Get Outside of Your Comfort Zone

by: Jillian Warmboe (Fort Myers, Florida)

A few months ago I received a phone call from a sister wondering how to incorporate VBS into their churches Sunday Morning service in a way that would still impact the adults. I had not actually done this myself but I shared a few things I’d heard and then got her into contact with others who had more experience with that sort of thing. The conversation stirred me up though because I’d seen some adults impacted during our VBS nights and I wondered if adults would be impacted if this was done during a Sunday morning.

Fast forward just a few weeks and again I received a phone call. This time I was being informed that during my Hope Corps intensive training week that was quickly approaching we would be focusing on children’s ministry! The plan was to have three children’s revival services while there in Roatan, Honduras. I was shocked and excited!

Upon arriving to Roatan I still was unsure of what to expect, Bro. James Wang from San Jose, Ca was heading up the services and he had planned out some exciting things for the children’s revival services. The goal of the revival services was to give the gospel to the children on the island. Bro. Wang had planned exciting object lessons that demonstrated the cleansing power of Jesus name baptism and the sound that accompanies a person receiving the Holy Ghost. He used a rope and some slight of hand to show the children that it doesn’t matter how messed up your life has become, Jesus will make you new! The plans included exciting VBS style songs that had been translated by the San Jose team into Spanish and games that showed the children how to raise their hands in worship.

The first children’s revival was to be Sunday night in a little town called la Colonia. Bro. Wang prepped everyone on what to expect and the roles that they would fill and that afternoon we loaded up all the chairs from the training center onto a truck and we filled up two vans and headed out to la Colonia. We arrived and began to carry the chairs up to a soccer field on the top of a steep hill. All of the students carried chairs to the top and then went back down to begin outreach. Using balloon animals and flyers we spent about an hour inviting the people of la Colonia to come to a children’s revival at the soccer field.

It came time for service to be starting so we all headed back up the hill to the field. Some students continued making balloon animals, others talked and played with the kids and many others began to pray along the walls that the Holy Ghost would move during the service.

Service began; songs, object lessons, games, more object lessons and then altar call… Now, we expected the Holy Ghost to move on the children, so of course we began to pray for them. What we didn’t expect was for the Holy Ghost to move so powerfully on the adults!

At one point I looked up and tears filled my eyes as I saw parents weeping and crying out to God, the Holy Ghost moved so powerfully upon them! Altar call lasted well over an hour as people lingered seeking the Holy Ghost, it was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever experienced.

Throughout the week we had two more services, one at Crawfish Rock where Helping Children of the World has sponsored a school, and the other being the first service ever at Flower’s Bay! At Crawfish Rock several received the Holy Ghost and afterwards there were three people baptized in Jesus name!

Flower’s Bay was different from the other two services due to it being the first service there. Hope Corps adopted a basketball court and when we arrived the first thing we did was to clean up and make repairs to the basketball court. Then about half of the group went on outreach while the other half stayed, continuing to make repairs and also to prepare to serve hotdogs to the community. As five o’clock approached people began to come in droves and that night there were about three hundred people in attendance!

During that first service we again saw both children and adults being touched by the Holy Ghost as a message was delivered in a manner directed at the children. There were people still praying as we packed up all the chairs and sound equipment, a beautiful lingering presence of the Holy Ghost.

I have shared all of this with one intention: that as children’s ministry workers you will all know that your labors are impacting the future, and as you impact the future, you are ALSO impacting the ones who are raising the future… the parents.