The annual summer tradition of Christian education called Vacation Bible School or Vacation Church School began at the end of the 19th century with a clear vision and mission. An enterprising Baptist laywoman, whose idea was to get children off the streets in New York City and teach them something about the Bible, rented a beer hall on the East Side of the city and held her Bible School. The entire summer for the next two years was filled with activities, Bible Stories, memory verses, and snacks. According to my research, her venture was very successful for those years. Then her pastor insisted the program be moved into the church building. This was done for several weeks but participation dropped so drastically that the program was moved back to the beer hall, where it continued as an example of a church reaching out into the community to share its faith.
What began as a social program to get children off the streets has grown in many denominations to be a primary educational/evangelistic summer endeavor that takes many forms.
People often make the mistake of thinking all that is involved in planning Vacation Bible School is going to your local Christian bookstore, buying packets of material, recruiting a few leaders with the famous words “there won’t be anything to it,” putting up posters, waiting for the beginning date to roll around and anticipating the arrival of the kids. That buy-the-resource approach misses an important first step. The CE Committee, the Educator, and others concerned about the overall educational ministry in a congregation need to answer a few questions.
1. “Who is our target audience?” “Are we planning this as a congregational outreach or only a program for our members?” The answer to these questions requires knowing the people who live in the area surrounding the church building. Are there people nearby who can easily come to a VBS in the daytime or in the evening? Is there a neighborhood newsletter or some other way to invite them?
2.”Are we only planning to include children or will this be a time for people of for all ages to learn?” Answering this question has an impact on the number and kinds of volunteers needed. Deciding to include all ages will determine the time of day VBS can happen. A VBS that includes adults as participants means the time for the program must be in the evening. This plan provides a great opportunity for faith connections to be made across generational lines and the lives of more people in the congregation will be impacted by this plan. The choice needs to be made whether classes for adults will be offered or whether the whole experience will be intergenerational.
3. “What other connections with the life of the congregation could we make?” A good brainstorming time will help you identify strategies for connecting VBS to Sunday worship, the Wednesday Bible Study or other events. If the church desides to invite the community, how will you make contact with these visitors after VBS?
The design of VBS in a church rests on whether or not it is an outreach program to include all ages or the more traditional VBS for children every morning for a week or two. Church leaders need to take the time to discuss and answer these questions first. One style does not fit all in VBS.
After seriously considering the above questions, the educational leaders in a congregation I served had one of the most exciting VBSs I ever experienced. The VBS was held on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings for five weeks with the target audience being people of all ages in the church and community. The theme was “God’s Promises” and each week on Sunday morning, the church school hour began the VBS theme through Bible Study in age level classes. The worship service continued the educational process through music and sermon. The theme was expanded in the choice of food served on Wednesday evening and the activities that followed. Parts of the Wednesday evenings were planned in age-level classes and parts were intergenerational gatherings. As a result of publicity in the community the Sunday morning attendance grew and the Wednesday VBS was almost more than the church could hold.
Having our VBS this way meant there was lots of coordination between the church staff and the other leaders. Fewer teachers were recruited because both church school and worship were a vital part of the VBS and VBS was totally integrated into the life of the congregation for that brief time. This approach might not be right for every church. Its model grew out of our discussion of the questions regarding our basic intention and our target audience.
However, a VBS that includes children has benefits for children, youth and adults. The opportunity for youth to be equipped to serve as leaders and for adults to build community as they work together in the program will enrich the life of your congregation. If this is your decision, then in addition to providing a teacher equipping time, there will need to be time for the youth to meet to learn some basic teaching and leadership skills and to be certain they understand their role.
Once the audience and time frame are determined, then the theme must be established and resource materials selected to build on the theme. Published materials are most often created with the traditional child-focused VBS. They are available from a number of publishers, from denominationally based materials like the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission based materials “Around The World in 5 Days” or Augsburg/Fortress “Gospel Express,” to non-denominational materials like Group’s “Holy Land Adventure Bethlehem Village” and Standard’s “Trading Places.” All sets of material are biblically based with the usual activities. Some materials suggest activities that use a wider variety of different learning styles and multiple intelligences, while some materials propose less active teaching methods. The amount of variety is a very important consideration in your planning and selection. The theology expressed in the resources selected must reflect the theology of the total life of the church. Children, youth, and adults get confused when they hear different and often conflicting understandings of the Christian faith and life preached and taught.
When planning a program that needs many volunteers, the loud cry is “people just don’t volunteer anymore.” The reality is in our world today people volunteer differently than they did years ago. People are willing to volunteer. The volunteer opportunity likely to be accepted must have a clear beginning and end time with a short middle period. The person extending the invitation to serve in this role must be able to tell the benefits to the volunteer, for the participants and to the faith community. People also want to know the range of responsibility and where they can go for help as they fulfill this task. By its nature Vacation Bible School is the perfect short-term volunteer opportunity for people with many gifts and talents.
Vacation Bible School began with a clear vision that did “get the children off the street” and teach them about the Christian life. Doing the groundwork and careful planning will assure that VBS will enrich the life of your congregation in ways that might even continue beyond the summer.
Elaine Barrett, an ordained elder, is currently a Consultant for Church Planning and Leadership Development, is the 2006 Moderator for Peace River Presbytery, and a member of COM. She is a session member at First Church, Sarasota, Fla. She is the 2005 APCE Educator of the Year.
