VBS 2011: Flight School
VBS 2011 Video - Why We Do VBS
What is VBS?
VBS {or Vacation Bible School} is an amazing summer children's experience at Calvary Church of Santa Ana. At this year's Flight School VBS, kids will take off an an adventure of discovering the heights of God's love for us. We'll be learning that Jesus is with us, Jesus is our guide, Jesus lifts us up, Jesus give us life and Jesus is our light.
When is VBS?
Monday, August 1 - Friday, August 5
Join us each day August 1 - 5, 2011 from 9:00 am – 12:30 pm for Calvary's Flight School VBS! Click Here to Register Today
VBS Family Night - Thursday, August 4
Everyone is invited to a great night of family fun at the OC Great Park for our VBS Family Night on Thursday, August 4 from 5:30-8:30pm. Admission is free! Find out more Here
Flying Finale - Sunday, August 7, 2011
Join our whole church family as we gather together for One Service at 9:30 am for the Flying Finale, our closing program with kids joining their families in the Worship Center (nursery program is available). This will be followed by a fun after party including rides, sights and an incredible lunch with kid friendly options from some OC Gourmet Food Trucks as we fellowship together as a church family.
Flight School VBS Trailer
Day 1 Update
What’s up pilots! Greetings from Calvary Flight School!
We just finished day one of Flight School VBS, the beginning of our up…up…and away adventure! Our theme today was "Jesus Is With Me." We heard the story of the Good Shepherd who is with us and who cares for us.
We met our missionary family, the Weatherstone's, and heard about our Reach Project which will send computers to 4 indigenous communities in Guatemala as well as send 10,000 meals to kids in the same area.
We had 1,049 kids join us at VBS today. That's about 150 more kids than we had on Monday of last year! In fact, this was our biggest Monday yet! With our 535 volunteers serving in every area, we had 1,584 people piloting the wild blue yonder!
God also used you to help provide snacks for our kids. The Sky Dive Diner fed the kids Fruit Planes with the pretzels and the assorted fruit you all provided.
Our snack tomorrow is called “Cracker Control Tower.” We are fine with cheese and crackers, but could still use a bunch of juice boxes and some baked cupcakes for our snack on Wednesday. Feel free to bring them by the North Kitchen tomorrow morning or the front office today!
All of that is great news, but even more important is the 13 children who made first-time decisions to accept Jesus as their Savior! We had 15 kids say they wanted to recommit their lives to Christ today! God is already moving, and we are so excited!
We know we have many kids coming to Calvary for the first time this week. Certainly, we will have many come to Jesus for the first time this week, as well! We trust God will do a work in their lives this week! Thank you for your prayers, and keep them coming! More to come tomorrow!
Be sure to check out highlights of today's action from our aerial photography experts in today's photo gallery and the daily video.
Finally, we are partnering ALL this week with Rubios on 17th/Tustin Ave as well as Chick fil-A in North Orange (on Tustin Ave). You can go there Monday through Friday this week, from 10am-2pm, let them know you are with Calvary Church VBS, and 20% of all our proceeds this week will go to our Reach Project as well.
From Your Flight Instructors,
Hawkeye & the Flight School Crew
Day 2 Update
Hey Calvary folks!
Our second day of Flight School VBS has come to an end, and we learned more great truths! Our theme today was "Jesus Is My Guide," which I’m sure was an encouragement to Jazz and Iceman as they tried to navigate their jets and catch Wakebird in the sky! We learned that Jesus helps us find our way, just like instruments help guide a plane. Jesus is our guide when we don’t know what’s past the horizon.
In "Crash Course Bible" time, we heard how Jesus explains the meaning of “Born Again” to a curious Nicodemus. God’s grace is so amazing and he desires for us to understand the way to God. Do you remember when you finally understood what it meant to give your life to Jesus? These kids desperately need the love and grace of our God.
Here's one amazing story. Larry Fleming owns a business called "eBlimp" (www.eblimp.com) flying blimps with cameras attached at venues like Mighty Ducks and LA Kings hockey games. When he heard what we were doing this week at VBS, he decided to DONATE his blimp, cameras and flying expertise to our effort. He does not attend Calvary. Well, Larry's assistant left this morning before Larry did, with Larry's keys sitting on the trunk of the car. We searched everywhere and Larry said, "Well, I'm just going to go on a walk retracing the path the car went and I'm going to pray that God guides my steps, just like your theme today."
