 | This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations .(November 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) |
Vacation Bible School (VBS) is a specialized form of religious education which focuses on children. Churches usually hold the week-long events during the summer, though the lengths of such programs may vary, and they are sometimes held during other times of the year.
The origins of Vacation Bible School can be traced back to Hopedale, Illinois in 1894. Sunday school teacher D. T. Miles, who also was a public school teacher, felt she was limited by time constraints in teaching the Bible to children. So, she started a daily Bible school to teach children during the summer. The first Bible school enrolled forty students and lasted four weeks. A local school was used for classes, while an adjoining park was used for recess. [1]
In 1898 Virginia Sinclair Hawes (often identified as "Mrs. Walker Aylett Hawes"), director of the children's department at Epiphany Baptist Church in New York City, started an "Everyday Bible School" for neighborhood children during the summer at a rented beer parlor in New York's East Side. There is a bronze plaque honoring her efforts located in her hometown of Charlottesville, Virginia in the foyer of First Baptist Church. [2]
Dr. Robert Boville of the Baptist Mission Society, became aware of the Hawes' summer program and recommended it to other Baptist churches. Boville established a handful of summer schools which were taught by students at the Union Theological Seminary. During one summer, one thousand students were enrolled in five different schools. In 1922, he founded the World Association of Daily Vacation Bible School.
One year later, Standard Publishing produced the very first printed VBS curriculum. Enough material was provided for a five-week course for three age levels (kindergarten, primary, and junior). [3]
While not under the title of Vacation Bible School, Dr. Abraham L. Latham of the Third Presbyterian Church in Chester, Pennsylvania initiated a five-week, four hour per day summer bible school in 1912 which at its peak had 650–700 students. This has been claimed to be the world's first summer bible school. [4] [5] [6]
Today, many churches run their own Vacation Bible School programs without being under the umbrella of a national organization. Some churches opt to use themed curriculum programs such as under the sea, etc. from their respective denominations or independent publishing houses which provide easy preparation and include marketing tools.
Modern programs usually consist of a week-long program of religious education which may employ Bible stories, religious song, arts and crafts, skits, or puppet shows which cater toward elementary school-aged children. Groups of local churches who do not have the resources to run VBS for the entire summer may elect to coordinate their schedules to provide continuous childcare.
Most churches provide VBS programs at no cost to those attending. Some churches, however, may charge a fee for the program. The cost, if any, is established by the church.
Studies have show VBS is on the decline. Barna Research found 81 percent of U.S. churches offering VBS in 1997, by 2012 that number had dropped to 68 percent. [7]
The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival during the early 19th century in the United States. The movement began around 1790, gained momentum by 1800 and, after 1820, membership rose rapidly among Baptist and Methodist congregations whose preachers led the movement. It was past its peak by the late 1840s. In a reflection of Romanticism, the Second Great Awakening was characterized by enthusiasm, emotion, and an appeal to the supernatural. It rejected the skeptical rationalism and deism of the Enlightenment.
Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary is a confessional Presbyterian seminary in Taylors, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1986, Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary exists to equip preachers, pastors, and churchmen for Christ's Kingdom. The school is modeled on Old Princeton Theological Seminary of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It teaches the accuracy and doctrinal integrity of the Westminster Confession of Faith, together with the Larger and Shorter Catechisms, as adopted by the Presbyterian Church in America. It is not affiliated with a specific denomination, but graduates of the Seminary minister in denominations such as the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC). Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARP), United Reformed Churches in North America (URCNA), Reformed Church in the United States (RCUS), Reformed Presbyterian Church, Free Church of Scotland, Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales (EPCEW), Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA), Iglesia Presbiteriana de Brasil, Association of Reformed Baptist Churches of America (ARBCA), Reformed Baptist Network (RBN), Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC), Bible Presbyterian Church (BPC), Presbyterian Reformed Church (PRC), and in a number of Independent congregations. The current president of the seminary is Dr. Joseph A. Pipa, Jr.
Union Presbyterian Seminary is a Presbyterian seminary in Richmond, Virginia. It also has a non-residential campus in Charlotte, North Carolina and an extended campus online.
A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually Christian in character. They were first set up in the 1780s in England to provide education to working children. Today, Sunday school has become the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued and conducted on Sundays by various denominations.
Covenant College is a private Christian liberal arts college on Lookout Mountain in Georgia, near Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Cedarville University is a private Baptist university in Cedarville, Ohio.
A summer camp, or sleepaway camp, is a supervised program for children or teenagers conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as campers. Summer school is usually a required academic curriculum for a student to make up work not accomplished during the academic year, whereas summer camps can include academic work, but is not a requirement for graduation.
Columbia International University (CIU) is a Christian university in Columbia, South Carolina.
Thomas Campbell was a Presbyterian minister who became prominent during the Second Great Awakening of the United States. Born in County Down, he began a religious reform movement on the American frontier. He was joined in the work by his son, Alexander. Their movement, known as the "Disciples of Christ", merged in 1832 with the similar movement led by Barton W. Stone to form what is now described as the American Restoration Movement.
