The soundtrack to a popular Vacation Bible School program climbed to No. 1 on an Apple Music chart last month.
Spark Studios, the album for Lifeway’s 2022 Vacation Bible School program, reached No. 1 in June on Apple Music’s Top 100 Children’s Music Albums chart, according to Baptist Press, and remains in the Top 5.
This year’s Lifeway VBS teaches children that “God’s creativity didn’t stop in Genesis,” Lifeway’s website says. The album was produced by Lifeway Kids Worship.
“The Master Artist is working to redeem, reclaim, and transform us – His creation – to the design He planned for us,” the Spark Studios website says. “Kids will see the beautiful truth that they are God’s workmanship as they learn to use their talents to bring glory to Him.”
The VBS theme verse is Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do” (CSB).
Lifeway’s VBS and kids ministry specialist Melita Thomas told Baptist Press it’s encouraging to see the album top the charts.
“With the pandemic negatively impacting many churches’ ability to do VBS the past two years, I think this is evidence that VBS is returning in full force across the country,” Thomas said. “We’re very proud of the role music plays in Lifeway’s VBS as it’s an intentional part of our strategy. You’ll find the daily Bible verses embedded in the daily songs, and the theme song often includes the theme verse in its entirety, which makes it easy for kids to memorize.”
The goal, Thomas said, is for children to “internalize those truths as they listen to and sing the words over and over again.”
“Music is such a powerful teaching tool, and it has a way of sticking with you long after VBS is over,” she added. “We want the truths of Scripture to be cemented deep in a child’s mind and heart so that they carry it with them for life. Music at VBS is not about learning and performing motions – it’s about getting the truth of God’s Word into the hearts and minds of children and their families.”
Photo courtesy: ©Lifeway, used with permission.
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
