Vacation Bible Schools programs are fond memories in many hearts. Churches across the Northern Illinois Conference offered vibrant and enriching experiences this summer. 

“Camp Firelight,” a Cokesbury program, was a favorite of many in the conference this year. It focuses on creating a

fun and engaging camp experience where kids explore God’s love through nature, adventure, and community activities. The theme emphasizes a sense of belonging and connection. The team at Grace UMC in Naperville extended the theme into the next 5 weeks with a sermon series called “Campfire Stories.” Other popular themes were the “SCUBA” and “Stellar” programs from Group Publishing. 

Many churches also created their own themes. Apple River UMC is blessed to have a retired teacher creating their programs with “Loving God, Loving Others and Loving Ourselves” as this year’s theme. In their second year, First UMC of Morris’s Art Camp created projects based around God's creative power. Guest readers were brought in by Faith UMC in Freeport’s “Fruit of the Spirit” Day Camp, who also made Kindness bags to give out to the community. 

Creativity was also showcased in breaking from traditional weekday or morning camps. Many camps were hosted at night to offer options for parents who work, or kids who were busy with other activities during the day. Grace UMC in Dixon started a Carnival themed Vacation Bible (Sunday) School hosted over 8 weeks on Sundays, in addition to a traditional 3-day VBS. “Art and Soul” camp in Aurora at Wesley UMC, met at night with dinner and had kids making over 100 sandwiches for the community fridge. Gary UMC in Wheaton hosted both a traditional VBS for younger children and a BLAST camp for middle-schoolers to work on fostering connection.  

From collecting food pantry items to supporting clean water initiatives in Honduras, each VBS fostered a spirit of giving and connection.   Gary UMC in Wheaton and Kingswood UMC in Buffalo Grove/Deerfield encouraged giving by offering up the faces of their counselors to get pied. Camp scholarship money was collected at Erie UMC for Fellowship of Christian Athletes and at First UMC in Savanna for Camp Benson.  

Nine-hundred and two items were collected for Carrie Lynn's Center, a local organization that helps children who have experienced abuse, by Christ UMC in Rockford. Over 300 children were helped with money raised by Cary UMC collected for Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA). A farm theme at Grace UMC in Rockford, complete with a llama in the sanctuary, helped raise money for 17 goats for families in Tanzania. 

The United Methodist Church of New Lenox collected over $800. They then purchased items for Personal Dignity kits that were assembled later by the whole church for Midwest Missions. Midwest Missions was also the recipient of over $600 from the “Heavy Offering” contest at Plainfield UMC.  

Many VBS weeks culminate in joyful celebrations, reinforcing faith and creating lasting memories for all participants. The campers at Community UMC in Naperville’s arts camp provided the community with a performance. Wesley UMC in Sterling’s week culminated in a joyous cookout. A friends and family program was the final event of the week at Scales Mound UMC  

Programs like the ones mentioned here and other VBS programs across the conference successfully brought children and families together for memorable activities, spiritual growth, and community building. Read more of the stories of VBS programs celebrated in our conference below.

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Lake North 

The Arlington Heights: First UMC community came together to host a fun VBS for kids from the church and community this summer. Through “Camp Firelight,” kids explored God’s love through nature, adventure, and community activities. They had tons of fun while learning to put their trust in God when they are afraid. 

The Kingswood UMC community (Buffalo Grove and Deerfield) hosted “Wild Life” VBS at the Buffalo Grove campus in June. Meals were served for about 80 each of the 4 evenings.  Campers collected over 300 items for the food pantry which lead to 4 whipped cream pies in the face of and two Youth on closing night. Both campuses elicited campers, youth helpers, and adult volunteers. Endless laughs, smiles, and friendships were made. 

North Shore UMC in Glencoe taught kids to follow the way of Jesus through story, art, music, drama, crafts and games. Each Evening is Unique. The program created in house was called “Following the Way of Jesus”. The campers experienced the wonder of the miracles, the inspiration of His stories, the comfort of His Love. 