He found them a mile-and-half later at the entrance of the 22 freeway! Of the four keys that were on his ring, two of them were broken, but the two he really needed, his house key and car key, were perfectly fine. Jesus was Larry's guide today!
 Day 2 Video Highlights  Day 2 Photo Gallery |
We had 1,052 kids here, being served by 542 leaders. We are SO EXCITED to report that 87 (yes! 87!) more precious souls made a first-time decision to receive Jesus Christ as their Savior. We have an extremely qualified team of counselors who meet with kids who want to talk more about having a relationship with Christ. I don't know what else to say, but, "Thank you, Lord!"
Snacks are going great! Our Sky Dive Diner could use a little restocking. Most urgently, we need about 500 UNFROSTED cupcakes (chocolate, white or vanilla), fruit roll-ups (not fruit by the foot) and, as usual, some more cut up fruit and veggies, and baked goods for our hard working crew. Thanks for your great response to helping our kids and volunteers get through their flight plan. These can all be dropped off at the North Kitchen.
Finally, don't forget to check out our VBS website at www.calvarylife.org/vbs. You can find more information about what’s happening at VBS, see pictures from today's photo gallery and see the daily video. Join us, even if it's from your computer!
Day 3 Update
 Day 3 Video Highlights  Day 3 Photo Gallery |
We hope you’ve had an uplifting week so far Calvary Family!
In fact, today we’ve learned all about “lift” and how “Jesus lifts me up!” The kids learned about how Jesus came to show us grace when we sin, or fall down.
We also got to see how Jazz and Iceman were lifted off the water with a giant parachute! They are soooo close to getting those wings!
We can’t say we have been surprised with how faithful God has been, through you, to provide for our daily grub needs! As of now, all we need for the rest of the week is 13 gallons of vanilla ice cream, 40-2 Liter bottles of lemon-lime soda and some goodies for our volunteers. Feel free to bring by some baked goodies or sandwiches for our faithful crew!
Many kids have passed through Flight School this week and we are so excited to tell you that 23 children have expressed a new faith in Jesus Christ. 19 kids have indicated that they want to get things right in their relationship with the Lord. That is what this week is all about!
Family Night at the Great Park
We also want you to pack up the family and head over to The Great Park in Irvine for our annual VBS Family Night tomorrow, August 4, from 5:30-8:30pm!
Get ready to pack a blanket and purchase amazing food from our participating OC Gourmet Food Trucks! There will be games, a chance to meet our VBS cast of characters, and balloon rides (weather and availability permitting) so you can experience the high flying fun we’ve been having here all week!
Two more quick things…
We found an extra box of YOUTH LARGE t-shirts! Many people have been coming through requesting this size shirt and we just discovered we had a few more. Come and get them in VBS Headquarters tomorrow.
Tomorrow is WATER DAY in Recreation, so send your little pilots in their waterproof flight suits, also known as bathing suits!
Day 4 Update
Greetings Calvary family!
 Day 4 Video Highlights  Day 4 Photo Gallery |
Day four of Flight School VBS has come to an end, and we are seeing God at work. Our theme for today was, “Jesus Gives Me Life," and we saw that truth when 25 children stepped from death to life! That's a total of 147 kids making first-time decisions to follow Jesus this week.
The statistic goes that nearly half of all Americans who accept Jesus Christ as their Savior do so before reaching the age of 13. We pray that the commitments made this week will last a lifetime. We are using our crew leaders and Children's Ministries staff to follow up with these kids in the days and weeks to come. Please be in prayer for these kids!
Our snacks this week have gone great! A lot of appreciation goes out to Stephanie Jernigan and her team for coordinating the mass deployment of food over all wild blue yonder. Stephanie said that tomorrow we could use some more snacks for our volunteers, but other than that, God has once again supplied all of our needs through you! Thanks!
Join us tonight at The Great Park for our annual VBS Family Night from 5:30-8:30pm! Pack a blanket and purchase amazing food from our participating OC Gourmet Food Trucks! There will be games, a chance to meet our VBS cast of characters, and balloon rides (weather and availability permitting). So come prepared to fly! Reservations for the balloon start at 6pm, so come early and sign up!