Weekday Religious Education is a released-time Christian education program for public school students in the United States. The program is administered during school hours, but by law must be conducted outside school property. Weekday Religious Education classes are offered in school districts in several states, most of them rural.
Carl Curtis McIntire, Jr., known as Carl McIntire, was a founder and minister in the Bible Presbyterian Church, founder and long-time president of the International Council of Christian Churches and the American Council of Christian Churches, and a popular religious radio broadcaster, who proudly identified himself as a fundamentalist.
All Saints Catholic Church was located at Goodlow Street opposite Kemper Lane in Cincinnati, Ohio and was once known as Christ Church. The parish was organized by Rev. S. McMahon in 1837. The Parish served the English-speaking community, most members came from the growing Irish population of Cincinnati. The original Church was dedicated on November 9, 1845. The Parent Parishes was the Old Cathedral on Sycamore, now known as. All Saints had a congregation of 200 families in 1896. The Parish was closed in 1936.
Henrietta Cornelia Mears was a Christian educator, evangelist and author who had a significant impact on evangelical Christianity in the 20th century and one of the founders of the National Sunday School Association Best known as the innovative and dynamic Director of Christian Education at First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, California and in charge of the college and young adult people in the mid 1900s, she built a dedicated, enthusiastic staff, trained and mentored her teachers and implemented a graded, age-appropriate curriculum from “cradle roll” to adults. Henrietta lectured and wrote passionately about Sunday school’s power to teach others the Bible. Within two years Sunday School attendance at Hollywood “Pres” was averaging more than 4,200 per week. She served in leading the Sunday School program from 400 to 6500. Henrietta Mears taught the college age program herself. Henrietta Mears was one of the most influential Christian leaders of the 20th Century. She founded "Gospel Light"., a publishing company for many of her training materials, Forest Home, a Christian conference center nestled in a wooded setting of California's coastal range, and "Gospel Literature Internationals (GLINT)"., and profoundly impacted the ministries of Bill Bright and Vonette Zachary Bright, Jim Rayburn and Billy Graham and Louis Evans, Jr. who was the organizing pastor of Bel Air Church and led the congregation of the National Presbyterian Church, Washington, D.C. with her emphasis on Scripture and a clear Gospel message for young people. Mears is believed by many theologians to have most directly shaped Bill Bright’s Four Spiritual Laws, which defined modern evangelism in the 20th century.
Elmer Leon Towns is an American Christian academic, pastor and writer who co-founded Liberty University, the largest private non-profit university in the world, alongside Jerry Falwell in 1971. Towns is also a prominent Christian leader and speaker on the principles of church growth, church leadership, Christian education, Sunday school, and prayer and fasting. He has written over 170 books, eight of which are listed on the Christian Booksellers Association Best Selling List. In 1995, his book The Names of the Holy Spirit received the Gold Medallion Award from the Evangelical Christian Booksellers Association for Book of the Year in Biblical Study. Most recently Towns has served as Dean of the B. R. Lakin School of Religion, Dean of Liberty University Baptist Theological Seminary, and Distinguished Professor of Systematic Theology at Liberty University. In fall 2013, Towns announced he would be taking a sabbatical from his teaching and administrative duties to focus on speaking and writing.
Bethel Marthoma Church is a Malankara Marthoma church located at Chengara, Pathanamthitta, Kerala, India. Mar Thoma Church is part of Malankara Church, still fully independent, without being part of any other Churches. Bethel Marthoma Church belongs to the Ranni Nilackal Diocese of Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church. Like all other Malankara Churches, St James liturgy is used in Bethel Marthoma Church for worship.
Percy Bartimus Crawford was an evangelist and fundamentalist leader who especially emphasized youth ministry. During the late 1950s, he saw the potential of FM radio and UHF television and built the first successful Christian broadcasting network. He also founded The King's College and Pinebrook, a Bible conference in the Pocono Mountains.
Luther Point Bible Camp is an ELCA affiliated Christian Bible camp located in Northwestern Wisconsin. Youth and young adults have the opportunity to come and be a part of the outdoor ministry that Luther Point offers year-round, along with approximately 45 summer staff, 5-10 full-time year-round staff, and many volunteers. Luther Point sits on a peninsula surrounded on three sides by the water of Wood Lake as well as meadows and woods on land.
Baptist Bible College Canada and Theological Seminary was established by Dr. Harry Strachan Sr. in 1978. It was officially incorporated by the province of Ontario on May 25, 1984 under the Baptist Bible College Canada and Theological Seminary Act. The college presently operates as a distance education school training pastors for Baptist churches in Canada and elsewhere.
Standard Publishing is a nondenominational Christian publishing company associated with the Restoration Movement. It was founded in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1872. Major publications have included its flagship journal, Christian Standard, and church education materials including Vacation Bible School curricula.
The Third Presbyterian Church is a historic Presbyterian Church founded in 1872 in Chester, Pennsylvania. It is located at 9th and Potter Streets. The church was the location of the first summer bible school in 1912. The congregation closed in 1986 and the building is currently owned by the Chester Historical Preservation Committee. It is a stone Gothic Revival building designed by the noted Philadelphia architect Isaac Pursell. The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in November 2019 and is the only church in Pennsylvania on the list.