Fewer churches offering Vacation Bible School

Published 2:42 am Wednesday, July 11, 2007

By By JOHN EBY / Dowagiac Daily News
Vacation Bible School, or VBS, has been part of American summer culture for more than 80 years.
In 1923, Cincinnati-based Standard Publishing became the first publisher to create a full-scale program, though it probably didn't foresee religious robots or spy disguises for God's "special agents.
But in recent years, the number of churches and ministries offering VBS has been slipping.
This trend alarms many Christian educators and children's advocates.
A July 2005 report released by the Barna Group of Ventura, Calif., a researcher specializing in Christian trends, notes, "Another shift in children's ministry since 1997 has been the decline in the percentage of churches offering Vacation Bible School, from 81 percent to 69 percent. That represents about 38,000 fewer churches offering VBS than eight years ago."
Barna also noted that the most common reason for not offering VBS is lack of teachers.
The report further states, "Those most likely to offer VBS were Southern Baptist and mainline churches, congregations with 250 or more adult attenders and black congregations."
It is estimated by publishing industry sources that VBS enrolls some 3 million students annually, according to a 2006 Rockford Register Star article.
Advocates for initiating, continuing and expanding VBS say now, more than ever, children need church to step up to the plate.
Children are in dire need of spiritual and moral guidance.
VBS reaches beyond denominational boundaries and can be a great tool for spiritual formation and community outreach.
Kellie Beck and Mary-Alice Wirick of First Christian Church on Oak Street in Dowagiac wouldn't argue with any of that, but Tuesday night in the Beck's garage on M-62 West near California Road their attention was on building the sets for the VBS they have been doing for three years with the Federated Church on Center Street.
SonForce Kids begins July 22 and continues through July 26 at 202 Center St. from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Call 782-5097 or 782-5656 for more information.
First Christian Pastor Dennis Shufelt promises an "out-of-this-world adventure," with children having a great time singing, watching skits, creating crafts and playing games while discovering courage as God's special agents.
SonForce Kids is reminiscent of the 2001 movie "Spy Kids," Beck said.
"The kids wear disguises. Recreation is obstacle courses. The sanctuary will be 'Mission Command.' These robots are for decoration. My mother-in-law, Marie Beck, made these and drove them down from Traverse City buckled in her car. People were pulling her over at rest areas to talk to her about them."
Marie's collection of various-sized buckets painted silver and dryer hoses "move in different ways," Kellie said. "She also made a rocket ship out of buckets."
Volunteers July 10 were also fashioning some functional robots.
"Each year kids bring in donations to help out different charities," Beck explained. "This year we're going to have a 'helpbot' in the front part of the sanctuary. The bottom is a dishwasher box that opens up to put canned goods in for the Feed My Sheep (food pantry) program. Our other charity program, the kids like to do boys versus girls for who can bring in the most money. Our spy satellite will monitor our ship that we launch toward Earth," with a Velcro path to chart its progress.
"We're giving it to Gospel Life's worldwide ministry, helping to bring the gospel to children in Egypt. The kids will end up learning about Egypt, too. There's a whole curriculum with workbooks and arts and crafts ideas. We didn't come up with all this. Theme snacks go along with the Bible study. The cafeteria where the kids eat will be the 'Pizza Pod.' There are Rice Krispie treats cut as 'jeweled' crowns for the story of Queen Esther uniting her people. It's not sit there and fall asleep anymore. It's wham! wham! wham!
"There's music, so they stand up and they're clapping. We have live skits, so four or five people are in character the whole session. Our last day we have a dunk tank. Nancy Northrop, one of the elementary teachers, will be in there. However many days you come, that's how many balls you get to throw at her. We've got pinatas shaped like stars and planets," Beck said.
"A friend of mine who goes to church in Granger said their pastor decided not to do Vacation Bible School," Wirick said.
"It's a lot easier to do nothing," Beck figures. "That's not a good trend. You've got to have VBS and fun to bring in children, so they come back and bring their friends. We've got a robot relay in big boots and gloves," yet somehow ties in timeless messages such as trust.
"Moses' mom trusted the Lord and put her baby in the basket," Beck said. "Each year they give you an assortment of different packages you can run with. All the kids who come get a free CD with all the music on it, even if they can only come one of the five days."
Last year about 75 youngsters participated. This month, "We're shooting for 100 kids," Beck said.
"It's nice that it's something we do together with the Federated Church. You've got to decide where you want to invest your money. It's easy to say, 'We don't have money for that,' but investing in kids for the future is what we're supposed to be doing. If you're not reaching out and doing things, you've missed the whole point of having a church."
"Kids are busy doing so many things," Wirick adds, "if it's not your choice to have your kids in church, if that's how you want them to grow up, it's easier not to go and to stay home on Sundays."