Our VBS DVD will be for sale starting tonight at the OC Great Park, again tomorrow and then on Sunday for $5. It includes the video series from this week, outstanding crafts, all of our Missions videos from Guatemala, funny extras like “The Search for the Next Miss Penny” and great footage of our VBS kiddos!
We're looking forward to celebrating with you on Sunday! We'll bring all of our VBS elements together in one amazing Flying Finale One Service at 9:30am! We will have the nursery available for kids birth through two years old.
This will be followed by a fun VBS After Party including rides, sights and an incredible lunch as we fellowship together as a church family. Kids will be involved in the services! Lunch will be offered after services for again through theOC Gourmet Food Trucks. Also, the Food Trucks will be donating back 20% of our meals purchased tonight and on Sunday back to our Penny Project.
Finally, don't forget to check out our VBS website at calvarylife.org/vbs. Your kids will enjoy revisiting their favorite Flight School memories there!
Thanks for all of your prayers and support!
Day 5 Update
 Watch Day 5 Video Highlights  View Day 5 Photo Gallery |
You do not want to miss our service tomorrow as we conclude an amazing week of VBS. Remember, we will meet at 9:30am for this special One Service Sunday. There will be OC Gourmet Food Trucks in our patio after the service for your dining pleasure and 20% of sales go toward the Penny Project.
I want to give thanks to God for our Children’s Ministry team, Calvary Church staff and the 590 volunteers who served so faithfully and creatively for our Lord this week. With 1,238 kids who passed through our doors this week, the Lord gave us a great opportunity to make the Good News of Jesus known to each child. Another 12 kids made first-time decisions to follow Jesus on Friday. Over the course of our week, 159 children made first-time decisions. 98 kids decided to recommit themselves in their walk with the Lord. We welcomed in kids from the Village of Hope and at least one of those kids made a first-time decision for Christ while four more decided they needed to take their relationship with Jesus seriously.
We are so overwhelmed at how God has worked this week. We don’t at all want to discount what God has done by saying it is “just kids” making impulsive decisions. In addition to the kids who came to VBS, we had 3 volunteers that we know of who placed their faith in Jesus this week. God is faithful to grow these souls, and we are so excited that God uses VBS to bring kids and leaders to Himself. We consider it a privilege and responsibility in Children’s Ministries to help our kids grow in their new faith.
And thank you to all of you who brought in the various food items to keep everyone moving each day. You all came through to meet every need. Again, we spent nothing on our snacks this week, feeding more 1500 people each day.
Our VBS Family Night on Thursday was a huge success as families and staff gathered at OC Great Park for a picnic, balloon rides, and family fun! We had a bunch of people there and felt like it was a great opportunity to connect with families and share what God is doing at VBS this week! Be sure to ask someone how our night ended. It was fun!
In Flight School on Friday the kids learned that “Jesus is my light.” We heard how Jesus shared His light with a Samaritan woman and how we can depend on Jesus to be our light in dark places. Our VBS pilots in training got to shine the light of Jesus as they joined together and packed 10,000 nutritious meals for children in Guatemala. They also got to enjoy this meal during their regular snack time! What a window into the lives of children they are benefiting with their pennies this week!
As you have seen from all of these update emails, we had a great time at VBS. Again, we want to invite you to come this Sunday for ONE SERVICE at 9:30 am for our Flying Finale to hear the full report on everything that God has done! We’ll continue our series called “Life Changing Questions” as we look at John 10 and Jesus as our Shepherd.
Don't forget to check out our VBS website at calvarylife.org/vbs.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support!
From Your Flight Instructors,
Hawkeye (Pastor Matt)
& the Flight School Crew
Learn all about this year's Flight School VBS using the links below:
- Read all about Flight School VBS on the About Page.
- Discover Flight School VBS for Elementary Students.
- Check out the Latest - Aerial Photography.
- Get Involved! To offer VBS for FREE, we need Donations.
- Learn about this year's Reach Project.
- Mark your calendar with important VBS Dates & Times.
Flight School VBS - Sneak Preview Video!
Join the adventure - Click Here to Register Today
