a cave. With black bats hanging from the ceiling and stalagmites growing from the floor, the cave scene was set for exploration. But what were we trying to find?
God has a plan for us and knows exactly what we need. That was the theme for this week’s lessons. It took five days for the children to search for the messages that show them God’s plan, but in the end the message was clear to them. They were given a “buddy” each day to help them find the truth.
On Day #1, the Bible message was from Isaiah 71:5 “Lord, You alone are our hope.” The children were encouraged to put their hope in God. He alone provides constant help to us from childhood to old age. Sal the salamander helped them through the message.
Day #2 was a lesson on courage. The Bible verse was from Matthew 14:27 “Take courage, I am here.” It reminds the children – and all of us – that we don’t need to be afraid because Jesus is our help and protector and is here with us in every situation in which we find ourselves. The Buddy helper on Monday was Mawtha the moth.
The message for Day #3 was about looking for direction to follow Jesus. Even in the depths of a murky, dark cave, we can find our path if we seek Jesus. Our Bible verse was from Proverbs 3:6 “He will show us which path to take.” We are never lost with Jesus in our lives. Radar the bat helped us navigate through the darkness.
Day #4 – I John 3:16 “We know what real love is because Jesus gave His life for us.” By dying on the cross and rising from the dead three days later, Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice for our sins. The One who never sinned took the cross because He loved us so much. As the children heard the pound, pound, pounding of the nails going into Jesus’ body, they were reminded of Jesus’ strong and unfailing love for us. Olivia the owl was our Buddy for Wednesday.
Day #5 – II Corinthians 4:7 “Our great power is from God not from ourselves.” We, even the children, have the power to do great things in Jesus’ name. When Jesus left this earth forty days after His resurrection, He left the Holy Spirit with us to give us the power to spread His good news and to do His work. Ray the glowworm helped us find our way.
To chase away the darkness, the children raised their voices in song and dance. One of the songs they sang, This Little Light of Mine, reminds us that we are the light going into a dark, sinful world. It is our job to keep the light alive and to spread it around, because keeping it to ourselves defeats the purpose of having it. We need to let people see God at work in our lives.
Bible School is a great time for learning and worshipping together. It is so important to touch young lives with the message of Jesus, and the experience and environment of Bible School is a great place to do that. The spelunker guides for the week were as follows: Sandy and Sarah Ash; Carrie, Sarah and Katie Crain; Tammy Eads; Connie Eyer; Sherry Feeser; Carolyn Flohr; Amy Galbraith; Diane Herr; Anna Hockley; Bill March; Pastor Matt and Kelly Plant; Trish Prosser; Barb Trostle; Shannon Trostle; Roberta Stephens; Millie Wall; Barb and Jake Wilson; Jessi and Paul Wilson; and Kristin and Craig Wilson. We thank everyone for planning, working and helping with the children for these five days and throughout the preparation. We also thank the parents who brought their children to share this experience and the Barnitz and Mt. Zion congregations for supporting the program.
We found what we were looking for – it was JESUS! “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine…everywhere I go.”
(The materials used for this year’s Vacation Bible School were purchased from the Group Company. All the materials including the Bible translations used for each lesson can be found on their website at
httpd://www.group.com/category/ministry-resources/children-ministry/vbs/cave-quest.do).