Head to the farm for the Country Junction VBS

Rustle up the chickens and bring in the cattle and head to the Methodist and Presbyterian Church’s Country Junction Vacation Bible School. The one-day program runs from 12:30 to 3:35 p.m. July 21 in the Monroe downtown square.

“We’ve tried for a year now to really focus on being a church for the community. Everything we have done has that in mind,” Methodist Pastor Van Dickens said. “I discovered it is getting harder for small churches to do a week long vacation Bible school. Doing vacation Bible school at night is taxing, it wears people out and it became clear that just too many people at the end of the week would be exhausted.”

Organizers for VBS began looking at alternative options to the week long program and found a one-day option that would fill the churches’ needs. Shortening the program to an afternoon also helped with the turnout for volunteers.

“It seems like anybody can give it 100 percent for one shot and then at the end of the day, feel good about it,” Dickens said.

VBS will take kids on a journey through the farm from the Mootown Hotel to the Rabbitat for Haremanity. Along with the traditional singing, praising and arts and crafts, the kids will learn stories from the Bible and how they apply to everyday life.

“The main theme is ‘God’s love for all creation’ using a farm as an example and ‘Our growing love of Jesus,’ very basic Christian truths,” Dickens said. “There is an opening skit of a farmer with his hired hand who is a lazy fellow, but he comes around and there is forgiveness and second changes. Then there is the Mootiful Barnyard skit and also two Bible stations and the salvation station. The first Bible station is Mootown Motel that focuses on fun facts about barnyard animals, how they grow, what they need, how you care for them then that segways over to how we grow in God.”

He said they thought about giving out milk to the kids but decided in the summer head, ice cream would be a cool, tasty treat instead.

“The second station is Rabbitat for Haremanity. We learn about rabbits and one of the things we know is they love to multiply and so to when we share God’s love with friends, the love multiples,” Dickens said. “The picket fence is the salvation station where children learn the basic story of salvation beginning on the Garden of Eden, disobedience, God’s ongoing love and the salvation plan, culminating in Jesus and an age level appropriate way.”

Each station will last about 30 minutes to keep the program moving along. Children in preschool through sixth grade are invited to attend and any older kids are welcome to help with activities throughout the afternoon.

“We wanted to make it a community VBS,” Dickens said. “We want to make it visibly more open, they see it is in a neutral place, anyone can come and it is just one day.”

VBS will follow worship in the park at 10 a.m. and the potluck lunch at 11:30 a.m. For more information about VBS visit the program’s Facebook page or contact the Monroe Methodist Church.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com