Three days of Knowing God. Finding their voices and making room for the next generation.
We came to VBS 2026 to help children know God.
We left reminded that children can also help the church know God, through their questions, courage, worship, stories and voices.
Maybe they were ready all along. We just needed to make room.
There is something wonderfully unsettling about watching a child step behind a microphone.
You know they have rehearsed. You know the words are somewhere in their head.
You know the facilitators have prayed. You know the parents are watching.
But there is still that tiny moment of suspense:
Will they remember?
Then the microphone goes on. And they speak.
That was the story of VBS 2026 at GPT Hebron City, Children’s Church.
We called it “Knowing God.”
What we didn’t quite anticipate was how much these three days would teach us about children.
🌱 It began with a simple question
Is there a God?
It sounds almost too basic.
But perhaps that’s precisely why it mattered.
Our VBS teaching took children aged 3–14 back to foundational truths:
- There is a God.
- God has revealed Himself.
- Jesus shows us God.
- God speaks through His Word.
Our theme scripture was John 17:3:
“This is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
For three half-days, we explored what it means not simply to know about God, but to know God.
Through creation. Through conscience.
Through Jesus Christ. Through Scripture.
And through the very ordinary, wonderfully unpredictable experience of being in a room with more than 200 children.
🎒 Day 1: Start with God
About 180 children arrived for Day 1.
Registration.
Praise and worship.
A devotional from Rev. Albert.
Then six classes opened their doors:
- Mt. Sinai (3-4yrs); Mt. Moriah (5-6yrs);
- Mt. Logos (7-8yrs); Mt. Carmel (9-10yrs);
- Mt. Olives (11-12yrs); Mt. Zion (13-14yrs);
These classes became little laboratories of discovery.
A mirror could become a reminder:“I am created in God’s image.”
A football, watch, toy car or exam paper could become a doorway into conversations about creation, order, purpose and the world around us.
We discovered again that children remember what they experience.
A good teaching aid doesn’t replace the lesson. It helps the lesson stick.
And while children were learning about God, adults were learning something too: simple doesn’t mean shallow.
🔥 Day 2: “Did they actually remember?”
Day 2 brought 201 children.
More children. More energy. More tea.
And, predictably, more mandazi.
At the morning plenary, we asked the children to remember what they had learnt the previous day.
Hands went up.
One child explained that God is revealed through creation.
Another connected God’s provision through parents to what they had learnt.
- They weren’t simply repeating words.
- They were making connections.
That was encouraging. Because the real measure of a VBS isn’t how quiet children are during the lesson.
It isn’t how beautiful the craft looks.
It isn’t even how many children attend.
The question is: What remains when they go home?
We also had 25 children make decisions to follow Christ during VBS. That immediately moved the conversation beyond celebration to responsibility.
A decision needs a name. A parent.
A conversation. A next step.
A discipleship pathway.
Because the event ends. Discipleship continues.
🧰 The little things mattered
Some of the most memorable moments happened in ordinary classes.
Facilitators brought a ball, objects, printed visuals and other simple teaching aids.
Children touched things. Looked at things. Answered questions.
Laughed. Argued. Wondered.
Sometimes got the answer spectacularly wrong. 😂
But that’s okay.
Because a class where children can ask questions is a class where learning is happening.
We learnt that sensory learning matters.
If children can see it, hold it, hear it or act it out, there’s a better chance the lesson will travel home with them.
And that doesn’t require a huge budget.
It requires imagination. And a facilitator willing to ask:
“What can I put in this child’s hands?”
🤝 The VBS was never just about the children
Behind every successful children’s programme is a team willing to pray, improvise, serve and sometimes buy emergency bread. 😂
Behind those 200+ children were adults and teenagers doing the unglamorous work:
- Registration. Tea. Snacks.
- Stage management. Media. Timekeeping.
- Buying bread when the mandazi ran out.
- Assembling chairs. Moving people. Managing pick-up.
Sweeping (and pouring water) around a building still under construction.
And praying. Lots of praying.
Every morning, facilitators gathered before the children arrived.
Every afternoon, we debriefed.
- What worked?
- What didn’t?
- Who needs follow-up?
- What should we change tomorrow?
That daily rhythm became one of the quiet strengths of the VBS.
We weren’t pretending everything would go perfectly.
We were building a team capable of adjusting quickly when it didn’t.
