Churches Blend Summer Fun and Spiritual Messages

It’s summertime, and for many churches in Southern California and around the nation that means sponsoring vacation Bible schools or camp retreats. But to entice the current generation of youngsters, some new twists along with old traditions are being offered.

For example, at Oriental Mission Church in Los Angeles’ Koreatown, church officials decorated the sanctuary (a former supermarket) to resemble a construction site. “We are in the construction business,” said the Rev. Eun Charles Kim, who wore a hardhat and a construction worker’s garb. “Building character like Jesus.”

Nearly 1,000 children -- ages 1 through 12 -- were taught Bible lessons over three recent evenings and participated in games, arts and crafts, and songs and dances that elaborated on the theme of character building.

“Construction Zone,” blazed an amber electric sign. Black and yellow stripes covered walls and pillars. Children made music with construction tools -- including small hammers -- and beat on large plastic drums. And they sang to the accompaniment of a loud rock band: “I am somebody because God loves me. I’m accepted just the way that I am. His love is higher. It’s deeper and wider than you and I will ever understand.”

Not everyone wanted to be there.

“I don’t like vacation Bible school,” said Christopher Bang, 6, a first-grader at 3rd Street School near Hancock Park, explaining that it was his mother’s idea to enroll him.

But Lisa Kang, a third-grader from La Crescenta, said she was enjoying herself. She had invited two non-Korean friends from her neighborhood to come along.

“It’s fun,” she said as she and classmates stitched the outline of a house with many colored threads on a canvas. The house was meant to illustrate the passage in John’s Gospel in which Jesus tells his disciples that there are many rooms in God’s house to accommodate all who believe.

Nationwide, the number of churches offering vacation Bible school has dropped from 81% to 69% in the last eight years, according to a new study by the Barna Group of Ventura, a marketing firm that tracks cultural trends related to beliefs, values and behavior. A shortage of teachers was the most common reason cited, it said.

Still, many churches have some type of summer Bible program or camp, either in the city or at mountain retreats. Some also offer summer classes and camps for adults.

The Rev. Henry L. Masters Sr., senior pastor at Holman United Methodist Church in the West Adams district of Los Angeles, which recently concluded its summer “Discipleship Week,” likens vacation Bible school to the “continuing education” required by some jobs.

“Summertime, when there is more of a relaxed kind of atmosphere, is the time to continue to grow in faith,” said Masters, whose church opened the weeklong evening program to youngsters and adults.

In Los Angeles’ Crenshaw district, Ascension Lutheran Church and Peoples Independent Church of Christ teamed up for the first time to do their vacation Bible school together this week, using both facilities that are across from each other at 58th Place and West Boulevard.

Open to the neighborhood, the churches offered free transportation and light meals to children and adults. That was made possible, in part, by contributions from nearby businesses.

“The theme this year is ‘Go Global with Jesus,’ ” said Barbara Shoemake of Peoples Independent Church of Christ. “So many Christians are quiet; they don’t say anything” about their faith, she said, explaining the encouragement to be more forthcoming about their beliefs. Biblical teachings are aimed at seven groupings of evening classes, ranging from preschool to adults.

With both parents working in many families, some churches, such as Holman United Methodist Church and Peoples Independent Church of Christ, have offered vacation Bible school in the evening for many years.

“Kids seem to enjoy when their parents or relatives are around,” Shoemake said. And adults like the arrangement too, because they don’t have to take time off work.

Getting away from the city remains a summertime tradition for many churches.

Every year, about 80 junior and senior high students at Chinese Evangelical Free Church in Monterey Park spend the Fourth of July weekend at Mile High Pines Camp in Angelus Oaks near Big Bear, owned by the Brethren in Christ Church.

Edwin Yau, a Temple City High School senior who returned this month from his fourth trip to the camp, said the experience is life changing.

“There is no pressure to satisfy anyone, no pressure to be at school to get good grades,” said Yau, who will start attending UCLA in the fall. “Being away from the world for a whole week, you’re in an environment that helps you to draw closer to God.”

Mornings and evenings are devoted to worship and study and gathering in small discussion groups. Afternoons are for adventure: rock climbing, hiking, canoeing.

On the last night of camp, 82 students and 35 counselors and pastors sat around a campfire. They shared their testimonies about their spiritual journey. They also prayed for each other.

Then, as at a small Billy Graham crusade, students who wanted to accept Christ were asked to come forward.

More than 20 students either accepted Christ or rededicated their lives to him, said the Rev. Richard Chung, Chinese Free Evangelical Church’s youth pastor.

“When the students are able to leave their normal environment, they are able to focus more on God,” he said.

In the Presbyterian Church USA, Latino youths in Los Angeles and Orange counties help organize their own summer retreats. Called Juventud en Accion Cristiana, or Youth in Christian Action, the group runs two summer camps every year with help from the regional synod.

The committee, working with 25 Latino Presbyterian congregations in Southern California, has scheduled summer camps for youngsters in July and teenagers and college students in August at Big Bear Lake.

In addition to Bible study and prayer, participants will go hiking, canoeing, perform in talent shows and gather around a campfire to sing, talk and share their experiences.

“The idea is to take these kids and teenagers away from the normal life and take them to a place where they can relax, hang out with friends, and also be able to plant the seed of God into them,” said Sergio Cuevas, 19, president of the committee; he is studying to become a car technician.

“Our goal is to help teens stay on the right path, but at the time let them know that church is not boring. God can be fun.”