August 2023
Come and See!
People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongings to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
(Luke 18:15-17)
Blessed are the children who love God’s house and God’s Word! Since I became appointed to the Upper St. Croix Parish, I have been passionate about the Children and Youth Ministry. Some of you may think we don’t have many children at church. That was true and that’s why I was passionate about the children’s ministry. Our three churches in the Upper St. Croix Parish do not have enough children. We need to have children and youth ministry if we want to develop our church ministry.
This August, it will be my fifth year with the parish. Finally, we have our own Vacation Bible School (VBS). In Grantsburg-Central’s case, we have one child in Sunday School. She attends Sunday service and Sunday school regularly. Atlas has five kids. They attend Sunday service and Sunday school regularly as well. St. Croix Falls doesn’t have kids attending Sunday school, but at times they have kids at service, which still gives us hope that they will have Sunday school again soon. They are like mustard seeds for our future ministry. We hope they grow in faith and become good Christian leaders who lead society and the world.
The Youth Director, Shayna Schmid, and I discussed how kid’s ministry is essential and planned to have VBS this year, and we applied for the VBS grant. Finally, we received a grant of $1500. We have 10 kids who have signed up so far and we have about 20 volunteers who have signed up to help with VBS. What an amazing grace!
When your grandchildren visit your house, your house is full of joyful energy. It is the same at the church. If you bring your grandchildren to church, the church will be full of joyful noisy, happy energy and vitalization. Bring your kids and grandkids to church so that our church will be revitalized through them. Again, children’s ministry is very precious for our church’s future. Jesus also stressed, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it” (Luke 18:16-17). Please come and see how the kids enjoy the VBS program, and how the volunteers work sincerely for them.
Our VBS is held from August 7th to August 10th, from 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm at Grantsburg-Central. Please come and see how great the VBS program is. They will be mustard seeds for the Kingdom of God. They may grow in faith as the little disciples of Jesus and transform the world. What may feel like a minimal effort on your part to support VBS may bring a big vision of our church ministry to life and it can make things happen! So, come and check out VBS! It’s sure to fill your heart with joy!
Blessings,
Pastor Jenny