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Community Corner

Vacation Bible Schools Take Kids to New Places

Oak Lawn's vacation bible schools build imagination and faith in children.

Vacation Bible Schools have long been a tradition of many churches in Oak Lawn and surrounding communities. These days, churches are integrating many new concepts, from music videos to mock cities and landscapes, all desgined to draw kids in while connecting them to their faith.

At Bethel Bible Church at 3225 W. 96th St. in Evergreen Park, children went on a "Big Apple Adventure," provided by LifeWay Christian Resources. LifeWay Christian Resources. Church volunteers decorated the sanctuary of the church with New York City signs, paper skyscrapers, and even a model of The Statue of Liberty.

“Every year, we go through the publishers, shop through what’s available and see what fits our needs,” said Pastor Steve Worsham, senior pastor of Bethel Bible Church. “There’s a lot of VBS resources out there, but a lot of it still depends on our staff and how they present it.”

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Bethel Bible Church has offered its Vacation Bible School to the community for nearly 40 years. Congregants from the church volunteer every year to teach and facilitate the program.

“I’ve only been the pastor here at Bethel for three years, but I’ve seen pictures of the VBS programs from years back,” said Pastor Worsham. “It’s been a very important part of the ministry for many, many years.”

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At Bethel’s summer Bible school this year, kids jumped, played, sang and danced, all while being taught about Jesus and the love of God.

“I believe it’s essential to train kids up to learn who God is and what the Bible teaches,” said Pastor Worsham. “We’re a small church with only a few families that have kids, but there were nights during VBS when we had about 60 kids here, so we’ve found that it’s a really nice way to reach out to the community.” 

While some VBS programs are held during the day, Bethel holds its program in the evening, which has allowed more church volunteers to get involved.

“Ours is held in the evening, so it’s really not our purpose to provide a respite for parents, but I’m not opposed to the idea," Pastor Worsham said. “For whatever reason the kids come, I feel it’s our duty to simply do right by them."

Just down the road, Trinity Evangelical Covenant Church, at 9230 S Pulaski Road, held its VBS with the theme of “SonSurf Beach Bash," provided by Gospel Light Publishers. The students were presented with a tropical, yet biblical experience.

Kids from the community have come year after year to Trinity’s VBS program, which has been directed by Linda Kozak for seven years.

“It’s great to see some of the same faces every year,” said Kozak. “It’s a wonderful outreach program for children. Many of the kids who have aged out of the program even come back to volunteer.”

Trinity also uses volunteers from the church to teach their classes, especially those who are education professionals.

“We have about 100 kids and about 30 to 40 volunteers per day,” Kozak said. “We like to utilize people in our congregation who are school teachers. We do give some training, and those who do it for many years are equipped over time.”

Both Bethel and Trinity yearly offer their VBS programs to any child for free, as opposed to many other summer programs that charge fees. With most VBS programs being free of charge, churches are able to draw in a diverse group of children from different backgrounds.

“I think it’s great to get children in the program who have never been exposed to church, some have never heard the words prayer, Jesus or God, but we simply open the door to them as a way to enlighten children and families about Christ,” Kozak said. “If it’s something that they really enjoy, then they just might check us out on a Sunday morning.”

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