Summer Ministry in Cayman Brac

Download the October issue of Woods on a Mission.

In the U.S., Vacation Bible School is one of many fun activities kids can enjoy in the summer. In Cayman Brac, however, there are limited activities for children out of school. Therefore, VBS is the big summer activity children anticipate. Various local churches see this as a key time to minister to kids.

This summer the Churches of God (Holiness) held its annual Vacation Bible School at Spot Bay. Over the years, the churches have often invited teams from overseas to lead the VBS, but Pastors David and Zenia Woods believe in the importance of training the local church in taking ownership of their ministry. Therefore, this Bible school was done “in-house” as the Woods challenged the local congregations to “step up to the plate.” And the people responded in a big way. Many participated in various ways; some worked long hours before, during, and after our Vacation Bible School ended.

The theme for this year was "Hometown Nazareth: Where Jesus Was a Kid." The idea of the program was to "recreate" Nazareth so thatkids could learn more about Jesus through interactions withshopkeepers, Jesus' mother, Mary, and her skeptical friend Eunice.

During the five nights of VBS, the children learned that Jesus had a family ...we do too; Jesus had a name … we do too; Jesus had a home … we do too; Jesus went to church …we do too; Jesus served others … we do too.

Between eighty and one hundred kids and teens attended each of the five nights and enjoyed high energy music, a drama with Mary and Eunice, fun and games, crafts, and a meal.

Pastor Zenia Woods directed this event, but it would not have succeeded without the dedicated support of numerous volunteers. Approximately thirty adults from our two congregations worked together to make this event a success.