Vacation Bible schools good for family bonding

For the Gibbs family of Spokane, the highlight of the summer happens at church.

Vacation Bible school – a summer fixture at many area congregations – has become a pastime for Katie Gibbs and her children. In the months leading up to the weeklong event, they start collecting props, jokes, skits and other ideas that fit with the theme for vacation Bible school. This year, they found old fishing rods, tents and other items to transform their church into a wilderness scene for their “Camping With God” motif. They even spent hours searching for turtle-size rocks and other odds and ends for children to use in art projects.

Getting ready for vacation Bible school has become a tradition not only for Gibbs and her kids, but also for Gibbs’ two sisters, their mother and several members of three Spokane Valley congregations: Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, St. Mary’s Catholic Church and the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection.

“It has brought us closer over the years,” said Gibbs, reflecting on her family’s involvement with vacation Bible school. “It’s the highlight of our church experience.”

Ever since 1898, when Eliza Hawes rented a beer hall in New York City to teach poor kids about the Bible, vacation Bible school has become a summer ritual at many Christian congregations. According to LifeWay Christian Resources, a nonprofit affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, nearly 2.9 million children nationwide were enrolled in VBS last year.

While the focus remains on kids, many VBS programs are now making an effort to reach out to parents.

Last week, Gibbs and other organizers of the tri-parish VBS in Spokane Valley invited adults to be part of their annual gathering. For the first time in its 20-year history, the VBS session for the three churches took place in the evening so that parents who worked outside the home during the day could come and bring their kids. The event also included a light dinner for families as well as religious education classes for the adults.

“Parents want to be involved in their children’s faith life,” explained Gibbs. “Vacation Bible school is such an intense program that it makes a lasting impression on both the kids and adults.”

As parents look for ways to teach their children about morality and deepen their family’s spirituality, some turn to churches and other religious groups for help. In the summer months, many send their kids to vacation Bible school to learn about God through music, arts and crafts, games and other activities. Last week, dozens of area churches hosted vacation Bible schools while many more will offer them in July and early August. Most programs last about three hours a day for about four or five days.

In most cases, parents usually drop their kids off at church and pick them up two to three hours later. Now, more moms, dads, grandparents and other guardians are getting involved – either by sticking around and watching or by signing up to be a volunteer.

“When parents stay, they feel like they’ve been on a journey, too,” said Gibbs, who has a 9-year-old son in VBS while her 15-year-old daughter works as a volunteer. “They get a lot out of it. They see what their kids are learning and it becomes an experience for the whole family.”

While religious leaders are often considered the experts on morality and spiritual matters, it’s really the parents who play a key role in passing faith on to their kids, according to some pastors. Getting more parents involved with VBS as well as Sunday school programs helps reinforce what kids learn at church.

Parents don’t necessarily need to bring their children to a church, synagogue or other place of worship in order to teach values and spirituality, but many involved in religious education say the worship experience and the relationships families forge with others help deepen their understanding of God.

Taking part in VBS has helped enhance their family’s faith life, said Becky Chen, a single mom and member of Spokane Valley Seventh-day Adventist Church.

During her church’s VBS last week, Chen and other volunteers organized a special Friday night program for parents, relatives and friends that included a slide show of the children’s experiences.

“When parents have the opportunity to see their kids sing songs and perform skits and when the kids see that their parents are interested, it unites the whole family,” she said. “It’s a great opportunity to bring the whole family into the church.”

Chen’s kids, ages 12 and 14, have been taking part in vacation Bible school “since they were born,” she said. It’s become such a significant part of their family life that her older daughter continues to be involved as a volunteer.

Gibbs, now one of the lead coordinators at the tri-parish VBS in the Valley, started helping out with the program several years ago when her children were in elementary school. “I wanted the Bible stories to come alive for them rather than just read it in a book,” she said.

That’s why numerous adults at the tri-parish VBS spend countless hours getting ready for vacation Bible school by preparing lessons, collecting props, planning meals and reaching out to families in the neighborhood. Members of Good Shepherd, St. Mary’s and the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection also donate items to make the event possible every year.

“Our purpose is to tell the Bible story in a way that comes alive for these young kids,” said Gibbs, a lifelong member of Good Shepherd.

They also try to take kids on a “vacation” by creating a fun atmosphere that makes them feel as though they’ve been on a journey. For instance, some kids have never gone camping before, Gibbs said, so they re-created a campground scene at church, where kids went for a hike and listened to campfire stories.

At most churches that offer VBS, students also make projects, such as picture frame or refrigerator magnets, that serve as a reminder throughout the year of what they’ve learned at vacation Bible school. They also bring home recordings of the songs they learn at VBS so that the music and its message about faith becomes part of their home life.

At the Spokane Valley Adventist Church’s VBS session last week, kids not only learned the Bible stories as they focused on the theme, “Meeting Jesus on Treasure Island;” they also talked about performing “random acts of kindness” by cleaning their rooms, helping out around the house and doing good works in the community.

“It provides a faith environment for kids,” said Chen. “It’s a place where they learn about the Bible and Jesus’ love.”