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Lake South 

The United Methodist Church of New Lenox hosted “SCUBA” VBS with students and staff. Over $800 was given during the daily offering. The offering money was used to buy many of the items needed for an on-site Midwest Mission Personal Dignity Kit. Campers, volunteers and anyone connected with the church were invited to an event at the church on Aug. 4 to assemble the kits. 

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Prairie Central 

Barrington UMC celebrated a stellar week of Vacation Bible School with the “Stellar” VBS program. With 100 excited children and 45 amazing volunteers, they had an “out-of-this-world” faith-filled week of fun and new friendships.  The VBS program took kids on a cosmic journey through space, where they discovered the power of God’s light and love. 

Cary UMC presented “SCUBA” VBS in June. They picked Court Appointed Special Advocate as their fundraising mission. CASA is a volunteer organization who advocates for the best interests of children who have come to the attention of the dependency court system due to abuse, neglect, or abandonment. A great benefit of VBS mission fundraising  is that it helps everyone look outside of ourselves and remember others. 

Community UMC in Naperville chose to host a Creative Arts Camp in place of the traditional Vacation Bible School this year. Placing a high priority on the gifts and graces of their church members, they searched for ways to be able to share about God through the craft of theater. This year's production was "Tell Me The Truth: A Groovy Game Show Musical, " performed on Friday with campers invited to share selections from the show at the 11 a.m. service on Sunday. The goal of the camp was for children to learn about the craft of theater, including sessions on music, movement, acting, and art. Older children learned about set design, lighting & sound, and costumes & props. High school youth and adults were able to minister to the children by being leaders, helpers, and participants.  

Gary UMC in Wheaton hosted “SCUBA” VBS for young children and a BLAST Camp for Middle schoolers. The VBS raised more than $850 to provide about 170 children with clean water for a year in Honduras. For exceeding the goal, volunteers Carter Gaul and Christy Grace got a pie to the face.   At the BLAST Camp, middle-schoolers got to know each other and collected new toys for Christmas Sharing of Wheaton Warrenville.   

Grace UMC in Naperville hosted “Camp Firelight” with close to 100 in July. The whole church was transposed to the camping theme with different rooms representing National Parks.  The theme and decor was extended into worship with a sermon series called Campfire Stories over 5 weeks. They helped under-resourced families by collecting school supplies for RAO 25, a nonprofit organization in Chicago, and collected gift cards for District 204 Families Helping Families. 

Plainfield UMC hosted their VBS in July and had a great “Camp Firelight” adventure. Preschoolers through incoming 8th graders participated, with over 60% of the participants coming from the wider community. They had over 70 volunteers, 1/3 of them youth.  The annual “heavy offering” contest, where kids bring in change, raised $616.11 for Midwest Mission. 

Wesley UMC in Aurora continued to host their “Art and Soul” VBS camp in the evenings. This year, the camp helped open the campers' eyes to people in their community who need food. In addition to traditional VBS activities, on the first night, they packed over 100 sandwiches for the community fridge outside Fresh Start City Church. Dinner was also served each night to the campers and volunteers providing connection. 

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Prairie North 

Apple River UMC hosted “Loving God, Loving Others and Loving Ourselves,” a 3-day VBS program. A local teacher, Sara Robbe, designed their program for a second year in a row. The program includes a Bible story, children’s literature, art project and lots of food. The “Loving Others” day included a service project at the local park.  

Christ UMC in Rockford hosted “Camp Firelight” VBS. Adult and youth leaders helped kids explore God’s love through nature, adventure, and community activities. They collected 902 items for Carrie Lynn's Center, a local organization that helps children who have experienced abuse.  

Faith UMC in Freeport hosted “Fruit of the Spirit” Day Camp. In this art-based VBS there were lots of art projects and music. Guest readers were brought in to read books. The daily themes were Love, Joy, Peace, Kindness and Gentleness. On kindness day everyone made a kindness bag to share with someone in their family or the community. 

