The congregation filled with youth listened to the children (front) of the church talking about Joshua, the twelve stones and God’s promise. Photo by : Faith Callens

Article by: Faith Callens

“WHOOSH!” Elbethel Baptist Church hosted their second annual three-day vacation bible school program from July 15th to July 17th for kids of all ages to learn about God’s word. The program was directed by one of the deacons of the church, Ervin Neely.

“The term “Whoosh” is referring to taking flight, taking you where God wants you to be,” said Neely.

On the first day, participants, teachers and the church staff of the bible school introduced themselves and were given name tags to let everyone in the room know who they were. Once the meet and greet was over, children and teenagers up to 17 years of age lined up on the walls to be with their assigned teachers. Each room leading up to the sanctuary was filled with children ready to learn and their own “Whoosh” student handbooks to write in.

“It’s important to teach the kids while they are young. The Bible says if you bend the tree while it is still a sapling, then it will grow up to be a mighty tree, so it’s important that we participate in the process,” said Minister Nan Brown-Curtis.

For all three days, there were about 30 participants on the roster. The church kitchen staff served food such as hotdogs, hamburgers, chips and drinks each day.

On the second day, the bible school attendees started off the day by praying, singing songs of worship and dancing to the “Whoosh” CD-ROM leading with the first song called “By Faith”. Later in the evening, the kids and teens made tie dye shirts and set them out to dry before heading to the second day of learning about God’s word.

“This church is very fun and I like that you can learn about God’s word and do many activities at the same time,” said Jacobi Mitchell, a member of Elbethel Baptist Church.

On the final day of the program, everyone came together again for prayer, worship, and to conclude the lessons of the “Whoosh” handbook. On Thursday, the church took all the participants to the Lowndes County Interpretative Center, Montgomery’s Rock N’ Jump and Golden Corral for their fun day to show their appreciation for all the attendees’ participation.

The members of Elbethel Baptist Church encourages citizens of Selma to come out and participate in their vacation bible school next year around the month of July.