Bowmanville Children Travel to Ancient Rome

This past July, Bowmanville Seventh-day Adventist Church stepped back in time as its halls became the streets of Ancient Rome. Roman soldiers roamed the halls, Bible characters came to life, and 91–104 children each day, alongside nearly 55 volunteers, experienced five unforgettable days of Vacation Bible School.
For Bowmanville Church, VBS is much more than a summer program. It is one of our largest community outreach ministries of the year, and it takes a church family working together to make it happen.

Volunteers sacrificed vacation time, adjusted work schedules, and spent weeks preparing and praying. Under the leadership of Caroline Kozarichuk, this year’s Rome VBS invited children to step into the world of the apostle Paul and discover what it meant to follow Jesus in the early Christian church.

Each day brought the story to life through different stations. Children heard Bible stories from Paul and his Roman guard, Brutus, and experienced the courage of believers in the Underground Church. They created Bible-related crafts, explored Roman life through hands-on activities and science, enjoyed yummy snacks, and joined in action-packed games. But the goal was bigger than teaching Bible history.

Children were challenged to boldly share Jesus with “Roman citizens” and “guards,” discovering what courageous faith looks like in real life. Like Paul, they learned that following Christ is not always easy, but the Gospel is always worth sharing: “I am not ashamed of the gospel” (Romans 1:16).

In the Rome Experience station, a leader portraying a non-believing Roman woman asked the children what she needed to do to earn God’s love. Ethan quickly answered, “We don’t need to do anything to earn God’s love. He already loves us.”

It was a simple moment, yet a powerful one. The children were not just hearing Bible truths; they were beginning to understand them, believe them, and confidently share their faith with others.

Of the 104 children who participated, 45 came from the community. By the end of VBS, 55 children and volunteers had made some level of decision to follow Jesus, including requests for Bible studies and baptism. Twenty-four of those decisions came from kids in the community, while eight of our volunteers also expressed interest in Bible studies or baptism.

And the story did not end there.

Since then, three individuals have already been baptized or rebaptized, and more are expected to follow. Pastor Gerry and members of the elders team are continuing to connect with those who requested Bible studies, expressed interest in baptism, or indicated a desire to grow in their relationship with Jesus. Praise the Lord!

So… why invest so much time, energy, and resources into one week of VBS?

1. VBS opens the church to the community: Families come to us and see who we are.
2. VBS plants spiritual seeds: Children experience biblical truth in tangible ways and are invited to follow Jesus.
3. VBS strengthens the church family: Young and older volunteers serve together, build relationships, and help develop young leaders.

One week can open doors, begin Bible studies, lead to baptisms, and change lives, so let’s make VBS a mission worth investing in and reach the next generation for Jesus!

Denisa Zita
Communications Department Lead
Bowmanville Seventh-day Adventist Church