Vacation Bible School Church Of God Of "Holiness" By Mr. Jason Allen

As I am committed to presenting options for youth this summer, I had the pleasure of speaking with Pastor Phillip Gumbs about the vacation bible school at the Church of God “Holiness.” This of course will not be the only VBS provided for the youth this summer and I will try to highlight other programs as well. Yet, I am confident that this program will stand out. Their program will begin on August 20th and run to the 26th and will be held at the large church building located on Queen Elizabeth Ave. near the Stoney Ground Primary School. This year’s program has a central theme entitled “Friendship with God.” This theme will be highlighted throughout the many activities during the week and one aspect that will be stressed is “prayer.” It is through prayer that one can seek a better and more fulfilled relation/friendship with God.

The Church of God “Holiness” Vacation Bible School is open to all children ages 3-14. Registration will begin at 8 am on August 20th with the VBS starting at 9 am and continuing until 12 pm during the entire week. There is a registration fee of EC $10 which will go towards providing snacks and drinks for the children. In the past, this particular program has had as many as 180 children participating and Pastor Phillip is hoping to have the same numbers. He spoke to me in great detail about the program and mentioned that there are two main organizers who will be travelling from Tortola. Janet Gothman and Veta Greenwood will spearhead the VBS and will work with a team of 12 adult teachers. Therefore a total of 14 adults will be involved in the curriculum design and teaching of all the participants.
Elaborating on the theme and program, it is important to mention that friendship with God through prayer is paramount in terms of engendering a personal commitment to Christ and development of character by his example. This years VBS will highlight this aspect of character development as a way of combating the recent developments in crime in Anguilla. The VBS staff will stress building character that is more Christ-like with special emphasis on caring for others, being pure, respect for authority, and serving others; all of which Christ did. This theme and sub-themes will be taught and strengthened through the various planned activities. Firstly, there will be four teams competing with each other. Each team will be assigned a colour, either red, blue, green or yellow. The areas in which they compete are scripture memorization, attendance, bringing the Bible daily, bringing visitors and comprehension or stories. There will also be many fun activities such as puppet shows, games, arts and crafts, pass the parcel (a sort of musical chairs) and concentration. On Sunday, at the end of the week, there will be a presentation done by all the children and all parents are invited to come to the Sunday service to observe. If transportation for participants is an issue, it can be arranged by calling Denise Gumbs at 497-5613.
As always, Pastor Phillip was very passionate about the program. He said, “With concern about crime, we must think long term. Children who are young and innocent can still be moulded and we must take advantage of this opportunity to develop character. Instead of the children becoming our grief, they can become our glory if we work diligently to help build a Christ-like character. This VBS is one of many programs that can address this. Summertime also tends to be less productive and this program will help to give children a more productive options. As the children get ready for the following school year, this VBS will help them leave the summer with a stronger character and sense of purpose.

I would like to thank Pastor Phillip Gumbs for taking the time to answer my questions and for providing positive opportunities for youth. It is great to see people making a positive impact on a daily basis.