It’s sort of the quiet before the storm around here. Next week will be VBS which means children everywhere, a flurry of activity, and my favorite part is seeing all of the volunteers who make this possible. There are great folks who year after year pour their time, creativity, and energy into making VBS as special as it is. There are people who take vacation time from work to do it. Some seasonal members consistently volunteer every year. You have people like Sylvia Martin who coordinate and provide a recharge station for the volunteers. How cool is that?

And of course, the youth help out, too. There are always youth around the kids, picking up the slack, getting mobbed by kindergarteners, and dressing up in silly costumes. It’s really a cool thing to witness. But I’ve always found the youth’s role in VBS crucial. Humans are modeling creatures. We observe others doing something and mimic what we see others doing to their benefit. College students look up to their professors, high schoolers model after college kids, middle schoolers after high schoolers, all the way down.

The youth, the teens, are modeling what all of this talk about Jesus looks like. When the children see the youth singing during worship, it’s sets the example. When the youth buy into the magic at story time, the kids buy in, too. When teens give their time and energy to VBS, the children grow up to do it, too. That’s why so many of our youth help out with things like VBS, because a few years ago, a youth was there for them.