Domi-Ann Knight, 11, interacts with her “lab group” during a discussion of needs in Lingira, an island in Lake Victoria, Uganda. Kids attending the vacation Bible school were raising money for a water purification station on the island. Mark Gibson photo

VBS has different look from that in the 1960’s

By JAY REEVES
AP Writer

     BIRMINGHAM, Ala.— It’s a wonder vacation Bible school made it out of the 1960s.
     Back in the days of black-and-white TV, churches offered kids lemonade, cookies and flannel-board stories about Jesus, all set to a clanging piano. Children sat in short wooden chairs and listened to the tales for what seemed like an eternity.
     Things are different in 2008. DVDs and video screens are everywhere, along with professionally recorded music, dancing and slick lesson books. Kids are as likely to jump on inflatable moon bounces or go to water parks as play on a church swingset once Bible time is done.
     Vacation Bible school, once a homestyle tradition, has become big business, with families helping to foot the bill through registration fees and donations. A handful of Christian publishers provide the curriculum, thereby setting the summertime agenda for millions of elementary-age kids at thousands of churches nationwide.
     “Gone are the days of making bird houses and golden macaroni frames,” said Kevin Clark, children’s pastor at Life Church in suburban Birmingham for the last eight years. “It costs a lot more compared to what it did when I first came here, but it’s really good.”
     At Mountain Brook Community Church, volunteer John Byrd pulls on a black wig, puts on a long white coat and gyrates at the front of the chapel for his role as a professor in this year’s “Power Lab” VBS, a curriculum produced by the Colorado-based Group Publishing Inc.
     Jumping around with a keyboard slung around his neck, he lip syncs a song with about the power of Jesus — the most powerful thing there is, the lyrics say.
     “What did we learn yesterday?” a leader calls out above the buzz of excited children.
     “Jesus gives us the power to be thankful!” they yell back.
     Used by hundreds of churches this year, the “Power Lab” theme incorporates music, DVDs, crafts and handouts. Children’s pastor Walter Arroyo said the $2,000 investment was well worth it for the non-denominational church.
     Small groups of children move between classrooms every few minutes rather than sitting in one place, and all the activities and lessons tie in to a central daily idea. Arroyo acts as the supervisor, patrolling the church campus with a walkie-talkie and clipboard.
     “What it has helped us do is organize and keep things moving,” said Arroyo. “We’re committed to the message of the Gospel, but we also have to engage them in their world.”
     For children’s pastor Chuck McCammon, 38, VBS 2.0 is all about using new tools to reach children who have grown up on TVs and computers.
     “The biggest difference between now and when I was a kid is we try to make it more interactive, with things that are more tactile,” said McCammon. His church does its best to pull in children from a wide area. This year, Valleydale Baptist advertised VBS with a billboard on Interstate 65.
     The roots of vacation Bible school go back at least 130 years, when Christian summer camps began operating. A doctor’s wife in New York City is widely credited with having the first true vacation Bible school in 1898 in a rented beer hall.
     Baptists began publishing vacation Bible school materials in 1922, and the format was mostly unchanged for decades, according to Mary Katharine Hunt of LifeWay Christian Resources, the Southern Baptist publishing arm.
     But in the 1990s, LifeWay, the non-denominational Group Publishing and other companies began turning out expansive packages with everything from Bible-based curriculum to craft supplies and professionally produced music and videos.
     Publishers won’t release sales figures on their VBS products. But the Southern Baptist Convention said nearly 26,600 churches reported using LifeWay’s VBS materials last year with a total enrollment of almost 2.9 million children.
     Vacation Bible school is most popular in the Southeast, where it’s seen as an important tool for bringing new families into the church, but it’s hardly a regional phenomenon.
     “We have churches all over the country using our vacation Bible school material,” Hunt said. “Obviously it’s strongest in the Bible Belt, but we have tons of churches using our material in California. It’s happening in New York.”
     Small churches generally spend no more than a few hundred dollars on VBS, she said, but some spend $2,000, or even more.
     Many churches seek donations, charge registration fees or sell T-shirts to make up for the increased cost of materials plus camp-style extras like visits to water parks, said Jody Brolsma, senior vacation Bible school editor at Group Publishing in Loveland, Colo.
     “Thirty dollars isn’t unheard of for a day camp-style experience, and some charge more,” said Brolsma.
To help defray costs, many churches that purchase materials from companies like Group Publishing share as much as they can. Copyright laws prohibit copying most music and videos, but most everything else is fair game.
     “The main thing is to help churches, no matter how large they are, pull off a really spectacular event and reach families with the Gospel,” said Hunt. “The message hasn’t changed, but the method has.”

Calvary Baptist Church 541-296-2711
Pastor Steve Anable, 3350 Columbia View Dr. The Dalles. Sunday School 9 -10 a.m., Worship 10:15 -11:30 a.m. Wednesday adult Bible study, 7 p.m.

Calvary Chapel 541-478-3458
Meets at Mosier Community School. Worship 10 a.m. Call for Bible Study times. Christadelphians
Sunday service, 11 a.m.; Wednesday Bible class, 7 p.m. For information on meeting place call 541-296-8578.

Christian Science Society 541-298-2711
701 Washington St.,The Dalles, Sunday Service, 10 a.m.

Columbia Gorge Christian Fellowship 541-298-7202
Pastor Bob Middleton, 1122 Oak St. W., Sunday 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., Wednesday 7 p.m.

