Hustletown Community Church
Hustletown Community Church was named back in the late 1940s when missionaries Rev. Ellsworth and Caroline Moritz served on this Minnesota field. There were many dairy and crop farms in the area, and “to hustle” meant that you were a hard worker. It was a proud name. There were very large families at that time, up to twelve children, who worked on these family farms. The church was very full, and VBS was a highlight of the year.
The name “Hustletown” has proudly been held by the church ever since, though the meaning of the word has changed to most of the country these days, and the economy of the past twenty-five years has put many of the hard-working farmers out of business. VBS declined in attendance until about 1997 and then was suspended. Family size had dropped to one to two children, and many mothers were working outside the home to make ends meet and were unable to take the time necessary to plan VBS.
In the early part of 2008, people began talking about VBS, and it started up again with renewed interest. Church members got flyers out to families, and the news of VBS spread mostly by word of mouth. We prayed that God would give us a nice group of kids, about fifteen in our minds. God gave us sixteen kids and two teen helpers! It was a wonderful time, and we used the older AMF VBS materials from Redeemer Press. Lori played piano and led the old songs, written on tag-board, and Bruce did the old flannel-graph stories. The old games were played, like Red-Rover and Hide & Go Seek. The kids were totally interested in these simple methods. They didn’t need any high-tech things to keep their attention.
One day, one of our teens asked Bruce for advice on where to look for one of the kids who had hidden especially well during Hide & Go Seek. Bruce replied, “Have you checked the basement of the outhouse yet?” It took the teen a bit to get the joke, but all of us older people laughed. Yes, some of the small churches where we have done VBS this summer still have outhouses that are used, though simple plumbing has been put in!
Six children accepted Christ at the Hustletown VBS, and many came from homes that are unchurched. During the class time, all of the kids took things very seriously and seemed to take in good Bible teaching. The kids stayed after VBS for 20-30 minutes to play in the church yard as we visited with their parents. The parents are so grateful for the work we do.
We have to earn the right to be a friend to the families here through consistent actions of love and service. Some are involved in church, but some still have a ways to come before making that commitment. One of the parents that Lori taught in Sunday school as a teen and that Bruce baptized in 1995 has fallen away from church, but she brought her two children to VBS, and they signed up for Pine AWANA Club in the fall. In fact, we have four new kids from the VBS contacts signed up for this year’s AWANA club!
Bruce and Lori Thompson serve in Mora, Minnesota.
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