Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Once a King or Queen in Narnia...

Next week begins our Narnia VBS, based on the first book of the Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis. I see that a lot of people are sharing my excitement for this VBS - Lewis wrote such a compelling story that opens up great opportunities to share the story of Jesus and what the Cross means. The greatest combo - a fun story that teaches the Gospel.

The whole church building will be transformed into Narnia, with the professor's study, a wardrobe, winter in Narnia, Tumnus' house, the Beaver's house, Aslan's Camp, and so on. The kids will be inside the story, and Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy will tell the story throughout the week. There will even be an appearance by a very special lion (but not in a way that would frighten the youngest ones).

Every craft, every snack, every skit, every memory verse, and every game will reinforce the lesson for each night. Your kids will hear the night's lesson in 6 or 7 different ways, including food! We want to keep VBS focused to teach 5 lessons really well, rather than a whole bunch of ideas with mediocrity.

This approach to VBS is a bit different. Rather than buying a curriculum that lays everything out, we created a framework of what we wanted each night to be about, tracking along with the story from Narnia. Then each team of workers has the flexibility (and responsibility) to make their portion of the night teach that lesson. For example, the team in charge of snacks is responsible to come up with a different snack that somehow relates to the story and the lesson for each night. It takes more labor this way, but the workers get to put their personality into their part of the whole.

Loopy is our VBS Coordinator this year, and she has surrounded herself with a great crew. But she has done the lion's share of the work (OK, so not Aslan the Lion's share of the work, but ... well ... you know what I mean). Please show her your appreciate and support. If there is any possible way you can use your abilities to help her out, please offer to help her.

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