http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/local/14893948.htm

COOL SCHOOL
Churches are using creative themes, night activities to draw children to Bible school
By TERRY LEE GOODRICH
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER


The morning starts with youngsters sporting sombreros, dancing to a cha-cha beat and shouting "Viva!" after declaring that Jesus is their friend.

A few minutes later, they tiptoe into a candlelit room. There, a man in a beard, spectacles and flowing robes tells them that God has instructed him to visit a bully named Saul, who was struck blind by God for jailing and killing Christians.

Then it's on to "Saul's eyes" snacks: round crackers topped with pepperoni, a squirt of cheese and licorice eyebrows.

Welcome to Fiesta at St. Alban's Episcopal Church in Arlington, an example of the latest in vacation Bible school.

The century-old summer bastion of weekday morning crafts, songs and Scriptures has changed in recent years, with organizers blending Bible lessons into themes such as Arctic exploration, pirates' hunting for buried treasure, Caribbean cruises, fiestas, archeological digs and sports. Many churches turn to the plethora of Web sites or Christian stores to purchase kits with themed curriculum guides, including suggestions for snacks, and accompanying key chains, T-shirts, toys and crafts.

Some churches are shifting vacation Bible school to evenings or weekends, even providing transportation for children or pre-session family suppers to make it easier on frazzled parents juggling work, meals and child care. Churches are enlisting the help of older children and teens to volunteer.

"When I went to vacation Bible school, half the time I was in my Sunday clothes," recalled Jack Terrell, minister to children at First Baptist Church of Euless. "Now, it's more like a camp atmosphere, except it's on the church campus. We encourage them to come ready to play. And we have Motion to Music, where kids move to contemporary Christian music.

"At the closing worship time, it's pretty kicking, with a live band and professional players," he said.

It's vastly different from vacation Bible school's roots in the late 1800s, when a New York City woman rented a vacant beer hall to offer a straightforward "everyday Bible school" for the neglected children, many of them immigrants, she spotted playing in the streets, according to Media Services Group in Lufkin, a church public awareness firm.

It's a switch, too, from when baby boomers were tykes who marched in an orderly fashion into church auditoriums to say the pledge of allegiance, pray and hear Bible stories, church leaders say. Then it was on to perhaps make crosses of Popsicle sticks and munch on basic snacks like sugar cookies and Kool-Aid.

Creative themes and sophisticated marketing are a logical response to societal changes, said Joe Barnhart, professor of philosophy and religion studies at the University of North Texas in Denton.

"Churches have to compete with television and sophisticated graphics and appeal to kids," he said. "If you look at it from a marketing point of view, you have to make it so the customer is more eager to be there. When you deal with children, it's hard to get them to sit still."

For some families, the initial lure may be safe day care. But that can lead to spiritual commitment, Barnhart said.

"If you reach the children, you reach the adults," he said.

Preparing for a successful vacation Bible school begins months in advance, with budgeting and research, organizers say.

Some Bible schools are free; others charge nominal fees like $10 to recoup the costs of supplies and snacks. And many offer scholarships to families who cannot afford the school.

Church staffers can comb through a plethora of Web sites of organizations that offer manuals and merchandise, among them www.cokesbury.com, www.lifeway.com and www.group.com. While some companies may be affiliated with a denomination, they offer material that can be used widely, organization representatives say.

Themes have taken off in the past decade, said Jerry Wooley, vacation Bible school ministry specialist at Nashville-based LifeWay Christian Resources, an entity of the Southern Baptist Convention. He would not provide sales figures for vacation Bible school guides and merchandise, but he said they are popular items among the literature and music LifeWay sells online and at its 124 U.S. stores.

Prices for this year's Arctic Edge theme begin at a bare-bones $54 for a curriculum guide, he said. But churches that opt for large quantities of accompanying materials -- such as ice-cube key chains and a 5-foot-tall inflatable moose -- may spend tens of thousands of dollars.

A Methodist site, www.cokesbury.com, began offering themes in 1999 and recently added additional themes tailored to African-Americans, said Linda Tozer, assistant director of vacation Bible school for Nashville-based Cokesbury, the retail outlet of The United Methodist Publishing House.

Some churches write their own material; some customize purchased curricula. And instead of holding the school in classrooms, most churches opt to divide children into small groups who rotate to "stations" for crafts, recreation, snacks and Bible study.

