When we began the Bridge 412 ministry for 5th and 6th graders back in the fall of 2019, the heart behind it was to bridge the gap between elementary and youth and give them a place in our church that they could come and feel a sense of belonging, leadership, purpose, and growth in their walk with Christ. As this ministry has slowly grown, we felt it was time to take the next step in this ministry by adapting VBS for their age group. I sat down with my Children’s Ministry intern, Anna Minga, and brainstormed how we could make this happen. We came up with a plan that would keep the same elements of VBS, but adapt them to be more appropriate for their age group.

We came up with the following schedule: opening assembly with all elementary-aged kids, breaking off into gym time and snack, followed by Bible study, worship in the Chapel led by Veronica, a missions speaker, and a mission project that would take the place of crafts. Our Bible stories included Creation, Naomi and Ruth, Samuel in the Tabernacle, Paul’s missionary journey, and Paul on trial. We took these stories and figured out ways to include a local mission speaker each day that could talk about how to be mission-minded here in Starkville. We then followed it with a mission project that also related to the story and what the kids learned from our mission speaker.

For example, after Anna taught the Bible study on Paul’s missionary journey, Nathan Taylor came in and talked about the importance of missions, as well as the ministries our church partners with. For our missions project that day, Bridge 412 kids learned the 3 Circles, a way to equip them to share the Gospel, and they practiced sharing it with a partner. Our desire for this was to give them a simple way to share and incorporate the Gospel in their everyday lives.

Anna was in charge of this group of kids, and we recruited 5 awesome women to help her run everything. Rather than telling you my thoughts on how the week went for our Bridge 412 kids, I wanted to get some feedback from the moms who were hands-on with the kids the entire week.

Katie Brown

What was your favorite thing about this different style of VBS for 5th and 6th graders?

The worship time was my favorite. Watching them truly worship the Lord brought VBS to a new level for me. I looked forward to it every day.  

In what ways were our older kids challenged spiritually? 

On our mission emphasis day, they were taught how to share the gospel with the 3 Circle method. It was presented to them and then they had to share it with a friend.  Listening to them share and how well they were doing just amazed me. They truly are learning all the tools to go out and spread the love of Christ.

Heather Collier

What was your favorite thing about this different style of VBS for 5th and 6th graders? 

My favorite part was worship in the chapel. Hearing and seeing our 4th and 5th graders worship whole heartedly was a touching experience. To be a part of that worship time left my heart filled with joy from the experience and gratitude for being able to work with those kids for the week. 

In what ways were our older kids challenged spiritually?  

Our Bible lessons, our mission time, and our daily mission projects connected perfectly each day. It was amazing that each day they saw ways they, as 10, 11, and 12-year-old children, can serve others and share the love of Jesus. They not only talked about how to do that, but actually DID that very thing many times throughout the week. They even learned and practiced the 3 circles method for sharing the gospel. It was a great week filled with love, growth, learning, and fun! 

Ashley Taylor

What was your favorite thing about this different style of VBS for Bridge 412?

The thing I liked most about Bridge VBS was the worship time our older kids got to experience. I think it was a little more mature for them, and that made them feel special. One of my favorite memories was the first time we were in the chapel worshipping, and we could just hear their voices singing so loudly and praising the Lord, it was so sweet to hear that every day.

in what ways were our older kids challenged spiritually?

One of the ways they were challenged spiritually was when we took them into the chapel to hear different speakers, I think it exposed them to a layer of spiritual depth. If nothing else it exposed them to a higher level of things to think and talk about, like when Nathan came in and shared the 3 Circles, I think we have the tendency to think kids aren’t able to share the Gospel when they clearly exhibited they have the capacity to do so.

Are there any cool moments you had with a child that stood out?

Probably one of my favorite moments was during their free time in the gym, kids were playing games, and there were two girls that did not attend FBC who were by themselves. I talked to them and encouraged them to hang out with other kids, but they were not interested. So I went up to a group of 7 or 8 girls and challenged them to look around and if there were people that looked like they were alone, bring them in and make them feel a part of the group. Immediately, one girl took charge and broke the girls up in to groups to go around and make sure everyone felt included. And for the rest of the week, those girls made sure everyone was plugged in and involved.

At the beginning of the week, was there anything you doubted about transitioning to a different style of VBS for our older kids? Did that alter for you throughout the course of the week?

I wouldn’t say I was a doubter; I thought this transition would work. I didn’t really see the need for change and doing it differently. I will say the turning point for me was when they were praising the Lord and lifting their voices up to Him when I thought “okay these kids are older and more mature than what I give them credit for.” I would say my mindset was definitely altered because of that, and I saw how it was more beneficial for that age group to take part in a Bridge 412 VBS.

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Overall, I would say the adapted VBS was a great starting point with our 5th and 6th graders. I believe they enjoyed serving in different capacities, as well as being challenged to dig a little deeper in their thinking. We had an awesome group of leaders and kids this year, and I truly cannot wait to see how the Lord continues to grow this ministry in the years to come. My prayer is that they will learn what it means to be the church, grow in their relationship with Christ, and understand the importance of relying on our precious Savior to sustain us.