As I stood back during Vacation Bible School one evening and simply looked around, I realized I wasn’t just watching a children’s program. I was watching the church being the church.
Children from different backgrounds laughing together. Volunteers serving with joy. Music filling the Fellowship Hall. Crafts spread across tables. Shared meals. Conversations. Prayers. Silly games. Dancing. Learning. Giving back through a mission project. Adult volunteers using their unique gifts—not because they had to, but because they wanted to. It struck me that VBS wasn’t just something we hosted. It was a beautiful picture of what the body of Christ is meant to be.
This year’s theme was To the Moon and Back: God Loves You, and throughout the week our children learned a simple but life-changing truth: God’s love is bigger than we can imagine. They discovered that they are wonderfully created, never alone, and called to shine God’s love into the world.
But I think the adults learned something, too.
Serving on both Session and our Transition Team, I am very aware of the season our church is walking through. We know there are challenges before us. There are currently no interim pastors available within Salem Presbytery, which means our search will extend beyond our immediate area. I also know that transitions are rarely experienced the same way by everyone. Some have appreciated the variety of gifted supply ministers who have filled our pulpit. Others long for the consistency and familiarity of a settled pastor. Both feelings are understandable.
Yet in the middle of this transition, I can’t help but think about what I witnessed during VBS.
I saw God at work.
I saw people discovering gifts they may not have realized they had. I saw generations serving side by side. I saw children who couldn’t wait to come back each evening. I saw volunteers laughing as they worked, solving problems together, encouraging one another, and welcoming every child who walked through our doors. I saw a congregation living out its calling.
It reminded me of Paul’s words in Ephesians—that God is able to do “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.”
Sometimes God’s work doesn’t look exactly like we expected. Sometimes it surprises us. Sometimes it unfolds in ways we couldn’t have planned ourselves. VBS was a beautiful reminder that God is not finished with Sedgefield Presbyterian Church. God is present. God is moving. God is creating something beautiful among us, even now.
My prayer is that what we experienced during those few evenings wasn’t just a wonderful week of summer ministry. I pray it was a glimpse into our future—a church that continues to welcome people with open arms, builds authentic relationships, serves with generous hearts, grows together in faith, shares meals around the table, laughs often, loves deeply, and reflects Christ to our community.
None of this would have been possible without an incredible team of volunteers. Nearly thirty people gave generously of their time and talents. They decorated, moved tables and chairs, shopped for supplies and food, prepared nightly dinners, led crafts and games, organized mission projects, taught Bible lessons, welcomed families at registration, vacuumed, mopped and cleaned, shepherded small groups, donated and printed T-shirts, led tie-dye, taught music, shared fascinating facts about space, and stayed to help pack everything away at the end of the week. Every act of service, whether seen or unseen, became part of telling our children about God’s love.
Thank you also to our congregation for your prayers, encouragement, and generous financial support. Your gifts helped make Vacation Bible School possible and kept it affordable for the families in our community. You may not have led a craft or sung a song, but you were part of this ministry.
Thank you for believing in our children. Thank you for believing in this church. And thank you for trusting that God is still writing our story.
If Vacation Bible School taught us anything this year, it’s this: God’s love truly is beyond anything we can imagine. And I believe the same is true for what God has in store for Sedgefield Presbyterian Church.
Written by Meghan Hadley