Warrior church sees good turnout for VBS

Published 10:28 am Monday, June 9, 2008

By Melissa Waites

The North Jefferson News



WaterStone Church in Warrior may have made many people wish they were on a tropical island this week.

WaterStone Church, formerly Warrior First Baptist Church, held its annual Vacation Bible School (VBS) June 1-5.

The theme for this year’s VBS was “Living God’s Unshakeable Truth; to know the Truth, Speak the Truth, and Live the Truth.

“Our theme song said, ‘in this land of shifting sands, we’ll stand firm on our God’s commands, and live His unshakeable truth on Outrigger Island,” said Ann Davis, WaterStone Church’s preschool director.

The theme, “Outrigger Island,” focuses around Psalm 86:11 and will help children develop the stability they need to face the world’s shifting sands and wavering options, according to LifeWay’s Web site.

LifeWay, one of the largest providers of Christian products and services, picks a different theme each year for churches to follow if they so choose.

Vacation Bible School is the main outreach event of the year and offers a “strong and unique way to share Jesus Christ,” states the Web site.

“We hope to teach the children that in this world of uncertainties that God’s word stands firm. We have many children who come from broken homes and not so favorable home life situations, so it is important to us to show them that God is real and unchanging, that he loves them unconditionally and he will never lie to them or leave them” said Davis.

WaterStone Church’s VBS hosted over 100 attendees.

“Our attendance was great. We had 108 Tuesday night, many more than we expected,” said Davis.

Every year, VBS offers snacks and there was a different meal each night.

“Our ladies in the kitchen prepared good refreshments each night. Many of our workers came straight from work and didn’t have time to eat before they came,” said Davis.

“We tried to pick meals to match the theme, but that was a little hard,” said Mary Neely, WaterStone Church’s secretary who also helped out.

Tuesday night, VBS provided spaghetti and ice cream.

Thursday night, parent’s night, was the final night of VBS and was luau themed with barbecue as the meal.

The decorations for the event took about five days to complete and most were handmade.

“The outside and sanctuary decorations were mostly provided by Cathy and Ken Story. Their daughter Ashley is a member of our church and they have been a tremendous help. The catamaran outside of the church, which is probably my favorite, also belongs to the Storys,” said Davis.

The inside decorations included a walk through tunnel in the sanctuary, complete with a waterfall and canoe on the stage as well as mountains made of wood.

Outside, the decorations included a tiki hut and the catamaran.

Offering was also taken up each night. It was a contest between the girls and boys.

The first night they brought pennies, the second night nickels, the third night dimes, and the fourth night quarters.

“They raised over $300. Thursday night was the last night and parents were asked to match what the children had brought. The money collected will go to Mission Belize which our church regularly supports,” said Davis.

Two children became Christians at Tuesday night’s VBS.

Most of the credit for the success of VBS is given to Sue Brown, Pastor Jerrell Brown’s wife.

“She spent months preparing for VBS. She put in great efforts in making sure that each child and each worker received a blessing out of being a part of WaterStone Church and our VBS. She has a passion for children and wants to see them all come to know the Lord. Her enthusiasm is contagious and we had such an exciting time,” said Davis.

Pastor Jerrell Brown also attended VBS every night and supported every effort.

He visited the classrooms Wednesday night and presented the ABC’s of Salvation.

WaterStone Church is located at 210 South Brake Street in Warrior.