It Worked for Us
The children, adults and teachers put on their fatigues and went to church prepared for battle. More than 50 children and adults attended Bible Boot Camp at Clark United Methodist Church in Luthersville, Georgia.
Clark's United Methodist Women organized and led the one-day vacation Bible school in December. Boot camp life was the theme for the day. The teachers and the pastor, the Rev. Alphonso Smith, had military titles like staff and drill sergeant. Teachers were platoon leaders.
Before classes began, the learners had a hot breakfast at 8 a.m. Then, divided by age groups, the children attended classes to learn how to be warriors for God. They also watched a skit performed by teens who were in the high school ROTC program. The young children learned about having a tool belt to keep all their tools readily at hand. They all agreed that having one tool belt of godly things is a good thing, and they should make sure they have their belts on, said Smith.
"You start with the truth, stay with the truth and go with the truth," Smith said. And that's what they learned at VBS. Adults also attended Bible study taught by the pastor's wife, Kesavia Smith.
After a full day of learning, meals, snacks and games, the children received school supplies to fill their book bags for the next semester. "We wanted to jumpstart their 2017 school needs," said Melissa Martin, the event's director. Martin said the church had distributed book bags and school supplies in August before the school year began, but then the women asked, "What happens when their supplies run out?" The UMW decided it would be good to hand out school supplies for the next semester in the winter.
"It Worked for Us" is written by Christine Kumar, a freelance writer and administrator, Baltimore Metropolitan District, Baltimore-Washington Conference. Send story ideas to [email protected].