It was a Terrific Thursday today at New Hope-crazy hair day!! Click here for today's photos, and click here to watch today's newscast from Channel 5½.

Today's Lesson

Today we learned about the first Christians. Their church was inside their home. Peter had told a huge crowd about Jesus dying for them, and that He really was alive again! That day, 3,000 people made the decision to believe and be baptized. The church had begun!

That early church was just like our own-we study Jesus and His words. We pray and help each other with problems and needs. We're brothers and sisters in Christ and we will share whatever we have with each other. We work together helping the poor, the weak, and telling the good news that Jesus is alive.

Those first Christians are an example of Christian heroes putting others first!

Memory Verse

4's, 5's & K... "Don't give up. Think about others before yourself." Philippians 2:4

1st thru 6th... "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." Philippians 2:3-4

Meet My Class

Today we're spending a little time with Mikki Folden and Traci Saunder's 5 year olds class, and Susan Bigler's 5th Graders.

The 5's started the day in drama, where we learned about the first church-straight from the book of Acts in the bible. We did a great job learning our memory verse for the day, which is "Don't give up, think of others before yourself." We put that verse into practice all throughout the day. One very special thing we did was give bibles to two children who didn't have one of their own. We also went to music, crafts and recreation. Last but not least, we finished the day at the concession stand for popcorn! We had a great day at Game Day Central-God is good!

Praise to God for His presence with the 5th graders! We've had a great time at VBS and have been excited to learn as many memory verses as possible. Only God could give us our unity. We've been blessed with cooperation as we've moved from crafts to drama to homeroom, recreation and concession. Look what the Lord has done in building teams for His kingdom!

Recreation

Today in recreation we played the game "Quarterback Sneak" and an obstacle course for 4's thru K's. Quarterback Sneak is basically capture the flag. In this game, kids are divided into two teams who go to opposite sides of the field. There are two balls put on both sides and the kids try to grab the flag without getting tagged. If a kid is tagged, they go to the side and stay until a teammate tags them out. The obstacle course consisted of a box to crawl through, a car to wheel through cones, a ball on a cone to hit, and a basketball hoop to score in.

Crafts

What another awesome day for us in crafts! Since this was the last day we'll be making things, we made 3 things today. Ask us about the quilt square that we created. This quilt will be given as a gift to the children in Panama when the mission team from New Hope travels there this winter to take Game Day Central to those children. Once the quilt is sewn together, we'll hang it in the Welcome Center to be enjoyed by everyone until the team loads up and heads to Panama. The color scheme of the quilt is red, white, and blue so the Panamanian children will always know it came from the good old USA! Everyone signed their name on the fabric that will make the quilt backing. We also made photo buttons.

What a busy day in the crafts, but everyone was a good listener and so careful with the wet paint. Thank you! No crafts tomorrow because we'll be turning in your points at the Memory Station! Good luck with all your memory work. We've truly enjoyed having you in the craft area all week!!

Missionary

Today we learned about an organization in downtown Indianapolis, "Jireh Sports". This inner-city ministry supported by several churches encourages kids to participate in nontraditional sports like gymnastics and ballet. As the young people attend they are taught bible lessons, are prayed with, and encouraged through discipleship groups.

We talked about a young first grader from New York, Morgan, who wanted to do something for others. She heard about Jireh Sports and decided to help. She collected gently used leotards and other gymnastics equipment from her gyms and school. She sent these things to Indianapolis to allow the children to have "real" gymnastic clothing. Wow! Thanks Morgan for the great example of putting others above yourself and listening to Jesus.

Totals!

We had 231 kids and 111 staff members at Game Day Central, for a total of 342 people! And our offering totals continue to grow. We added $151.12 to our existing offering for a total so far of $586.53...great job guys!! The 1st grade Receivers won the award for most bibles, the 4th grade Redeemers had the most offering with $30.13, and dual winners of the Spirit Award were the 4's and the 2nd graders!!

Be sure to invite your family and friends to our Tailgate Party, 6pm this Friday evening. We'll have food, games and music outside from 6 to 7pm. Then it's into the sanctuary for worship with John David Webster, our half-time show (where we perform the songs we've been learning this week) and video of the week's activities!

Remember to check out today's pictures and video highlights. Leave a note on the VBS Guestbook or send a photo postcard to invite a friend to the Tailgate Party! Thanks for making it a great day, and don't forget Team Spirit day tomorrow! We'll see you then!