Lifeway's Galactic Starveyors VBS came to Grace Church this past summer!  As kids searched the starry skies, they found that the God who created it all wants a personal relationship...with them!  Grab your telescopes and join us as we search the visible universe to discover the invisible God who loves us - to the moon and back!

 

 

 

*Three year olds must be three by the time VBS begins and must be potty-trained.

Questions about VBS?  Contact Kristine Peterson at mookri@bethel.edu or 715-488-2811.

COMING JUNE 22nd:  WORLD VISION'S 6K WALK FOR WATER
On Thursday of VBS week, the kids and volunteers will be participating in World Vision's 6K Walk for Water to raise money to provide families around the world with clean water.  For more information, see our Facebook page.  Want to donate to our walk?  Click on the link below.  Thank you!

MONDAY

Welcome to Galactic Starveyors VBS!  We had 66 kids join the fun today as we learned our VBS theme song (plus another great song called “Over the Moon”), motto, and Bible verse (see below)!  We also saw a video that showed us how God created the world and how He created the first people, Adam and Eve, and began a special relationship with them.  Like Adam and Eve, we are created by God, and He wants a relationship with us too!  In our Missions time, we learned about kids who have to walk long distances every day in search of water.  To help us better understand what these kids go through every day, and to raise money to give them and their families access to clean water, we will be doing a 6K (3.7 mile) walk together on Thursday of VBS week.  Paperwork with details was sent home today – remember to get your permission slips in by Wednesday!  Thanks for a great first day, and I will see you tomorrow!

VBS Motto:  Searching the Visible, Discovering the Invisible.

VBS Bible Verse:  “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  For everything was created by Him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things have been created through Him and for Him.” – Colossians 1:15-16
 

TUESDAY
 

Day Two of VBS!  We were blessed to have 73 kids share in today’s exciting activities!  We learned two new songs called “How Far Love Goes” and “Stars”, and we met Eve, who explained to us how God’s perfect relationship with Adam and Eve was broken because of sin.  Our sin (the wrong things we do) separates us from God, but form the very beginning, God already had a plan to bring us back to Him – sending His Son, Jesus, to die for our sins.  Our offering total for the day was $28.21 – we are working our way toward our goal of raising $5000 to provide families with clean water!  We had an exciting announcement regarding offering today – someone has volunteered to match whatever money comes in for offering, so our offering total for the week will be doubled!  Remember to get your 6K Walk permission slips in by tomorrow.  Keep up the great work, and I will see you back at VBS tomorrow!
 

WEDNESDAY
 

69 kids came out for Day Three of VBS!  In today’s Bible Story, we met John, who was one of Jesus’ disciples.  John told us about God’s plan to restore our relationship with Him by sending His Son, Jesus, to die for our sins.  Romans 3:23 tells us that we have all sinned by breaking God’s law.  Romans 6:23 says that the penalty for sin is death – not just physical death but eternal separation from God.  God knows the deepest sin in our hearts, and He also knows we can do nothing to save ourselves.  Our sin cannot be erased, made up for, or balanced out by good deeds.  God is just and must punish sin.  In His great love for us, God sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross and take the punishment for our sin so that you and I can be forgiven and spend eternity in Heaven with Him.   When we repent of (confess and turn away from) our sin, trusting Jesus as our Savior and following Him as our Lord, He will forgive our sin and change our hearts and lives.  What great good news!  Other things that went on today included a yummy snack, some fun games, and reviewing our four VBS songs!  Our offering total for today was $128.48.  Our 6K Walk is tomorrow…remember to wear comfortable clothing and tennis shoes.  Also bring your pledge forms and money tomorrow so we can keep heading toward our $5000 goal!  Looking forward to walking with you tomorrow…see you then!
 

THURSDAY
 

Today was a great day for our 6K Walk!  We had 64 kids and 35 youth/adults participate, and they did a great job!  We started our day with a video and instructions in the sanctuary and then headed outside for the first quarter of the walk.  We stopped for a fun activity, and then completed quarter two.  A snack of granola bars, crackers, and water fortified us for quarter three of the walk.  One more break for activities, and we finished up the walk.  At the end of the day, we all gathered in the Fellowship Hall for a cupcake celebration!  Our offering total from today was $291.16.  Only one more day to bring in your offering money and any remaining pledges – I look forward to announcing our grand total tomorrow!  Remember that family and friends are invited to our VBS program tomorrow at 3:45 p.m. in the church sanctuary.  Refreshments will follow.  I hope to see you there!

 

FRIDAY
 

It is hard to believe that Friday was our last day of VBS!  We had a busy day getting ready for the program, but in the middle of the preparation, we took time to meet Peter, another disciple of Jesus.  Peter taught us that even when we sin, God still loves us and will never leave us.  Once we begin a relationship with Jesus by repenting of our sin and receiving Him as our Savior and Lord, that relationship can never be broken, even when we mess up.  When we sin, we need to turn to Jesus in repentance, and He freely offers His forgiveness and grace.  Our program was a success – thank you to all of the family members and friends who came to cheer us on!  I also want to say a special thank you to all of the volunteers who have worked so hard to make this week a special one for the kids.  They are deeply appreciated!  Our offering for the week was $588.69.  This was matched by a generous donor, brining our total offering to $1177.38!  Thank you so much to everyone who got pledges this week!  Amazingly, our pledge total for the week was 5,822.68!  This means that we have a grand total of $7,000 to send to World Vision so that many children and their families will have access to clean water!  Thank you all so much for your generosity.  If you are interested in donating more or sponsoring a child through World Vision, you can do so at www.worldvision.org.  Thank you all for a wonderful week of VBS…I hope you had as much fun and learned as much this week as I did!  Have a great rest of your summer!