It’s the time of year when Christian Children all over the US are attending Vacation Bible School programs. These have a special place in my heart and so I want to talk about my family’s experiences with VBS programs over the past few years.

I still remember the first time I heard about Vacation Bible School. I was living in Texas at the time. My son’s speech therapist was talking about how she was volunteering to run VBS for her church. I had to ask, “What’s VBS?” She gave me a look of surprise and said, “It’s Vacation Bible School.” The way she said it I think she expected me to know what that was, but this was still a new concept to me. She went on to explain that churches do Vacation Bible School programs for their Children’s Ministries. They last for a few hours every morning for 3 to 5 days. They have themes and the kids have lots of fun participating and learning about Jesus.

I thought that sounded nice, but my children were all very young at the time so I didn’t think about having them participate. I didn’t know it then, but VBS would become a treasured tradition for our family. I live in the intermountain west again, and I sign my children up for VBS every year. Now I’m the one that has to explain to my LDS friends what Vacation Bible School is. I admit, no one has ever outright asked me why an active LDS family actively seeks out other churches for Vacation Bible School. But I think a few people have had questions over the years – they’ve just been too polite to ask. So here is what I would tell them if they asked why my children attend Vacation Bible School.

Reason 1: Being Part of a Community

The first Vacation Bible School that my kids went to was also the first VBS that I participated in. We were living on an Army Base in Alabama. The chapel on post had five congregations of different Christian denominations. The LDS church was one of those denominations. Most of the LDS people in the area went to the local wards in the cities off post, but there was a small group that met on Sundays for the service members who couldn’t leave post because they were in specialized training programs.

The LDS Chaplain had a good repour with the other denominations. His wife participated in the Protestant Women of the Chapel group. I thought she was pretty cool so I started going to the PWOC Group too and really enjoyed those activities. I knew that the LDS Chaplain and his family would participate in Vacation Bible School in the summer so I decided that my family should too. I signed up as a tribe leader. I was assigned the nine year old class. My oldest two daughters were old enough for the youngest group. My younger two children were able to participate in the equivalent of the nursery class since I was volunteering as a tribe leader.

I have the BEST memories of that week of Vacation Bible School. The whole week was about Joseph in Egypt. People dressed up in costumes to tell the story of Joseph throughout the week. We decorated our classrooms to look like tents or buildings. The kids were kept busy with arts and crafts, song practice, games, and stories. There were snacks. There was a petting zoo. There was a place the kids could make bricks out of mud. There was a bread station with hot homemade bread coming out of an oven all morning long. (The LDS chaplain’s wife and I would sneak over there while our groups were occupied and enjoy bread and oil together.) The whole thing culminated in a water party on Friday morning.

The best part was the feeling of community as five congregations of various Christian traditions came together to make an amazing experience for 100 children. We didn’t worry about the specifics of theology. We focused on our common beliefs and had a good time doing it. I can still picture how happy everyone was to be there. The people running the craft station were so kind. The music people were so energetic. The people running the bread station were amazing. Being part of that group of people is one of my favorite memories of my time in Alabama.

Thanks to that experience Vacation Bible School will always represent participating in the community.

Reason 2: There’s more than one way to worship God

When I was about four years old I often heard my parents and church teachers say that “we are the only true church.” I thought they were talking about my ward. I assumed that the Wilson Ward was the only true church. I remember thinking that we were very kind to let the Ivans Ward share our building even though they weren’t the true church.

I eventually figured out that the Ivans Ward was part of the true church too. But sadly my thinking was still pretty insular for most of my life. It wasn’t until I lived in the South and hung out with other Christians that I started to realize that there was truth in other churches.

I didn’t want my children growing up with the same limited thinking that I’d grown up with. I wanted them to see that other churches had truth and goodness too. I figured that VBS was a good way to introduce my children to other ways of thinking about being Christian. After participating in VBS that first year I wanted my children to participate every year.

However, life had other plans. We lived in a very remote area the next summer so there weren’t VBS options. Then I was working and my kids were in daycare so it didn’t make sense to pull them out for a few days of Vacation Bible School. I would have been able to sign my children up for a VBS program in 2020 if Covid hadn’t shut things down.

In 2021 things worked out so that I could sign my children up for a VBS program. I asked on the local Mom’s page on Facebook for recommendations and picked a program happening at a church near my house. I wasn’t able to volunteer, but I figured my daughters would have a good time anyway. (My son has noise sensitives and some behavioral challenges so I decided to keep him home.)

