Go! Connect! Share!

In late-July 2014, I was about to go into my senior year of high school. I still attended Cleveland First Baptist with my parents, and was a part of the media team. Our pastor, Rick Dill, had informed our CrossWalk youth group that we would be hosting some youth from a church in Weimar, Germany. Pastor Rick and his wife Nancy served in Germany as missionaries for over 25 years. I was excited to meet new people from another part of the world! I took off media duties for that week and went to Sunday school to greet the Germans. I loved getting to know them! As many of you know, I come from a Spanish-speaking family. I have always been surrounded by people who speak English or Spanish. It was weird to hear the German youth speak and not understand what they were saying. I would have the opportunity to learn a little German later that week, as the German youth group would be leading a kid’s camp at our church. After Sunday school, the German youth led the worship service. During that...

The past two weeks I have shared about the two VBS’s I got to serve at this summer. Today, I wanted to write about what I realized or what God revealed to me during VBS this year. 1: VBS is a Mission! I remember when I was young, I used to always look forward to Missions class and learning about missionaries from all over the world. It was so cool, and still is, to see people going around the world and sharing the Good News to people of all ages and ethnicities. I went on my first mission trip when I was 17, with my church youth group along with a youth group from Germany. We went to West Virginia to do a kids camp. In three of the last four years, I have been to Mexico, mainly to visit family, but also to observe what needs the people have. Although I sometimes get discouraged because I may not be able to travel on more mission trips because of schedule, school, or lack of funds, I know that God is in control over that. When the time comes, I believe that God will open a door...

Last week I talked about my VBS experience at Gardendale First Baptist Church and talked a little about why I am so passionate about VBS. (So if you haven’t, go check out last weeks post.) Continuing with the VBS posts, this week I want to focus on the second VBS that I got to serve in last month at Cleveland First Baptist Church. Next week I will be talking about lessons learned during VBS 2017. The theme at Cleveland First Baptist was Summer Games 2017: Training with Paul to Become Champions or Christ. Students learned about Paul and his conversion and missionary journeys. Students also learned how important it is to follow God and that He has a plan for us. We as believers are to take the Word across the street and around the world. This was a total unexpected, but pleasant surprise! Within 2 hours of committing to Gardendale’s VBS, I was asked by Pastor Rick if I would like to be the lead teacher for 1 st /2 nd graders at Cleveland’s VBS. I don’t know why, I guess it wa...

Every June since I was 4, I always get excited about one thing…VBS! Vacation Bible School is the time I look forward to the most every year. Why? Because it is the number one evangelistic event that can be used by a church to reach lost people. As a matter of fact, it was during VBS that I accepted Jesus as my Savior in 2007. Did you know…Studies have shown that most kids, by the age of 13, will believe what they will believe for the rest of their lives. That is why it is so important to plant the Word of God in the kids. VBS is a fun, effective way to do this. During VBS, kids are exposed to the Word of God through study, music, games, crafts, and more. This was my 17 th year to be a part of VBS is some form or fashion. Kind of makes me feel old. My first was when I was 4. I spent 9 years as a kid participating in VBS. The last 8 years have been spent serving at VBS, mainly through media. Not only did I participate in one VBS this year, but TWO VBS’s in the same week!!! How ...