Vacation Bible schools, which function as day camps that churches provide for members and the community, are adapting to changing dynamics of family life and religious participation, particularly a decline in volunteering for vacation Bible school ministries, according to a report from National Public Radio (August 4). Jason DeRose reports that rather than recruiting volunteers from the congregation to run vacation Bible school, some congregations are hiring outside organizations and ministries to run their vacation Bible school (VBS) programs. One pastor says the advantage of such outside sourcing is the service it provides for parents who can’t easily take a week off from work to volunteer. “They would say, ‘I’m looking for something to do this week for my kids, and this is an inexpensive way to care for my kids during the week.’”
Source: https://www.gofishresources.com/2023/03/31/2023-4-5-six-ways-to-make-vacation-bible-school-morefun-for-everyone/
But even with such changes, VBS is far from flourishing. Fewer congregations are offering VBS programs. Before 2020, a little more than one-third of congregations offered vacation Bible school, while now it’s less than a third. Scott Thumma of the Hartford Institute for Religious Research says there is a similar decline in Sunday schools, with 88 percent of congregations offering it before Covid and 81 percent doing so today. The reasons cited for the drop in VBS include a lack of interest in religion among younger people, “compounded by competition from flashier camps. Think surfing or coding.” But there are growing innovations in VBS. One United Methodist church in California offers hands-on science and religion lessons that it calls “Messy Camp.” Children create their own projects, such as making a volcano, to learn about God’s creation of the world and humanity.
(National Public Radio, https://www.npr.org/2024/08/01/nx-s1-5044707/vacation-bible-schools)
