Jeff Engroff of Millersville became involved with youth ministry as soon as he graduated from high school in 1984. He attended Worship Center in Leola and began to volunteer, which eventually led to full-time work as a youth ministry director for various local churches. Engroff worked full time in youth ministry up until the COVID-19 pandemic, when the closure of many church programs caused him to find work elsewhere. Two years ago, he decided to seek work where his passion lies and became the youth director at Lampeter United Methodist Church (LUMC), 1101 Lampeter Road, Lancaster.

Like many churches in the area, LUMC has offered vacation Bible school (VBS) programs in the past that have featured curricula from pre-made kits. Engroff, who has decades of experience working with similar programs, pitched an idea to the church: offer a unique curriculum for kids by pooling resources from different programs and adding fresh material. The idea resulted in the development of Camp VBS, a VBS program which will take place from Monday, June 19, to Thursday, June 22. The program will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at LUMC each day.

Camp VBS revolves around a theme of enjoying the outdoors and relates Scripture to a variety of activities. Engroff said that the primary challenge of developing youth programming is making content relatable to kids. While developing Camp VBS, he wanted to place an emphasis on making the content not only accessible, but also applicable to the lives of children and their families. "Sometimes we get caught up in the language of Scripture. I wanted to offer an opportunity for kids to experience something they might not have access to often, like camping," Engroff added. "There's so much fun you can have with just camping, having a bonfire, playing some guitar and coming together."

The majority of Camp VBS features outdoor activities, such as completing a scavenger hunt for craft materials and communing around a bonfire. Engroff also added a portion of the program that features an escape room, where participants will have to solve a puzzle and work together to complete a challenge.

In addition to making the program accessible with regard to its content, Engroff wanted to make it accessible for the church as it hosts Camp VBS. With a simple premise like camping, LUMC is able to place less strain on its budget, something that Engroff believes will benefit the kids. "It's about getting on kids' level and hearing about their lives and families," Engroff said. "If we're not getting hung up on a big production, we can focus more on connecting with the students."

For more information, visit http://www.lampeterumc.com/upcoming-event.