WOW!! We give God praise for the successful Vacation Bible School outreach at the Gloryhill Cowboy Church in Valdosta, GA! Our team of eight from Wings of Faith Fellowship, Ocala, FL worked tirelessly and were rewarded for their efforts with a truly wonderful VBS program!

Arriving on Wednesday afternoon, we met with the workers from GCC and began decorating the church. Thursday morning the preparation was concluded and that evening the fun began. Thursday and Friday evenings and Saturday morning and early afternoon, we ministered to 37 elementary-aged kids. Some came from a summer “horse camp” to participate. There were 11 who raised their hands stating their desire for Jesus to become Lord of their lives. We praise God for them and pray that this will be the beginning of a life-long walk with Him.

Gloryhill is a rather unique ministry. They are “cowboys and cowgirls” in every sense of the words. Their “Sunday go-to-meeting” attire is jeans, boots and 10 gallon hats. Their call to worship is the ringing of a cow bell. They love God with all their hearts and have embraced us and “VBS Wings-style.” This is our second year doing VBS at Gloryhill. Last year it was all new to them and we led and they helped. This year GCC took the lead and our team came alongside to assist them. It is truly exciting to see something you have helped bring into being take on a life of its own.

The following are testimonials from Gloryhill which we received following the VBS program. Hear what parents and the leadership had to say:

From a parent to GCC:

When your Body chose to extend themselves to minister to children via VBS, you may not have considered just how far those stakes had to be set for the enlargement of your tent. Some of those kids have a lot of baggage. God bless y’all for taking on such a huge endeavor.

From Leslie Bius, Children’s Ministry Director:

We had a WONDERFUL Sunday Celebration – the house was full! We had 7 unchurched families to attend, that I can remember, who came to see a child or children! We are so excited because these are families in the horse/farming community that we are praying to reach. Pastor Sunnie shared an awesome message briefly about forgiveness and honesty. One Mom, to whom Pastor Sunnie has been reaching out for years, came forward during the commitment time, weeping.

The kids and Nikki (who led the Sing and Play station) did an outstanding job. I love the ministry of music – the words of these songs are so powerful, and for the kids to minister those songs to the Lord, the families and friends who came – what an awesome experience.

We shared “God moments” Sunday night – each worker shared something, and it was a blessing. We also had the new crew of campers from the horse camp with some from the previous week to attend, as well as the director’s parents. That was awesome! I shared a message with them from Day 2 Bible point, John 14:1, to stay buckled in their faith. They are all coming back Wednesday night, so we will have a special night for them and share a message from the VBS Bible points.

I have already started making a list of to-do’s for next year’s VBS! Pastors Mike and Sunnie say there is no way we can do it without ya’ll, but I told them that the guidance ya’ll gave this year as well as the “hand offs” really helped me to see that, “everything (even VBS next year) is possible with God!”

Nikki is ready to learn the music too! I told her she has to wait until February, or whenever Group Publishing makes it available… 🙂

Please enjoy the video and photo slide show below!