I remember when my kids were little. Vacation Bible School was something we all looked forward to. Each year would bring a different theme and they were always excited to go. I still have many a VBS project in my office that was made over the years by loving little hands.
The man behind the music for VBS, Jeff Slaughter, is a singer/songwriter, worship leader and author. For over 15 years, he has been the sole songwriter for Lifeway's VBS curriculum. Industry experts estimate that more than 46 million people around the world have sung his songs. Jeff spent this summer traveling to churches throughout the southeast, taking his VBS World Tour on the road. While he couldn't stop in and visit at each one of the thousands of churches where more than a hundred thousand children were singing his songs,he did spend 11 weeks visiting with children and VBS leaders, making friends and memories. One such visit was with Becky Holbrook, VBS leader at Northside Baptist Church in Columbia, Tennessee and some of the kids but Jeff didn't go to visit them. Instead, they surprised him at a book signing in Brentwood, Tennessee for his autobiography, It's All True: Walking By Faith in a Funky World. They wanted to show him how much they appreciated him and his music, so they took him a very special gift - a handmade quilt, signed by each child that attended VBS.
In a press release, Becky Holbrook talked about how much Jeff means to them, saying, "The inspiration for the autograph quilt came from a conversation with my grandson, Daniel. We really wanted to make something for Jeff as a thank you for blessing us with his great music and spiritual encouragement over the years. A very talented friend, Donna McClain, helped me design the quilt. She sewed and quilted it after Daniel and I selected the fabric to represent this year's VBS World Tour theme. It was a small gift of thanks, but I hope Jeff knows we are thankful for him and look forward to many years of worshiping Jesus with him."
