I didn't grow up in a church, but discovered in 9th grade that I couldn't do this alone. I soon found comfort in the Lord and trusted Him as my Savior. About 6 months after I got saved my church fell apart and the youth group started looking for a new home. After going to church after church I finally found the church I now call mine, Grace Pointe Baptist Church. There wasn't much of a youth group and it's a fairly small church so I felt right at home. After a few months I decided to get baptized and soon after I became an official member of the church. When I heard that my church was doing Vacation Bible School for the first time I quickly volunteered my time, and I loved it! Here are some things I learned from the point-of-view of a teacher:

1. The children come from all over.

We had one family from a town 20-25 minutes away come every night. I expected to have mostly the children of the church, but the majority of my class had never been to the church.

2. You get to show your creative side.

My church decided to do the "Submerged" curriculum by LifeWay, so under the sea was what we decorated for. After about five hours with a few helpers my classroom looked amazing, but did it stay like that? Nope.

3. Kids are monsters.

I had an average of 16-17 kids each night, which was more than I expected to start. With all of the decorative pool toys and the rest of the decorations it was a little difficult to keep the kids focused for longer than a few minutes.

4. Candy is a good distractor.

Most of my class responded well with candy. While giving them sugar may not been the best idea, it kept them focused on the story and the questions.

5. People grow like crazy.

In the beginning of the week I wasn’t a huge fan of some of my students, but by the end of the week the unruliest were answering the most questions.

6. Prayer is key.

I was so worried about teaching a class full of third and fourth graders, mostly because I don’t know the Bible as well as I should. The only thing that calmed my nerves was praying. I prayed for the children, the workers, my Pastor and his wife, and for myself – that God would be the center of attention and not anybody or anything else.

7. VBS isn’t just for the children.

I went to VBS when I was younger and all I remember is how much trouble I got into. When I volunteered to help at my church, I never expected to be a teacher, but I know God doesn’t give you anything he can’t handle with you. I was unfamiliar with all of the stories I was to teach over the week, so I read and reread and read them again.

8. God is truly amazing.

Not that I didn’t already know that, but God was constantly reminding me all week. Our goal was 50 kids and our offering goal was $100. By the end of the week we had 57 different children and raised over $600 through a little friendly offering competition between the boys and the girls. (Even though the boys won, the girls were pretty awesome too.)

I’m already overly excited for next year.

Through all of the ups and downs of the week, I cannot wait to see what next year holds for my church.