Madison Campus Church VBS Places Focus on Three Angels’ Messages

By PAOLA MORA ZEPEDA

Children listen to the story of the day during Madison Campus, Tenn., Church’s Vacation Bible School. This year, organizers drafted their own program to teach children about the three angels’ messages.

Ryan Haslam

A girl poses with her notes from story time. On the first day of VBS, children learned about the story of Jesus and His sacrifice for them.

Ryan Haslam

A boy writes the first angel’s message in his notebook. According to Kristin Fulton, advancement coordinator at Madison Academy and Madison Campus Church VBS coordinator, children were excited and curious to learn about the three angels’ messages.

Ryan Haslam

Madison Campus, Tenn., Church hosted its annual Vacation Bible School (VBS) from July 26 to 29, 2021. This time, however, the program had a twist. Instead of buying the VBS package from Lifeway, organizers drafted their own program to teach children about the three angels’ messages.

The idea came after Kristin Fulton, advancement coordinator at Madison Academy and Madison Campus Church VBS coordinator, read a passage from Ellen G. White’s Testimonies for the Church.

“In a special sense, SDAs have been set in the world as watchmen and light bearers,” the passage, found in Vol. 9, Chapter 2 reads. “… They have been given a work of the most solemn import — the proclamation of the first, second, and third angels’ messages. There is no other work of so great importance …”

After discussing this text with Kris Fuentes, Madison Academy principal, the school decided to purchase Sandra Doran’s “Three Angels for Kids,” a lesson plan designed to teach children and teens about the three angels’ messages. The curriculum will be used during the Bible classes at Madison Academy and Madison Campus Elementary.

“And so, I thought, ‘you know what? I can start [the lessons] in VBS,” Fulton said. “The whole goal is to teach kids from a young age, so they can begin to learn the three angels’ messages.”

Fulton and her team adapted the curriculum to match the structure of VBS. On the first day, during story time, children learned about the story of Jesus. On the second and third day, they learned about the first angel’s message. On the fourth day, teachers shared about the second angel’s message and introduced the third angel’s message. “These kids were so excited and eager to learn,” Fulton said. “I was thrilled to see that they were so into it. They asked questions, memorized the verses, and listened so attentively. It was amazing.” More than 100 children joined the VBS program. Madison Academy will start teaching the curriculum at the beginning of the fall semester and Madison Campus Elementary will follow later. “There is a calling to teach [the three angels’ messages] to this generation now,” Fulton said. “These kids are ready …. We could probably list 10 to 20 reasons as to why, but it all just comes down to the Lord wanting them to learn this message.” To learn more about “Three Angels for Kids,” go to threeangelsfortoday.org; If your church has questions about adapting the three angels’ messages for VBS, contact kfulton@madisonacademy.com.

Kentucky-Tennessee | October 2021