First UMC in Belvidere hosted a “SCUBA: Diving into Friendship with God” VBS. In order to build up an intimate relationship with God, programs such as Bible stories, crafts, science experiences, games, and food were conducted. A snack collection service project was also conducted to support the nurse office of the Belvidere School District. A Family Fun Party was held on Friday for the families to enjoy together. It was a fun time to taste the kingdom of God while sharing music, fun games, and lots of food. 

First UMC in Savanna held “Camp Firelight” VBS in July. The 57 kids raised money   for scholarships for kids to attend Camp Benson while experiencing God’s love in nature. Camp Benson is a camp in rural Mt. Carroll, IL for kids age 7 to 18 that focuses on friendships, self-discovery, and independence while experiencing nature, a great tie into the Camp Firelight theme.   

Galena UMC hosted “Knights of North Castle” VBS. They joined together with local churches even though they did not have any children of their own in worship. They partnered with Jo Daviess County Transit by bringing children to and from church both for VBS and on Sundays. The children enjoyed creating the “whole armor of God” as listed in Ephesians 6:11-17.  

Grace UMC in Rockford hosted “At the Farm” VBS where children learned and helped others. A hayride, meeting live alpacas, llamas, chickens, bunnies and sheep were just a few of the things that taught the kids about how the farm is a place of love, patience, peace and faithfulness. Each day was a time of learning about how important goats are to the people who live in Tanzania and enough money was raised to buy 17 goats for the families. 

Scales Mound UMC organized “Camp Firelight” VBS. An ecumenical group of volunteers served over 40 kids each day. The camp highlighted faith, friendship, and the beauty of creation. The week was capped off with a family/friends program on Friday night. 

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Prairie South 

Erie UMC’s VBS theme was  "Camp Firelight."  They had 47 children in grades PreK-5th grade in attendance throughout the week with over 30 volunteers.  Their mission was to provide scholarship money to athletes attending Fellowship of Chiristian Athletes (FCA) Camp next summer and they raised over $400! 

First UMC in Morris hosted a very colorful, exciting and engaging community VBS and an Art Camp. The VBS theme was “Camp Firelight" based on Psalm 56:3 "Whenever I am afraid, I trust in you." The children were very sad when it ended on Friday. Their Art Camp was in its second year. The art projects were based around God's creative power in creation. 

Grace UMC in Dixon hosted both a 3-day camp and a Vacation Bible (Sunday) School to keep kids engaged over the summer. “Fully Rely on God (FROG)” was the theme for the 3-day VBS. They focused on teaching children to seek and rely on God in all situations, whether good or bad, encouraging them to keep their friendships strong with God's love, seek hope in God, and open their hearts to others with gratitude. The Vacation Bible (Sunday) School was hosted every Sunday over 8 weeks during June and July to encourage the children to stay engaged in Sunday School. Ms. Tina, the teacher, creatively prepared a Carnival theme where each Bible lesson was connected to a fun carnival game.  

Oregon UMC partnered with the Lutheran church in townfor a week-long “SCUBA” themed VBS.  The theme was SCUBA and it ran daily from 8:30am -11:30am.  The kids learned that God is their friend and they dove deep into an amazing undersea adventure where they experienced the ever-flowing, never-ending love of God.  For their offering they partnered with the Oregon Fire Protection District to collect water bottles for the first responders! Fire Chief Knoup brought in a different vehicle morning for the kids to explore.  

Wesley UMC in Sterling’s Vacation Bible School (VBS) embraced the theme "Camp Firelight" in June. They provided children with a faith-filled adventure through interactive lessons, crafts, and games.  The week culminated in a joyous cookout, where families gathered to celebrate and enjoy fellowship. The event was a resounding success, leaving participants with cherished memories and a deeper connection to their faith community. 

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