What is vacation bible school?
Vacation Bible School (VBS) is a specialized form of religious education which focuses on children. Churches usually hold the week long events during the summer, though the lengths of such programs may vary, and they are sometimes held during other times of the year. They include Bible stories, religious song, arts and crafts, skits, or puppet shows which cater toward elementary school-aged children.
Vacation Bible School can be traced back to Hopedale, Illinois in 1894. Sunday school teacher D. T. Miles, felt she was limited by time constraints in teaching the Bible to children. So, she started a daily Bible school to teach children during the summer.
In 1898 Eliza Hawes, director of the children's department at Epiphany Baptist Church in New York City, started an "Everyday Bible School" impoverished children at a rented beer parlor in New York's East Side. Dr. 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.
One year later, Standard Publishing produced the very first printed VBS curriculum. 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 such as PANDAMANIA or others from their respective denominations or independent publishing houses which provide easy preparation and include marketing tools. In 2011, there are over 25 Christian publishers who produce year specific VBS materials.
