First, a confession. For about 10 years early in my career, I developed and edited Vacation Bible School curriculum for a major Christian publisher, so I’m highly biased in favor of that ministry. The experiences I had during that decade taught me a lot about the impact VBS can make. Some of the letters I received from teachers and pastors made me cry as I read about kids coming to faith in Christ.
Statistics support the anecdotal evidence. I recently read about a study by the Southern Baptist Convention. The results are for 2006, the most recent year for which data was available. Consider that in that year in the SBC:
- 3 million people enrolled in VBS.
- 212,000 Sunday school prospects were gained for local churches.
- 94,980 decisions were made to accept Christ.
My own faith background would call into question some of the terminology used in the study. But it’s hard to quarrel with the opportunity VBS offers to connect with thousands of currently un-churched or de-churched people—people for whom Jesus died.
I don’t know what your neighborhood is like, but on my block I see seven or eight children playing every day. How many of them get into the car for church on Sunday morning? How many of them get out of the car after church on Sunday morning? Based on what I’ve seen after living in the neighborhood for 18 months, the answer is zero. How is it in your neighborhood?
Are you thinking about leading, teaching, helping, or otherwise supporting VBS at your church this summer? Or have you decided VBS is an old-fashioned agency that doesn’t fit today’s culture? The statistics and the stories say it’s still viable! How will you help make it vibrant at your church?
