As a young girl, Vacation Bible School (VBS) was a place of refuge and a source of unconditional love for Chasity Johnson. Coming from a broken home, events like Bible camp and VBS were safe places where people loved her and who cared. Through VBS, seeds were planted that grew in Chasity’s heart that became vital later in life, as a wife and mother to five.
“My perspective is that I cannot get enough Jesus-loving-people pouring into my kids, and I think most Christian parents would agree,” Chasity said.
At her home church in Lincoln, Chasity volunteered and helped lead many church events her daughter participated in including a VBS. Every year, she saw kids and their families experiencing the love of Jesus from those who served. Not long ago, while serving at their VBS in Lincoln, she saw this tangible change in life in a neighbor boy who lived on their street.
“Our sweet neighbor boy came with our family to VBS that year,” Chasity shared. “After that week, he wanted to go to church and then invited his family to come with him. The following year, his mom and sisters served at VBS! What they found that summer was the joy and love shared amongst believers serving together. This year, we brought him with us to VBS at Citylight. We just can't do VBS without him now.”
After moving from Lincoln to Omaha a few years ago, Chasity felt that nudge and a similar burden she had years ago. She wondered if her new home church in Omaha would be interested in VBS. So she asked and just trusted that if it were the Lord's will, the timing would be right for Citylight and she'd be obedient and serve again in that capacity.
"Years ago I read an article about consumerism and church attendees. The pastor in the article said he wished more members would "pick up a shovel and serve in their church” instead of "bringing their shopping cart" each week. That stuck with me. If there's an area that might need attention I encourage others to offer to be a part of the solution by serving. We all have different gifts and when we come together it's such a beautiful picture of the Kingdom of heaven. So when I felt the Lord nudge me, my husband and I prayed about it, and felt peace about reaching out to Pastor Sam. Offering to serve in this role was simply obedience to Jesus.”
So, what does planning a VBS look like? It’s starting six months earlier recruiting key leaders. It’s inviting people to be leaders in the church in big and small ways. By the end of January, Chasity had all the key leaders in place.
“You know, you pray about it and you pray for people to step into all the different roles,” Chasity described, “and out of all the people I invited in, I only got a couple of ‘no’s.”
One story that stood out for Chasity was with volunteer leader, Melinda Yost. Chasity said,
“I remember thinking about decorations, and my friend Melinda kept coming to mind. It's a big job. I called her on a Sunday afternoon in January, and asked her to consider it. That Sunday morning at church, Melinda had heard a sermon about waking up every day and asking the Lord, "how can I serve you, today?" The pastor mentioned that if you open your eyes to opportunities to serve, God will answer you. Melinda and I laughed as she gave me her 'yes'. We both knew it was the Lord giving her an opportunity. It’s truly about being obedient to what God is calling you into. She put a plan together and completely nailed it!”
“It was also really fun seeing leaders take ownership of their roles. Jen Carlson was our crew director for the week of VBS. She led the crew leader training and she’s so full of joy. She's a gifted, creative teacher and knows how to bring fun in any space. She created a really sweet atmosphere for the crew leaders to start preparing for the week in their hearts and to get excited about their crew kids. Not only did Jen show up prepared and fun, but also brought three of her kids to serve! We ate dinner together, finished our training and then each crew leader learned their crew kid’s names so they could start praying for them. It was a fun kick off to the VBS week!"
There were so many Jesus stories from VBS. Chasity highlighted these three:
“The first thing I am celebrating from that week is how all the church came together to serve and love kids with joy and excitement. So many people came out of the woodwork to help and give. Everyone just kept asking "what can I do, how can we serve?" It was incredible. The joy was infectious and everyone wanted a taste of it!”
“The next celebration that comes to mind are the kids who asked to bring their friends mid-week. The fun, love, and excitement they felt from everyone and they wanted their friends to experience, too. That’s the Gospel! That’s Jesus. Loving people where they are with the joy of Jesus. That's exactly what I felt as a kid that then gave me a love for ministries like VBS and camp.”
“The other thing that was really fun to see was the staff engaged. The pastors, the support staff, the tech team, the staff wives, they all showed up to greet, help, serve, etc. It is something that has always been important in my heart. I want these kids to see the leaders of our church at VBS, so on Sundays they see them and feel at home. The kids will remember them from VBS and see them in the hallway or outside of church and say "hey, that’s Miss Emily or Pastor Sam or my crew leader!” It’s consequential for them to see these leaders believe in showing up for kids. It is important. Whether it’s a pie in the face or a warm welcome when they come in the front doors.”
Chasity concluded by sharing what she not only experienced, but what she heard and saw over and over at VBS:
“I think honestly the surprise we all received after something like this is that there is so much joy in serving. You get this big dose of Christian brothers and sisters serving in the name of Jesus and you are in the middle of it all. Sometimes we have to say ‘no’ to serving and that's okay, but when God calls you to an opportunity, and you walk in obedience, there is nothing like it. You get to know your church family and build new relationships. And when you serve, alongside your church, you understand the beauty of fellowship and community and you want to share that gift with the world around you. We already have next year's theme!! Whose with me?"
Praise God for His church and for VBS. God used VBS to bring people together. It was a taste of heaven. May we not forget but instead continue to invite people to church, to City Group, to kids ministry and may we walk in joy and excitement for what God will do tomorrow...including next year’s VBS.
To receive information/serving opportunities for next year’s VBS (June 3-7, 2024), please email chasity@citylightomaha.org