My girls were a little apprehensive at first. They had very few memories of our VBS experience in Alabama. They’d also spent the last year being homeschooled (thanks Covid) so they weren’t exactly used to being around other children. I ended up sitting with my youngest during the first 40 or so minutes of the first day. I was able to watch my children go from scared to curious to totally involved in those 40 minutes.

The theme that year was Treasured. All week long the kids learned that they were God’s greatest Treasure. The worship area was decorated like some sort of ancient ruin and the children’s ministry leader was dressed like an explorer. There was someone else dressed up like a treasure hunter. He was looking for treasure, but the children’s ministry leader kept trying to explain to him that the people in the room were the greatest treasure.

My kids really responded to the message and to the fun atmosphere. Our ward was still having Primary in the chapel (thanks again Covid) and so Primary had been a little stiff lately. Everyone had been so focused on keeping the kids reverent in the chapel they’d forgot to make it interesting. So to be in a room where everyone could laugh at this funny treasure hunter was really great for my kids. They also responded well to the loud singing that they were encouraged to do.

I was happy my children could see that worshipping God can involve more than just folding hands and being still. God loves loud, joyful singing and funny skits. Worship can involve a chapel decorated like an Indian Jones set.

On the second to last day the church put on a very short reenactment of Jesus dying on the cross. It wasn’t scary or gruesome. But it was impactful. My children talked about that for a while. They’d seen reenactments of the crucifixion on LDS videos, but watching it acted out on a stage was new to them. And it helped them see things in a different way. That’s they type of thing I wanted them to see. I wanted them to know other people believed in Jesus.

Reason 3: VBS is FUN

I was pretty sure that my kids would participate again in VBS in 2022. But it was actually Primary that convinced me that they had to go back. I was helping substitute my son’s class while one of his teachers was out of town. When we sat down for singing time I couldn’t take my eyes off my eight year old daughter. She looked so bored.

We were back in the Primary room by this time, but somehow our ward still hadn’t figured out how to make Primary interesting. They were learning a song for Father’s Day. The chorister had printed off the words to the song. Each phrase of the song corresponded to a picture. They would sing the song and then the chorister would pick a child who would take down one of the pictures. Then they’d sing the song again. They’d take down another picture and sing the song again. With each repeat of the song my daughter sat lower and lower in her chair. She was completely disengaged.

Later that day I heard her in the backyard loudly singing one of the songs she’d learned at VBS the year before, “God loves ME, God hears ME, God is my COMFORT.” She sang all the words. I couldn’t help think of the contrast between how she didn’t know a single word to the song she’d been “taught” in Primary that day, but she still knew every word to the song she’d learned at VBS the year before.

That’s when I knew she and my other daughters had to go back to VBS again. They needed another fun and joyful religious experience. For some reason the church from the year before wasn’t doing a VBS program so I had to go back to the local moms Facebook Page and ask again for recommendations. I picked another church and signed my girls up.

This church was doing a program called Camp Masterpiece where the children learned that they are God’s Masterpiece. One of the first things they did on the first day was tie dye shirts. The shirts all said, “Living Master Piece” on them. My children have proudly worn them for the last year.

My eight year old daughter loved that VBS program. She’s a loud and rambunctious child. She loved that she could sing loudly and cheer and clap during the big group time. She loved playing games and doing crafts with her small group. One of my 11 year olds loved the program too. She liked all the crafts and was also really into the teachings. Ever since she attended that VBS she will proudly say that she’s a Christian. (The other twin decided she’d rather stay home – which was fine.)

My daughters got more out of their three days at VBS than they had from a whole year of Primary. I’m not saying that Primary is boring and uninteresting for all children, but it certainly is those things for my children. My children need fun, and color, and excitement, and noise. They don’t respond well to being told to sit still and be reverent while listening to adults with sing song voices.

And this year . . .

My children will be participating in another VBS program this year. Our schedules didn’t work with the program we did last year so I had to ask for more recommendations from the local mom’s Facebook page. I loved seeing all the options that people suggested. I live in an area that is has a large LDS population, but there are many thriving Christian churches here. I love how many options there are for VBS programs. I picked one that is doing a program called “Wild Life.” It looks like is has something to do with how God created so many interesting animals and how you are also one of his wonderful creations.

I was able to sign my 9 year old up, but my twins are now too old to participate. They are interested in volunteering so we are exploring that option. I’m interested to see what they all learn and experience this year.

I highly recommend Vacation Bible School as a way to tap into your community, to help your children have a more expansive view of God, and to just add some fun into their religious lives. It’s a wonderful experience.

Featured Image Photo by Artem Kniaz on Unsplash