Tea could be too hot. Snacks could run out.
Power could disappear. Dust could rise.
Plans could change. And somehow, the children still got taught.
That’s what a nimble team looks like.
🎤 Then came Day 3
No more lessons.
Now the children had to prepare for Children’s Sunday.
And suddenly the question changed.
It wasn’t: “What did they learn?” It became: “Can they lead?”
They rehearsed praise and worship.
Class presentations. Service hosting. Announcements.
Prayer. Drama. Bible trivia. Protocol. And preaching.
- We coached. They practised.
- We corrected. They tried again.
And slowly, something happened.
Confidence replaced hesitation.
🎶 They didn’t just sing. They led.
The children didn’t simply stand behind adults while the adults worshipped.
They led us in songs and demonstrated actions:
O Come To The Altar; Trading My Sorrows; Look My Way; Sheila Juma – Jiwe; Awesome God; He Knows My Name; One Thing Remains; Jehovah You Are Good.
They introduced songs. They encouraged the congregation.
They danced. They sang.
Four girls from Mt. Zion, the Mt. Zion Voices, presented a feature song during the offering.
Eric Masheti, who worked with the children during VBS, helped create an environment where they could step forward.
This is something I’ve increasingly come to believe:
Leadership is not always giving someone the microphone. Sometimes it is helping them believe they are allowed to hold it.
📖 Then an 11-year-old preached
This was probably the moment that brought the whole VBS into focus.
Imanda, aged 11, preached. For about 25 minutes.
She spoke about knowing God.
Who God is. His character.
Our need to seek Him. To repent. To be reconciled with Him.
She was articulate.
Composed. Clear. Engaging.
And as I watched, I remembered why we had chosen to put children at the front.
Not because children are miniature adults.
Not because they need to prove something.
But because God can use children.
Samuel was a boy when God called him.
The question isn’t always: “Is this child old enough?”
Sometimes the better question is: “Have we given this child enough opportunity?”
❤️ And Then Thandiwe Spoke…
If Imanda’s sermon demonstrated what a child can preach, Thandiwe demonstrated what a child can remember.
At seven years old, she spoke about transitioning from Mt. Moriah to Mt. Logos.
She remembered her teachers: Tr. Jennifer. Tr. Maggie. Tr. Christabel.
She remembered a class competition between boys and girls. And how Tr. Maggie gave everyone a sweet regardless of who won.
“Tr. Maggie, that was very sweet.”
She remembered Tr. Christabel encouraging them to speak louder and with confidence.
And then she demonstrated exactly what that encouragement had produced.
She stood before the congregation.
She spoke. She smiled. She remembered her friends.
Then she looked toward the camera and greeted her dad, watching from Canada:
“Hi Dad. I miss you.”
That was not in a curriculum.
You can’t timetable a moment like that. And yet, somehow, it was discipleship too.
Because discipleship is not only what children can recite.
It is also what they have come to believe about themselves, their teachers, their families and their God.
Welbeck’s Next Chapter…
He started with a familiar teenage question:
“Do I move to Teens Church or negotiate an extension in Mt. Olives?” 😄
Thankfully, Mt. Zion offered a perfect middle ground.
After two years with Tr. Maggie and Tr. Keren, Welbeck is now exploring who he is becoming.
Learning to choose good company. Live for God and grow as a role model.
His transition reminded us that discipleship is not just moving children between classes. It is helping them grow into who God is calling them to be.
🌿 From classes to congregation
About 30 children transitioned into their next classes.
They came forward with facilitators standing behind them.
It was a simple picture.
But I found myself thinking: This is discipleship in motion.
- Mt. Sinai to Mt. Moriah.
- Mt. Moriah to Mt. Logos.
- Mt. Logos to Mt. Carmel.
- Mt. Carmel to Mt. Olives.
- Mt. Olives to Mt. Zion.
And eventually, Mt. Zion to Teens Church.
Children grow. Classes change.
Teachers change.
But the investment continues. And that’s the point.
👨👩👧 Parents matter more than we sometimes admit
We also invited parents into the story.
Not merely as people who drop children at church.
Not simply as people who ask, “What did you learn today?”
But as partners in discipleship.
During VBS, parents supported registration, transport, giving, preparation and participation.
And Children’s Sunday made that partnership visible.
Parents were recognised. Some were invited to stand.
