Vacation Bible School (VBS) is a religious term usually used to represent a week long event in the summer.

History

The origins of Vacation Bible School can be traced back to

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in 1894.

Sunday school A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. ...

teacher D. T. Miles, who also was a public school

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

, felt she was limited by time constraints in teaching the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...

to children. So, she started a daily Bible school to teach children during the summer. The first Bible school enrolled forty students and lasted four weeks. A local school was used for classes, while an adjoining park was used for recess. In 1898, Virginia Sinclair Hawes (often identified as "Mrs. Walker Aylett Hawes"), director of the children's department at Epiphany

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...

Church in

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, started an "Everyday Bible School" for neighborhood children during the summer at a rented beer parlor in New York's East Side. There is a bronze plaque honoring her efforts located in her hometown of Charlottesville, Virginia in the foyer of First Baptist Church. Robert Boville of the Baptist Mission Society became aware of the Hawes' summer program and recommended it to other Baptist churches. Boville established a handful of summer schools which were taught by students at the Union Theological Seminary. During one summer, one thousand students were enrolled in five different schools. In 1922, he founded the World Association of Daily Vacation Bible School. One year later, ''Standard Publishing'' produced the very first printed VBS curriculum. Enough material was provided for a five-week course for three age levels (kindergarten, primary, and junior). While not under the title of Vacation Bible School, Dr. Abraham L. Latham of the Third Presbyterian Church in

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initiated a five-week, four hour per day summer bible school in 1912 which at its peak had 650–700 students. This has been claimed to be the world's first summer bible school.

Today

Today, many churches run their own Vacation Bible School programs without being under the umbrella of a national organization. Some churches opt to use themed curriculum programs from their respective denominations or independent publishing houses which provide easy preparation and include marketing tools. Modern programs usually consist of a week-long program of religious education which may employ Bible stories, religious songs, arts and crafts, skits, or puppet shows which cater toward

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-aged children. Groups of local churches who do not have the resources to run VBS for the entire summer may elect to coordinate their schedules to provide continuous childcare. Most churches provide VBS programs at no cost to those attending, though some may charge a fee for the program. Studies indicate that VBS is on the decline. ''Barna Research'' found that 81% of U.S. churches offered VBS in 1997, while only 68% did so in 2012.

References

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History

Today

References

Further reading