Mount Olive (Mankato, MN) hosted an Easter for Kids VBS program on Saturday, March 28, 2015 from 9 -12:30 pm. The Evangelism Committee planned it as a way to reach out to the community coordinated the event. It was advertised on a banner at the local mall, through fliers handed out at community events, through posters hung at area businesses, and school students were encouraged to invite a friend to attend with them. All our registrations were completed online through our church website. We had about 44 students register, aged 4-12.
As students arrived, we taught them one verse of “Jesus Christ is Risen Today,” which they sang several times during the morning. The event started with a devotion by the pastor on the importance of Christ’s redemptive work. As a group, the children learned about Holy Week and made a take-home craft that students could reset and retell the story of Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. Students practiced how to use the craft as an evangelism tool to share with parents and friends.
The students were divided into age levels to complete two centers. In the first center, they learned about how the pretzel is connected to prayer. They then put pretzels into two bags that had the story and Holy Week worship service times attached so they could share with other people. The students were encouraged to give a bag of pretzels to a friend to help share the good news of Easter!
In the other center, they painted a wooden cross, adding the words “He is Risen!” This craft is a decoration that could be hung up at home to remind them of Christ’s resurrection. The students joined together for “Bible twister.” The students heard a simple Law-Gospel presentation set to twister. The students were sure to leave having heard the true message of Easter.
Our time concluded with a family devotion and pizza lunch. During this time, the pastors and teachers were able to check in with each family individually to get to know them better and personally invite them to church for Easter. On Palm Sunday the church prayed for the work of the Gospel in the lives of those in attendance.
