Kids raise $2,000 for African literature

With more than 500 children attending, Vacation Bible School at Asbury UMC, Corpus Christi, could be one of the largest in the country, according to VBS curriculum publisher Gospel Light.
Asbury’s VBS drew children from United Methodist, Baptist, Pentecostal, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Church of Christ and nondenominational churches. Too large for the space available in the church, the crowd moved outside under a tent for the opening and closing programs.
The kids, age 3 through 12, went on the Kingdom of the Son Prayer Safari produced by Gospel Light.
The children donated more than $2,000 for Christian writers and translators to develop Bible studies for children in Africa. Children’s program coordinator Beth Gray had set the fund-raising goal at $1,000 and promised that if the kids reached the goal, the church’s senior pastor, the Rev. B.J. Rogers, would kiss a lemur, a small monkey.
“I told them I’d be fine with doing that,” Rogers said. “But if they exceeded $1,000, Beth would have to kiss the lemur, too.”
Both did.
Another special attraction was a surprise visit from Bibleman, the Christian superhero who battles the villains of darkness. Via video produced specifically for them, Bibleman told the children how proud he was of them and personally invited them to the Franklin Graham Festival to be held in Corpus Christi Aug. 19-21.
A number of Asbury UMC members serve on the festival’s planning committee.