Tuesday, July 03, 2007
School's Out!
Excuse me for a minute while I hop on my "old school" soapbox. As I drove across town the other day to pick up my wife from the airport, I passed church after church and took notice of their billboards. More specifically, I noticed what wasn't on those signs. This is July: Summer is in full motion, kids are out of school, and parents are starting to need a break from keeping their children stimulated by something other than mind-numbing PS3 marathons.
In the past, that's where Vacation Bible School often came in. Yet as I encountered no fewer than three-dozen churches on my way to the airport, I saw maybe two or three with signs for VBS. I was reminded of this study a couple of years ago that gave statistical strength to the case of a morally declining culture taking its toll on our younger generation. According to the report, fewer churches—about 38,000, or 15 percent—are offering the weeklong program that oftentimes introduces biblical concepts to kids for the first time in their life.
Now, I realize some churches do VBS in June, and that many of the ones I passed may have already taken down their billboard announcements. Regardless, I can't deny a study that examined churches nationwide for almost an entire decade. Yes, it's easy to get discouraged by the so-called disinterest of Generations X and Y toward all things church (though "spirituality" still captures their attention). But as leaders, we cannot allow that to affect our approach toward shepherding our future.
In the midst of a culture that knows more broken and splintered families than whole ones, VBS is not some silly weeklong mini-camp created just to give parents a break. This may be the only connection a young child has to biblical truth all year. Your church and its workers may be the lone representatives of God's faithfulness to a neglected little girl, or the only chance a sexually molested young boy has of hearing about the Father's love. The bottom line? VBS matters.
An interesting note: The Barna study on VBS assessed that the most common reason for discontinuing the program wasn't a lack of interest or children; it was a lack of teachers. Didn't Jesus say something about this, something along the lines of "the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few" (Matt. 9:37)?
In the past, that's where Vacation Bible School often came in. Yet as I encountered no fewer than three-dozen churches on my way to the airport, I saw maybe two or three with signs for VBS. I was reminded of this study a couple of years ago that gave statistical strength to the case of a morally declining culture taking its toll on our younger generation. According to the report, fewer churches—about 38,000, or 15 percent—are offering the weeklong program that oftentimes introduces biblical concepts to kids for the first time in their life.
Now, I realize some churches do VBS in June, and that many of the ones I passed may have already taken down their billboard announcements. Regardless, I can't deny a study that examined churches nationwide for almost an entire decade. Yes, it's easy to get discouraged by the so-called disinterest of Generations X and Y toward all things church (though "spirituality" still captures their attention). But as leaders, we cannot allow that to affect our approach toward shepherding our future.
In the midst of a culture that knows more broken and splintered families than whole ones, VBS is not some silly weeklong mini-camp created just to give parents a break. This may be the only connection a young child has to biblical truth all year. Your church and its workers may be the lone representatives of God's faithfulness to a neglected little girl, or the only chance a sexually molested young boy has of hearing about the Father's love. The bottom line? VBS matters.
An interesting note: The Barna study on VBS assessed that the most common reason for discontinuing the program wasn't a lack of interest or children; it was a lack of teachers. Didn't Jesus say something about this, something along the lines of "the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few" (Matt. 9:37)?
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your are so right your insights in to vbs matter and i for one remember my vbs days in a little church in nc! i thank god for all them people who loved on me! have a great day
greg
www.gregspeaks.blogspot.com
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greg
www.gregspeaks.blogspot.com
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