FORT BRAGG, N.C. - Prayers, growls and howls, hoots and hollers, scripture passages, a karate-chopping Panda, heads bowed and hands clasped and a smart-aleck Chipmunk.

Not the sights and sounds you expect coming from kids in school, especially Vacation Bible School.

But these are Fort Bragg kids, and this is a Fort Bragg Vacation Bible School.

Chapel Next Linden Oaks turned Gordon Elementary into a jungle June 16-17 to host a “Pandamania” Vacation Bible School. The event, provided free of charge to Fort Bragg children and families, was organized and ran by Fort Bragg Chaplains and fueled by volunteers, each lending a tremendous amount of talent and time.

“The summer Vacation Bible School provides a transition from school to summer with a focus on good character building skills and following God’s Word with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength,” says Sandra Murphy about the program.

Murphy, a driving force behind the planning and execution of the program, went on to say that Vacation Bible School is an effective tool for communities to reach out to parents and assist them in providing their children wholesome, bible-based activities during the summer months.

Credit for the first Vacation Bible School is given to a Sunday school teacher who was living in Hopedale, Ill. D.T. Miles, who was also a public school teacher, felt the time she spent teaching children the Bible was severely limited.

In 1894, she started a daily bible school for children to attend during the summer. Forty students enrolled and the school lasted a month.

During Vacation Bible School, children are surrounded by wholesome and fun activities which are based on key biblical scriptures says Murphy. Volunteers, she says, get to see first-hand how God’s Word can be fun and how it can impact the life of a child.

The theme, “God is Wild about You!,” brought out the animal in both the volunteers and the young students as they learned about God and his love.

Stations throughout Gordon Elementary taught children they are valued by God, who is always listening to them and their prayers.

It was easy to tell who came from crafts – you could hear the panda-decorated kazoos anywhere in the halls.

Games had participants moving in a circle to catch free-standing bamboo sticks and working together to have a marble roll through separate sections of cardboard tubing held high above their heads - feats only possible through teamwork and communication.

Inches of blue frosting atop cupcakes re-energized both student and volunteer as they swung by snacks onto their next event.

Story telling had children sneaking into a darkened room inside the school. By candlelight, children were urged to stay quiet to avoid detection from patrolling “Roman Centurions” as the story of Peter’s denial of Jesus played out before their wide eyes.

Parents arriving early at pick-up time were treated to a cafeteria full of dancing children, teenagers and adults who, when told God loved them no matter what, cheered back, “Thank-You-God!”

The end result of Chapel Next Linden Oaks’ “Pandamania” Vacation Bible School; exhausted children, teens and adults who spent two days growing in the Word of God.

Connected Media