Vacation Bible Schools Changing With the Times

Vacation Bible schools are alive and well--and maybe more fun.

“We spend a lot of money on our vacation Bible schools today,” Pastor Ronald Dyvbig of Ventura’s Emmanuel Lutheran Church said before reminiscing about his Bible school days several decades ago in rural South Dakota.

“When I was a kid, we didn’t have arts and crafts,” he said. “We had games that involved learning to spell the books of the Bible. It was two weeks, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and all religious instruction--more like regular school.”

Emmanuel Lutheran has changed with the times--its vacation Bible school will be a vacation Bible night school starting Sunday evening at 6:30. It’s part arts and crafts, part fun and part religious instruction.

“People are working during the day and can’t bring their kids,” Dyvbig explained. “Also, our staff [of volunteer teachers] often works during the day.”

With Bible night school, parents have more opportunities to get involved, Dyvbig said.

Vacation Bible school isn’t always called that anymore. The Summer Life Day Camp at the Ventura Baptist Church began in June and will run from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. through Aug. 21.

“We have field trips, bowling, water fun days, trips to the police station and the zoo,” said church staff member Carol Veillette. Children up to the sixth grade may attend for one week or for the whole summer, she said.

The day camp’s curriculum includes religious education and the teaching of values, she said. “But the emphasis is on being active.”

“Active” is also the operative word at Ojai Valley Community Church. It gave children free hot-air balloon rides during its weeklong program.

“We kept the kids moving all the time,” said children’s director Jan Worsham. “We had 325 registered. We’re growing every year.”

Worsham said she knows that some parents use Bible school for free baby-sitting, but doesn’t mind.

“They’re here, they’re safe and they’re learning about the Bible,” she said.

Not all vacation Bible schools are free, but if there is a charge, it is usually nominal to cover the cost of crafts and snacks.

Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village is an example. “We’ll charge $20 for the week of July 27-31, and the program is humongous,” said church administrator Jill Berke. “We could double our numbers if we had the space and volunteers.”

Calvary Community’s vacation Bible school is held outdoors in a section of Conejo Park that is rented for the week. Preschoolers through sixth-graders perform skits and music, make crafts, and play games, plus worship with music around picnic tables in the shade.

“I don’t remember things being as creative when I was younger,” Berke said.

Camp Haverim, run by Ventura’s Temple Beth Torah through July 31, charges a nominal fee to cover field trips. “Any child from age 3 through sixth grade may join for the last week,” said Sheila Forsman, camp director.

“On a typical day, we might learn songs and dances or go to the science museum in Los Angeles,” Forsman said.

The typical Bible school is scheduled for half-day sessions running one or two weeks, and the classes are scheduled throughout the summer.

“Although we held ours one week after school let out, some churches hold it in August,” Ojai Valley Community Church’s Worsham said. “It’s a good time, too, because kids are getting bored by then. Some communities have year-round school, too.”

At St. Matthews United Methodist Church in Newbury Park, “We’re doing it more casually than we used to do vacation Bible school,” said staffer Barbara Crowdis.

“We’re going to do two full-day sessions on July 27 and 29 this time,” she said. A $10 fee will cover crafts, music, lunch and playtime in Banyan Park. “We’ll take as many as want to come,” Crowdis said.

As with most other vacation Bible schools, neither the children nor their parents need be members of the host church to attend.