Covenant Christian Community Church 541-298-5551
Pastor David Clear, 2630 E. 18th St., The Dalles. Sunday Morning Service: 10 a.m.; Sunday Evening Service: 5:30 p.m.; Saturday Evening Service - Spanish: 6 p.m.; Pastor Tony Campos.
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Dufur Christian Church 541-467-2257
Pastor Bob Peterson, Associate Pastor to Youth Tim Fain. 315 NE Harrison St., Dufur. Worship service 9 a.m. and10:30 a.m. Sunday School 10:30 a.m.

Dormition of the Theotokos Orthodox Church 541-296-3267
Pastor Father Luke Hartung, 1520 Webber Street, The Dalles. Evening prayers nightly,
6:30 p.m. Saturday Great Vespers 6:30 p.m., Sunday. Divine Litungy, 9:30 a.m.

Dufur United Methodist 541-467-2554
320 NE Second, Pastor Jerry Holland, Worship service 11 a.m.
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Harvest Foursquare 541-296-5601
Pastor Matthew Rotter, 2500 Old Dufur Rd. The Dalles. Sunday service 10 a.m.

Heritage Bible Baptist Church 541-298-7884
Pastor Rick Carter, Family Bible Hour, 10 a.m.; Worship Service, 11 a.m.; Prayer meeting Sunday evenings 6 p.m., Wednesday night, 7 p.m.
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Kent Baptist 541-333-2933
Pastor Richard Keeney, Sunday Prayer Hour 10 a.m., Sunday School 10:30 a.m., Worship 11:30 a.m.
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Maupin Community Church 541-395-2563
Pastor Larry Moynihan, 490 Fifth St., Sunday Worship, 9:30 a.m.; Sunday School, 11:15 a.m. Cottage Prayer meeting, 7 p.m.; Tuesday Cottage Prayer meeting, 7 p.m.

Mid-Columbia Church of Chirst 509-767-1401
206 6th Avenue, Dallesport, WA, Sunday Worship, 11 a.m.; Sunday School, 10 a.m.; Evening class, 6 p.m.; Wednesday class, 7 p.m.

Moro Community Presbyterian 541-565-3630
Pastor Bob Stone, Fourth and Scott, 10:45 a.m. worship, children’s church during service.
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St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Dufur 541-467-2580
Rev. Dr. Fabian Nwokonie, 2nd & Church St. Dufur, Mass Sunday 8:30 a.m.

St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Grass Valley 541-442-8560
Father John Vogl, Highway 97, Sunday Mass at 8:30 a.m., first, third and fifth Sundays.
Confession is celebrated 30 minutes before Mass.

St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Maupin
Rev. Dr. Fabian Nwokonie, Fifth and Dufur, Sunday Mass at 11:30 a.m. (Roasry at 11 a.m.) Confession celebrated by appointment.

St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Wasco 541-442-8560
Father John Vogl, 807 Barnett, Sunday Mass at 8:30 a.m., second, and fourth Sundays. Saturday Vigil Mass at 4:00 p.m. Winter / 6:00 p.m. Summer Weekday Masses at 8:30 a.m.
M W Th and Friday. Confession is celebrated 30 minutes before Mass.

St. Peter Catholic Church 541-296-2026
Pastor Todd Unger, 1220 W. 10th St. The Dalles, Vigil Mass, Saturday, 5:30 p.m., Sunday, 9 a.m., Mass in English; noon Mass, Mass in Spanish.

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church 541-296-9587
1805 Minnesota The Dalles, Worship 8 & 10 a.m.; Christian Education, 9 a.m. Rector Alison Dingley.

Salvation Army, The Dalles 541-296-6417
Capt. Paul & Rachel Chouinand, The Dalles, Sunday School 9:45 a.m., Worship 11 a.m.

Seventh-day Adventist 541-298-1956
Pastor David Ballard, 1100 Pentland St. The Dalles. Saturday, 9:15 a.m., Worship Service 10:50 a.m. Prayer Meeting, Wednesday 7 p.m.; Somonzn Service, 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Solid Rock Community Church of God 541-296-6058
Pastor Ken Post, 2308 E. 12th St. The Dalles. Sunday School 9 a.m., Worship 10:45 a.m.

Spiritual Assembly of the Bahai’s 541-298-1103
Meet every 19 days. Fireside meeting held each Thursday, 7 p.m. 317 W. 21st St. For information on meeting times and place call 298-1103, (541) 739-8283 or 296-3273.

Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 541-296-9651
Pastor Norm Wells, 1003 Sunflower St. W. The Dalles, Sunday School 9:30 a.m., Sunday Worship 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.
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United Church of Christ Congregational 541-296-2909
Rev. Karl J. Vercouteren, 115 E. 5th St., The Dalles, Adult Sunday School 9:30 a.m.; Worship service 10 a.m.

Unitarian Universalist 509-365-5593
Fellowship, 10 a.m. Sunday, Rockford Grange, 4262 Barrett Road, Hood River.
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Wamic Community Church 541-544-3032
Pastor Jim Myers, Sunday school 9:30 a.m., worship service 10:50 a.m. March 20, 2008

Wasco Methodist Church 541-442-5250
Pastor Bob Reasoner, Worship service Sunday 11 a.m.; Sunday school during service.

White River Christian Fellowship 541-483-2188
Pastor Asa Jenson, Tygh School Community Center, Old Hwy. 197, Services 9 a.m.

Wishram Community Church 509-748-2321
Pastor Charles Hargrove, Sunday School 9:45 a.m.; Worship Service 11 a.m.; Sunday evening service 6 p.m.
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Zion Lutheran 541-296-9146
Rev. Chris Kramer, 101 W. 10th St., Sunday Worship 8:30 and 10:30 a.m.
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