Calling all heroes!

Community Church of Seattle offers up Hero Academy, an online VBS set for July 12-16

by Mike Ferguson | Presbyterian News Service

Together with Tree Stump Studios, Community Church of Seattle is offering an online VBS during the week of July 12-16 called Hero Academy. (Photo courtesy of Tree Stump Studios)

LOUISVILLE — For each of the past few years,  Korean- and English-language congregations of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Community Church of Seattle,  which has campuses in and around Seattle, has hosted a communitywide Vacation Bible School called Toon Town. This summer, on the heels of the long and difficult coronavirus pandemic, Community Church of Seattle invites congregations across the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to join for an online VBS it’s calling Hero Academy.

Put together and aired with help from Tree Stump Studios, Hero Academy carries this message, according to one of the pastors of Community Church of Seattle, the Rev. Joshua Hyunsoo Nam: Anyone can be a hero, no matter how old they are and what kind of background they come from.

The central Scripture for Hero Academy, being held July 12-16 with tracks for both preschoolers and elementary-age students, is Ephesians 2:10: “For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.”

Each day, said the Rev. Alex Rhie, director of Community Church of Seattle’s Education Department in an email passed along by Nam, Hero Academy will offer viewers “online contents of praise, drama, crafts and Bible messages.” The purchase of the Hero Academy kit will allow for more in-depth participation, Rhie said, but youth and their families can also watch without purchasing a kit.

Hero Academy Jr., designed for children 3 and up, will air at 9:30 a.m. Pacific Time each day during the week of July 12-16. Hero Academy for children 7 and older will air beginning at 11 a.m. Pacific Time during the same week. Learn more here.

“We have no doubt that you will enjoy our immersive experience,” Tree Stump Studios says on the Hero Academy webpage. “Get up and dance or grab some popcorn and get cozy. We have no doubt that your entire family will be fully engaged in the Word of God like never before.”

“With the challenges that met the world during a worldwide pandemic, our small production team was challenged to be creative and organized like never before to produce a fully five-day conference for kids and families, reaching thousands of people worldwide,” Tree Stump Studios says on its website. “It was the largest outreach event that we ever produced, and the success and impact of Toon Town revealed to us that virtual faith-based and educational content could allow us to share the good news and hope to all people.”

With three locations in and around Seattle, Community Church of Seattle is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Community Church of Seattle’s main campus is in Bothell, northeast of Seattle. The two other campuses are in Seattle and Bellevue.

Among the three campuses, Community Church of Seattle has approximately 3,000 members, including a Korean-speaking congregation and an English-speaking congregation. Learn more here.