At Martin United Methodist in Bedford, youngsters dug for buried treasure -- medallions and hearts -- in kiddie swimming pools filled with sand. They painted tiny treasure boxes, and leaders wove in lessons about the treasure of God's love.

In mid-June, First Baptist Church of Colleyville hired a company to provide "snow" -- pulverized ice -- with snow-tubing as a grand finale for the school's Arctic Edge theme.

And in Knoxville, Tenn., a taxidermist lent a 300-pound stuffed grizzly to a school using the same theme, Wooley said.

Marketing is key, organizers say.

A week before vacation Bible school begins, staff members at Birchman Baptist Church in Fort Worth trot out the Big Red Truck -- a red ice cream truck equipped with a sound system -- and it travels in nearby neighborhoods, giving out ice cream and fliers about the school, said Christy Aguillard, Birchman's minister for pre-school and children.

Tailoring a school to families' schedules is also vital.

At St. Alban's, a mother volunteered to chauffeur children to and from school. And Martin switched to a nighttime school and offers a $3 snack supper for families, said Jamie Rives, director of children's ministries.

Roughly two-thirds of 27,000 Baptist churches who reported to LifeWay in 2005 indicated that they hold evening sessions, up from about one-fourth who did so 10 years ago, Wooley said

"I couldn't do this if it weren't at night," said Jeff Gilliland, 49, of Bedford, a Xerox service technician and vacation Bible school volunteer.

The gospel has not been lost in the midst of buried treasure, fiestas and catchy slogans like "Dig It!" and "Viva!"

On a national scale, Wooley said Southern Baptist churches reported 97,547 professions of faith were made during vacation Bible school last year. More than 3 million children were enrolled.

Helping to make that happen are such churches as First Baptist Church of Euless, where children hear the plan of salvation at least once a day during the school's five days, Terrell said.

Kristin Hadawi of Arlington, who enrolled her daughter Kendall, 8, and son Kaden, 6, at the St. Alban's Bible school, has seen them try out biblical principles -- such as honoring one's parents.

"They're sent home with a little assignment, like 'Obey your parents the first time they ask you,'" Hadawi said. "I told my son, 'Brush your teeth.' And he did."

At Martin, fourth-graders said prayers for sick relatives -- and Sadie, a 16-year-old dog who belongs to Brad Nix, 10, of Bedford. Brad said Sadie has cloudy vision.

Children still learn about biblical characters. These days, though, the stories often come from individuals dressed for the part, said Susie Wheaton, St. Alban's Christian education coordinator.

At St. Alban's, elementary school teacher Richard Stolley portrayed Ananias, sent by God to the blinded Saul.

"I'm scared; I'll ask Jesus to be my helper," Stolley told them as Ananias. "If I don't get back, will you take care of my goldfish?"

He prayed for Saul, whose vision was restored. Saul became Paul, an apostle.

As youngsters left the room, they gave Stolley high fives.

"Churches have to compete with television and sophisticated graphics and appeal to kids."

IN THE KNOW

VBS history

A beer hall might seem an unlikely spot to begin a Bible school. But it was available -- and in 1898, a doctor's wife and Baptist named Eliza Hawes decided to rent the New York City facility to conduct what she called an Everyday Bible School.

Hawes was concerned about the children -- many of them offspring of immigrants -- she saw roaming unsupervised on city streets.

In the early days, the school was a nondenominational, six-week summer event. Sessions lasted two hours and included Bible stories, memorizing Scriptures, marching, drawing, music, nature study, a salute to the flag and handwork, such as sewing for the girls.

In 1900, Hawes' pastor insisted that the school move to a church building, but after two weeks, it became clear that East Side children would not attend there. Hawes moved the school to a site near the beer hall.

A year later, the New York Baptist Mission accepted VBS promotion as part of its ministry, and the idea spread to interdenominational organizations and several denominations.

Over the years, most Bible schools were trimmed to four weeks and then two. Popular songs at the Bible schools included Jesus Loves Me, Jesus Loves the Little Children and This Little Light of Mine.

Sources: LifeWay Christian Resources of Nashville, Media Services Group in Lufkin, the South Carolina Baptist Convention and local Bible school leaders