Summer Bible classes a hit at Bangor school Pastor finds Capehart sessions draw more kids than parks did

On a sultry summer afternoon last week, two dozen youngsters gathered on the lawn and playground of Downeast Elementary School in Bangor, some on blankets to hear a Bible story, others in the sun singing and signing about God’s plan for them at an outdoor Vacation Bible School.

Maine churches hold Vacation Bible School for a few days during the summer. While many are held outside on church lawns and parking lots, some are in city parks and schoolyards.

Jeff Rose, pastor of Penobscot Valley Community Church, decided the best way to get to know the Bangor community would be to hold the school where children and families spend much of their summers – the city parks. But after holding sessions in Stillwater and Fairmount parks, he nixed plans for Broadway Park and moved to the school in Capehart.

“We had a small turnout in the parks,” the 34-year-old Virginia native said at Downeast School Monday afternoon. “We had 40 kids sign up at registration at the school Sunday afternoon. We know that Mainers are outdoor folk, so we came outdoors, and it hasn’t rained on us once.”

Sisters Elizabeth and Tiffany Whitney attend Glad Tidings Church on Broadway, but liked being able to attend Vacation Bible School within walking distance of home. The girls had attended VBS at Bangor Baptist Church, but enjoyed the songs, arts and crafts offered by PVCC.

Elizabeth, 10, said Tuesday she liked learning the new songs, especially “Do You Accept Me?” which included sign language. Tiffany, 9, who said she will be an artist when she grows up, preferred the craft project. The children made pouches that held Bible verses with magnets for refrigerators.

Attendance was down Tuesday as the temperature soared and many Capehart children went on a Bangor Parks and Recreation Department field trip. Rose and the volunteers from churches in Virginia and North Carolina ministered to a dozen children as city employees mowed the lawn around them.

Rose, his wife, Julie, and their two daughters moved to Bangor in mid-June from North Carolina, where Jeff earned a degree in church planning from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C. The family spent last summer in Maine for Rose’s internship.

“Last summer,” Rose said, “I was able to take the pulse of the community and its spiritual receptivity. I have heard that 90 percent of the people in Maine are unchurched. I love going to reach those that have not been reached yet and take the Gospel to those who are unchurched.”

The minister grew up in the coal fields of southern Virginia and worked 10 years as a state trooper before entering the seminary in 1999. He and his wife have bought a house in Bangor and will begin Bible study next month at 96 Harlow St.

Rose is not the first church planter from the denomination to work in Bangor. For almost a decade, the Rev. Mark Bryant led the River City Chapel. There are 15 Southern Baptist Churches in Maine and about 200 in New England, most with ministers from the South.

Southern Baptist pastors working in New England often have had a hard time making headway in the region’s small communities, but instead of simply announcing the arrival of his new church and seeking media attention, Rose found a better way to introduce himself and his church to Bangor.

Rose gave away 300 9-volt batteries after two children died in a Bridgewater house fire June 20. The batteries in the home’s smoke detectors were dead, so the alarms never sounded. The story of the children’s deaths moved Rose to go door to door in Capehart and other parts of Bangor offering the batteries to homeowners and apartment dwellers. With the batteries he offered a flier about the new church’s activities.

“The Lord really blessed us in that effort,” Rose said. “People told us they needed new batteries or that their alarm had just started beeping the day before. We wanted to show people how God cares about the little things in people’s lives as well as the big things.”

Rose and his family have had support in their work this summer from friends and families from North Carolina and Virginia who helped him get the mission church started. Dr. Eric Eames of Christianburg, Va., a family practitioner who works for student health services at Virginia Polytechnic College and Virginia Tech, helped register children for VBS Monday.

“Members of our church were here last week,” he said. “We stayed an extra week because we saw God at work and just wanted to be part of what God was a part of. Last week, we saw eight people come to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior. It’s been very rewarding helping people understand their need for a personal savior. That’s what I’ll take home with me.”

Rose said Bible clubs will be formed in the fall in Capehart because “we are hearing a need here.” The minister plans to hold some activities at the nearby Davis Road Community Center, but will minister “wherever the Lord leads us.”

Sunday services will be held at 10 a.m. beginning Aug. 5 at 96 Harlow St., Suite B1, Bangor. For more information on PVCC, call 990-8991 or visit the church Web site at www.pvalleycc.org.