For a majority of churches, VBS is the most effective outreach event they hold, and results in more professions of faith than any other single event. Willie Beaty, a long-time VBS leader, describes Vacation Bible School as a time when people are “involved in five closely-sequenced Bible study sessions where they can build a sensitivity to their spiritual relationship with God.”¹ Beaty also says “Evangelism, the invitation to accept Christ as personal Savior, has always been and remains the heart, the central focus, of Southern Baptist Vacation Bible schools. Telling others about Jesus and providing opportunity, when appropriate, for them to accept Christ as Savior is both a teaching and a worship objective of Vacation Bible School .”²

            Most churches plan traditional Bible Schools, held daily for a week during the summer vacation from school. Some churches have had success with non-traditional schedules and times, such as one-weekend rather than week-long, spring or Christmas break rather than summer, or once-a-week for five weeks rather than five consecutive days. In recent times, VBS has taken a themed approach, with Bible teaching reinforced by activities such as music, crafts, recreation and even snacks that relate to the Bible truths or theme for the week. 

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¹ Willie Beaty, New Horizons in Vacation Bible School (Nashville: Convention Press, 1993), 57.

² Ibid.