A reader recently asked as to why I'm not a vbs fan, to be honest I'm not really sure that it is just one thing; there is just something about the way I've experienced vbs that just doesn't set right. Maybe it's having been on the planning side too many times, maybe it's the notion that people just use it as daycare for their children, maybe it's too much playtime and not enough Bible learning....
Even the successful years felt off... Maybe it's that the curriculum I've had experience with, is from mainstream Christian publishing houses, who have sales, rather than souls in mind. It has seemed that as the years have floated by that the curriculum publishers are competing against one another for the top spot, so it's about who can have the flashiest program...
When I was growing up, I went to a vbs program, it was held by a Baptist family one cul-de-sac over from us, my parents knew the family, they let us go... I don't remember what was taught, I do remember there being lots of children in the small living room of the family and at the end of the week, we went to the church for a celebration of some kind... We earned some sort of "bucks", I had enough to buy one of those little cards with that brownish drawing of Jesus on one side, on the other was John 3:16... I cherished that little card... I remember feeling so excited that Jesus was my friend, yes, a seed was planted.
When these children who've attended these flashy vbs programs, grow up- what will their memory be? Will it be the theme of the event or that Jesus is their special friend? Even for our children who are in church everytime the doors are opened; vbs {at former churches, new church does not have vbs} was all about games, food & friends- if they didn't catch the Bible teaching for the day, then how will children foreign to church catch it?
I guess it's just that somewhere in making the curriculum child friendly it's become to showy- when in reality a child who is Saved, and comes to know Jesus Christ as the Saviour is what it's really all about.
Some of you may have been part of some truly on-target vbs programs, that are KJ Bible based. It's just not been my experience.
2 comments:
Our VBS follows the typical format: games, crafts, lesson, food/snack.
I've taught VBS for nearly every year since I've been saved. I've seen some churches do barely anything for VBS and I've seen some go completely overboard. We try to pick a curric that is quickly and easily teachable. They also get team points for answering questions about the lesson and memorizing an assigned (age appropriate) Bible verse. They try to reinforce the thought of the lesson in crafts and in games.
Something that I appreciate is that our church does an actual dinner. Since the average American mother doesn't even get home until 5:30-6, she couldn't feed them supper and get them ready and to VBS on time.
Maybe what I don't like about VBS is the age segregation. Or maybe it's when I see my peeps walking in lines from station to station with "quiet-fingers" on their lips...like drones or automatons, incapable of independent thought (like the Apple 1984 commercial). "Classrooms" irritate me. I dunno... lol
I agree that most VBS curriculum is pretty fluffy, but I think there is a movement out there for some meaty VBS material. My sister is helping to put on a VBS in her church using curriculum by Voice of the Martyrs. No fluff there. So many kids, including myself grow up in the church having never understood the persecution of the church that is happening in all around the world.
Also, my kids just went to their Grandma's house this week so they could attend her church' Creation-based VBS. I'm thrilled to see some awesome things being taught here. The more exposure to Creationism the better :)
I think as we get closer to Christ's return, God's people are going to be returning to his Word. I don't believe the church needs to "entertain". We have the Word of God and that is all we need :)
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