Students help grow church through program

Iola Trinity Methodist is on a mission to grow its congregation and hopes a lively Vacation Bible School will lead the direction.
The Rev. Carl Ellis and a small group of college-aged students have come to Iola this week to help Trinity Methodist, 228 S. Kentucky, run its VBS. Ellis and his team bring aid to small-member churches by leading a week full of activities and teach members of the church how to lead an effective VBS.
Ellis says bringing in a younger group to lend a helping hand can help the program.
“When you have young people leading, the kids get more excited,” Ellis said.
Sara Burris, a member of Trinity Methodist, helped plan the program to attract more members.
“We’ve been working on community outreach,” Burris said. “Our mission is to grow.”
Churches apply to have the group come to their town to help. The group selects only four churches.
The program’s theme is “Everywhere Fun Fair” and is being led by Rudo Dozva, a Kansas Wesleyan University student from Zimbabwe. Dozva will earn three credit hours toward her education because she is leading the program.
“I was originally a pharmacy major but I changed it to religion after helping with this program last year,” Dozva said.
The program attracted the college students for different reasons. Sarah Dodge, a Mid-America Nazarene student, said a friend’s mom had told her about the program and Dodge thought it “would be a meaningful way to spend my summer.”
Garrett Kennedy, a Kansas State University student, had previously taken a course from Ellis.
“I wanted to test the waters to see if ministry was for me and he told me about this program,” Kennedy said. “I thought this would be a good way to get my feet wet.”
Dozva said each day the kids will learn something on a different country. Monday they learned about Japan and for the rest of the week they will “visit” Zimbabwe, the United Kingdom, Australia and Mexico.
The college students have prepared a plethora of activities for the kids. Kids will visit storytelling, Bible buzz, choral corner, innovation station, global games and creation zone.
The program is from noon to 2:30. Kids are able to receive a full meal and a full snack during this time. Anyone is welcome to join the group during the week.
On Friday, the program will have a barbecue in the parking lot and on Sunday they will have a closing program during the worship service.