Mammoth Spring SDA Church began their plans for Vacation Bible School with one primary boy planning to attend and five teenagers willing to work. The leader was Rita Neptune with Irene Carroll and Beverly Ellis as assistants. In their planning sessions, the VBS Committee, which included the five teenagers, chose “Following in His Footsteps” for the theme. To go along with the theme, they decided to have the Primary and Junior Departments make concrete stepping stones with their footprints in them, and the Kindergarten put their footprints on cardboard framed with frames that they decorated. They chose to have VBS Monday July 14 to Friday July 18 from 6 P.M. to 8 P.m. and Sabbath morning July 19, 9:30 A.M. to 10:30 A.M. The graduation would be at 11:00 A.M. on Sabbath.

When they set the date, they didn’t realize that a neighboring church would be having swimming parties to get children to attend their VBS that week. The Mammoth Spring Church advertised on the radio and in the newspaper, posters were put up in Mammoth Spring and Thayer, and the teenagers went door-to-door distributing invitations. When Paige Wright (teenager) and Rita Neptune went to an apartment door, the woman that answered the door recognized them. She said, “My children went to your Vacation Bible School last year and loved it. They will be there Monday night. I’ve been trying to tell my friends about your church.” Last year she brought three children—this year she brought six. Members invited friends’ children. The VBS Committee prayed that God would send the children on Monday night—they had done all that they knew how to do to have the children there—it was now in God’s hands.

Sunday night before VBS, all the workers gathered at the church to make final preparations and to pray together. Then the workers went to eat pizza. For the last five years, it has been a tradition of the church for the VBS workers to have a social night together just before VBS.
God answered their prayers for children. Monday night the children began to come. One member, Michele Joseph, had eight children that she had invited attend. Before the week was over there were 21 students and a baby boy in attendance. The father of the baby boy brought his daughter to the Kindergarten Department. He and the baby sat in for the Kindergarten Program for two nights and attended the graduation. It was the father’s first time to ever attend VBS. He said that he really enjoyed it.

Because some of the children left home early to travel twenty-four miles to attend VBS, they were served supper nightly. They were also served breakfast on Sabbath morning.
What did the teenagers do? Paige Wright and Andrew Cochran led the song service. Paige was one of the teachers for the Kindergarten Department. Andrew was in charge of making the concrete stepping stones, and he helped prepare supper and serve it. Nathan Wright helped in food preparation and serving, and he helped with Primary crafts. Truley Creasey taught in the Junior Room and helped with crafts. Russel Spence taught in the Junior Room and helped with the food. Besides the teenagers, 14 adults helped.

The church’s average attendance on a Sabbath is between thirty-five and forty. On Sabbath the 19th, there were seventy-two in attendance for the VBS Graduation Program. The children had the Church Service. For the opening song they sang their theme song “He Is Able.” Nathan Wright called for the offering, Paige Wright played a flute solo, the Kindergarten children sang “Jesus Loves Me,” the Juniors did a skit of “David & Goliath,” and Russel Spence read the story of “The Fiery Furnace.” The Primary Division sang “The Wise Man Built His House.” Fellowship lunch followed the Church Service.

As a result of Vacation Bible School, seven children are planning to come to Sabbath School each week. We praise the Lord for His goodness in answering our prayer.