- One parent watched her daughter preach.
- Another watched his child share a transition story.
- Some were visibly emotional. And rightly so.
Because raising a child who knows God is not a Children’s Church project.
It is a family project.
That’s why we’ve increasingly created spaces for parents too. Including parenting seminars and plans for a parenting cohort, where parents can learn, discuss and grow together.
Children’s Church can teach on Sunday.
But parents disciple Monday through Saturday.
We need each other.
🏗️ Even the building became part of the story
There was another quiet backdrop to VBS. The Children’s Church building.
Still being completed. Still dusty.
Still needing doors, windows and other finishing work.
But standing.
A physical reminder that something was being built.
Not just a building.
A ministry. A community. A generation.
And perhaps that is the most appropriate metaphor for these three days.
We were building.
- Lesson by lesson. Song by song.
- Child by child. Facilitator by facilitator.
💡 What did VBS 2026 teach us?
1. Children are more capable than we sometimes assume.
Give them preparation and responsibility, and they will surprise you.
2. Experience beats explanation.
A child may forget a paragraph. They are less likely to forget something they held, acted, sang, created or experienced.
3. Confidence is cultivated.
Thandiwe didn’t magically become courageous. Someone repeatedly told her: “Speak louder. Speak with confidence.”
And eventually, she did.
4. A strong team doesn’t require perfection.
It requires people willing to adapt, support one another and solve problems together.
5. VBS should not end with VBS.
- If a child responds to the Gospel, there must be follow-up.
- If a child discovers a gift, there must be opportunity.
- If a child asks a question, there must be someone willing to keep talking.
The programme is the spark. Discipleship is the fire.
🎯 So, what was VBS 2026 really about?
On paper, it was three half-days: 20–22 August 2026.
Six classes.
About 200 child-attendances across the three days.
Lessons. Songs. Crafts.
Tea. Snacks. Rehearsals.
But underneath all of that was something much bigger. We were trying to help children know God.
And in the process, we were learning to know something about them:
They have voices. They have ideas. They have gifts.
They have questions. They have stories.
And they have a place in God’s work.
Maybe they were ready all along.
We just needed to make room. 🎤🌱
📚 The journey (and team) behind VBS 2026
VBS 2026 didn’t happen in isolation. It is part of a longer Children’s Church story.
For those who want to go deeper, I’ve documented earlier chapters
From “Sent, Seen and Soaring” (2024) to the 2025 reflections:
- Q1: Established in His Ways
- Q2: Radiant Hope
- Q3: Faith Milestones and
- Q4: From Roots to Fruit .
I also wrote specifically about ✨ VBS 2025 — Living God’s Way.
Where we explored God’s Way versus man’s way through teaching, worship, crafts, games, drama and the Children’s Concert.
The 2025 story makes an interesting companion to this one.
- 2025 asked: Which way will we choose?
- 2026 asked: Who are we choosing to know?
And perhaps the answer to both questions is found in what happens next:
How will knowing God change the way these children live, serve and lead?
🎥 Watch the Children Lead
Want to experience the day for yourself?
Watch the full Children’s Sunday service on YouTube here.
From praise and worship to preaching, presentations and class transitions, it’s a beautiful glimpse of what happens when we give children room to lead. 🎤😊
✨ Final thought
We came to VBS 2026 asking children to know God.
But somewhere between the first song, the first class, the first craft, the first rehearsal and the first brave step onto the stage, another lesson emerged.
Knowing God should change how we see ourselves.
Perhaps a child who knows God can also know:
I can pray. I can serve. I can sing.
I can speak. I can lead. I can tell my story.
I can be used by God.
And when the children finally took the microphone, perhaps the biggest surprise wasn’t that they could do it.
Perhaps it was that we had underestimated how ready they already were.
Maybe they were ready all along.
We just needed to make room. 🎤🌱
#VBS2026 #KnowingGod #ChildrensChurch #ChildrensMinistry #ChildDiscipleship #ChildLeadership #NextGeneration #ChristianParenting #GPTHebronCity #MakeRoom #FaithInAction #KnowGod
Joseph Ngaara is inspired by people’s stories, especially those shaped by faith, resilience, and grace. If you’ve walked through triumph, tragedy, or something beautifully in between and feel ready to share, my inbox is open. 📩 j.mungai@hotmail.co.uk
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