From Wednesday, July 9 to Friday, July 11, Holiness Tabernacle was transformed from a solemn sanctuary into a galactic Bible island, where adults and children were “launched” on a mission to learn about God’s love. Where chairs previously sat, a large tent was erected complete with flashlights and blankets spread on the floor. Power drills and planks of wood lay stacked across several tables in the fellowship hall, and near the front entrance, a stately red and white cardboard rocket stood with the memory verse for the week pasted on its front: “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God” (1 John 4:7). 
And from every corner of the building, there was the exuberant sound of laughter. Learning about the Bible had never been so exciting!
Under the supervision of Aspiring Missionary Yolinda McCown, Vacation Bible School was broken up into three modules for the first two nights: one involved the tent, where the Bible lesson and discussion was held; another was the hands-on project where teams worked together to turn the planks of wood into a bench; and just outside in the parking lot, the last module of Blast Off games were held where the groups got a chance to play and have fun.
Inside of the tent, Elder Eugene McCown, the module lead, could be seen holding a broom. When groups entered the tent, they saw that he was pretending to clean up a mess. Once the group was seated, it didn’t take long to notice a hole in the roof of the tent. Elder McCown told the groups that he thought they were the repair people sent to fix his roof. When everyone said no, he explained that four men had torn up his roof earlier that day to lower their sick friend down to see Jesus. They used the roof because his tent was wall-to-wall filled with people. He then demonstrated what the four men did by having one of the smaller members from the group lie on a blanket while the rest of the group hoisted them up.
Over in the next module, the create-a-bench activity provided an opportunity for each member in the group to participate in constructing the bench. From the youngest to the oldest, everyone got a chance to work together to use the drill and help push the necessary screws in to put the bench together. Once the bench was complete, each attendee was able to sign their name and become a permanent part of this special VBS momentum.
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Brother Eryck McCown was the leader for the outside module. Each group was passed one or two balloons. While holding a limp balloon in their hand, they were instructed to launch their balloons. With puzzled looks, the VBS members obeyed. Of course the balloons didn't go far. He then told them to fill the balloons up with air and then release them. Needless to say, the balloons shot into the air and went flying across the parking lot! Brother McCown explained that without God’s love we don't go very far, but with God we are able to soar to heights unknown! The module was completed with a high energy game of lunar freeze tag.
Vacation Bible School ended on Friday evening with a pizza party and a wonderful slideshow unexpectedly narrated by two-year-old Sister Plum Paxton, who called out the names of each person pictured in the show.
Pastor Pruitte concluded the event by saying, “Saints, it is ever my endeavor to make this church an environment where learning about the Bible is fun. With a show of hands, how many of you can say that you enjoyed yourself this week in VBS?”
The answer from the congregation was a unanimous YES. Vacation Bible School was a blast!