Outrigger Island – Living God’s Unshakeable Truth

It’s Vacation Bible School time again at FBC and we’re getting ready to experience Outrigger Island: Living God’s Unshakeable Truth from 24-28 November 2008. Due to overwhelming response in previous years, the VBS Committee has decided, for the first time in FBC’s history, to conduct two sessions daily, one in the morning from 8.30am to 12.30pm, and in the afternoon from 2pm to 6pm. A total of 344 children (170 of whom are from unchurched background) and 205 volunteers will catch and ride the five awesome waves of God’s Truth: (1) God is real. (2) Jesus is God’s Son. (3) Jesus is the only Way. (4) The Bible is God’s Word. (5) My actions show what I believe.

Outrigger Island: Living God’s Unshakeable Truth is based on Psalm 86:11 (“Teach me Your way, Lord, and I will live by Your truth.”) An outrigger is a specialised canoe that is fitted with lateral supports. These provide stability to unsteady canoes and enable the paddlers to navigate safely through rough seas and dangerous waters. Today’s children face an onslaught of overwhelming challenges that come in various forms – the crashing waves of modern-day media, the unpredictable seas of daily family life, and the troubled waters of simply growing up. It is no wonder that children’s belief systems fail to take shape in an environment where even the lives of their own parents and many other adults seem to be crumbling like sand castles on a beach. Indeed both parents and children are longing for something to give them the lasting buoyancy and the anchor they need to face a world of shifting sands, unpredictable tides of opinion and relentless waves of change.

That’s where VBS 2008 comes in. By the grace of God, we hope to help the children develop the stability they need to become unshakeable in a world of constantly changing values and beliefs. We cannot change the world in which the children are growing up, but we can certainly equip them to navigate the world with stabilising truths from God’s Word.

On Outrigger Island, the children will be Wave Riders, and their teachers will be Island Guides, steering them as they go island hopping all week. FBC will see wave action like it has never seen before as the kids catch a week of great fun-filled activities, food and exciting learning opportunities. However Outrigger Island is meant to be more than a tropical paradise. At the end of the week, the kids would have learnt what it means to know, speak and live God’s truth, and thereby develop the stability they need to navigate through a sea of tumultuous waves and dangerous tides. Certainly VBS hopes to offer much needed refreshment for their spiritually dry and parched lives.

It is our hope that our children and their parents will use the VBS as an opportunity to reach out to the 170 unchurched children and their parents. VBS has always been comfortable and appealing to many unchurched people and provides one of the most strategic outreach tools for the church. FBC parents and children hopefully will make efforts to establish ongoing relationships with the unchurched during the VBS week, especially during the concert night where family members are invited to watch the children display their talents in a night of music and drama. And once the VBS is over, both teachers and parents would do well to actively conduct follow-up of these unchurched children and encourage them to join our church activities especially Sunday School. The church evangelistic teams can also establish friendly ties with their parents and share with them the good news of Jesus.

We take this opportunity to invite all FBC members and worshippers to be our Partners-In-Prayer! Please uphold the VBS in prayer daily. Commit the VBS into God’s hands and pray for a shield of protection throughout the week around every one of the 344 children and the 205 volunteers. Pray for all volunteers to be steadfast and excel in the Lord’s work, knowing that their labour will not be in vain. Pray for the teachers to effectively communicate Bible truths to the children they teach. Pray for the mission teachers that God will use them to spread enthusiasm for missions. Ask God for creativity and patience for those working in the media and crafts teams. Pray for stamina and strength for those leading recreational activities and those preparing snacks. Remember there are 344 children with voracious appetites and boundless energy waiting to be unleashed! Pray that the Concert night will provide wonderful witnessing opportunities for reaching the unchurched. Pray that all volunteers and children will seek Jesus with all their hearts before, during and after VBS. Thank God in advance for the blessings and opportunities He will be providing through VBS.

Painstaking efforts have gone into the planning of this year’s VBS. These plans have been able to take shape only because God, as always, has been faithful. He has provided 205 volunteers, many of whom are working adults who have sacrificed their annual leave to make it possible for us to have 2 sessions this year! Praise God too for the blessing of the ratio of 50% unchurched kids and 50% churched kids. Parents of the churched kids have made remarkable efforts to obtain passports for their kids by going all out to enlist the unchurched kids in their neighbourhood.

So, church, surf’s up, grab your surfboard and head for Outrigger Island, to catch the waves, one way or another. Step into the Son with us during VBS week. We offer you this guarantee – exposure to the Son will prevent Burning!