Beech Tree News Network

We are in the Vacation Bible School (VBS) season. As a child, I loved going to the classes in our cool, church basement classrooms. I enjoyed the traditional cookies and Kool-Aid (any flavor!) snacks and the games we played during our time outside. The games were simple (Red Rover, Drop the Handkerchief, etc.), but fun.

Vacation Bible School has been around for more than a century and is a kind of religious education, focusing on children and youth. Churches generally hold VBS during the summer and the schedules vary from church to church. These programs are open to anyone, and parents are welcome to accompany their children.

I asked friends and family what they remembered about going to Vacation Bible School as a child. Their replies are listed below:
•    Cookies and Kool-Aid. And the crafts, especially at my grandmother’s church. They always had great crafts.
•    I remember marching into the church and saying the three pledges. I also remember crafts and cookies!
•    Making crafts and my great-grandmother used to make the best Kool-Aid. She would make it in a big tub and cut up oranges in it.
•    I remember the Kool-Aid and snacks. And Elmer’s glue and cutting and making things. I remember learning about Jesus and the fisherman and the loaves of bread – that was my favorite. And of course playing Red Rover.
•    First, I accepted Christ at VBS. Second, I always enjoyed playing outside then having cookies and Kool-Aid afterward in the air-conditioned inside.
•    Saying the pledges to the Bible, the American flag and the Christian flag and the songs that went with them. Also, the crafts and cookies and Kool-Aid for snack.
•    Church crafts focusing on Christianity.
•    The songs.
•    I remember begging not to go, but Mom made me.
•    Making pigs out of bleach jugs. The Kool-Aid and cookies. I was very excited when we marched in with the flags. Daddy had wooden cattle racks on the back of his truck. He went and picked up no telling how many kids and we all rode in the back. Boy, wouldn’t mothers now have a fit over that.
•    I remember kids being called to Jesus at the end of the day and giving their lives to Him. I particularly remember this because I was confused about what they were feeling and wondering when I would feel the internal calling. I wasn’t yet saved at my VBS.
•    I remember the sugar cookies and Kool-Aid. Also, Mother picking up (it seemed like) every kid in the neighborhood.
•    My neighbor’s husband drove the church bus, so I got to ride with their kids to Bible School. We sang songs all the way! I looked forward to the crafts, too.
•    I remember my mom making it so much fun, transforming our Sunday school classrooms into beautiful biblical settings. Our adult leaders donned elaborate costumes and became disciples and other prominent Bible characters that taught us the important stories and lessons from the Bible. I remember “Father Abraham” and “Deep and Wide” and so many other wonderful VBS songs. I remember UMW snacks and crafts and recreation. I remember joy.
•    I have wonderful memories of Vacation Bible School when I was a child. I loved it that my Daddy was “in charge.” I loved singing, getting picked to carry a flag or the Bible, the cookies and Kool-Aid, and learning Bible stories.
•    I remember learning the books of the Bible. I also remember having Bible drills, and we didn’t have tabs on our Bibles. They were fun, and we were very competitive! I also remember cookies and Kool-Aid. We also made some really neat stuff for crafts like decoupage.
•    We always had a Friday night picnic and a Sunday night graduation service.
•    I always looked forward to VBS and thought it was so fun to learn and make crafts and play with other kids. I learned a lot in VBS.

As a child, my mom (who is nearing 86) and her family attended two nearby churches, but she did not go to VBS. As a mother, she made sure that my siblings and I attended VBS, learning Bible stories at a young age. My mom and my late husband agreed on this: we are always one generation away from being a society of unbelievers. Each generation must teach the next generation their beliefs, then individuals may choose their own paths.

Vacation Bible School requires a great deal of work. I am thankful that many are willing to give the time and the effort necessary to make it happen. So, thank you, parents and church volunteers, for teaching our children about the Bible.