God has grander plans than we can ever imagine. A 2014 conversation led to Alaska's Wrangell Church doing a Vacation Bible School in Bethel, Alaska. Little did we know where this would lead. Fast forward to 2017 and five VBS programs later (three in Bethel, one in Wrangell and one in Ketchikan), and the church is considering doing three more this year — in the communities of Craig, Bethel and Wrangell.
How did we get here? Our story began as a small church youth group looking for something to keep the youth active and serve the Wrangell community. Starting in 2010, we began using sign language, drama and dowels to music as a way to connect the youth with characters of the Bible using performance. God took that and grew it, and we annually are invited to community programs to perform.
Now, as our group is starting to get older, God has taken those talents and skills and asked us to use them outside our community to promote His Word. We are still a small group from a little town, but we have learned God is not limited by size. We have seen Him work in wonderful ways. Last year we had just enough funds to go on one VBS trip in June, but God provided enough money for two other trips — one for VBS and one to join our friends in Petersburg to provide a church service.
This year our theme for Vacation Bible School is “God Leads His People,” through which Wrangell youth will share about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and more. We believe God has more plans for us! If you’d like to donate to our current Vacation Bible School fund, you can go to www.gofundme.com/wrangellsda.
The gospel is being spread in many communities thanks to Wrangell young people like (front, from left) Brooke Reynolds, Tiffany Eilertsen, Stephanie Eilertsen, April Eilertsen, Jackie Eilertsen, (back, from left) Kym Rohrer, Samantha Eilertsen, Dena Meigs, Debbie Reynolds and Charlie Meigs.
