Vacation Bible School - 2008
July 7th-11th 2008, from 6:00pm to 9:00pm each evening
Vacation Bible School, or VBS for short, is the term for a special type of fun oriented religious education which caters toward children! Here at Friedens United Church of Christ we run an awesome VBS program with over 70 children attending last summer for our Avalanche Ranch based theme!

This upcoming year’s theme will combine with our church’s Outreach focus in working with Habitat For Humanity.

Under Construction:
A Habitat for Humanity Vacation Bible School
Friedens (Peace) United Church of Christ will offer Under Construction: A Habitat for Humanity Bible School for children, preschool ages 3-4 years through 6th grade, this summer 2008 each evening. The Vacation Bible School program will be conducted at Friedens (Peace) United Church of Christ. Pre-registration is strongly encouraged. Call (830-303-7729) for pre-registration (or register on line) or more VBS information. You may want to contact Jesica Wolter, our VBS Coordinator at 830-433-0457 with questions, feedback, or to sign up to serve as a helper!

Under Construction is a missions action children's Vacation Bible School designed to share the love of God and encourage the growth of Christian service habits among preschoolers and children. Under Construction was developed in full partnership with Habitat for Humanity International. The program is biblically based, uses a construction theme, and involves the children in activities that teach the value of “building” Christian community and participating in outreach service missions. Program elements include Bible theme activities, worship, music, dramas, community stories, and special craft projects for the children.

A unique feature of Under Construction is how it involves children directly in service and ministry through Habitat for Humanity International, a well-known Christian housing ministry. While children do not participate in the construction of Habitat homes, they do discover the joy of serving by creating crafts that are given to Habitat partner families and volunteers. An offering taken by the children during Vacation Bible School will be dedicated to providing housing for people in need through the ministries of Habitat for Humanity. Friedens (Peace) United Church of Christ is also directly supporting the building of additional Habitat homes, since a portion of the program purchase price goes to Habitat for Humanity.

Attendance at Under Construction is expected to be heavy. We strongly encourage pre-registration to ensure your child’s place in this terrific Vacation Bible School. We have pre-registration forms on line (see below) as well as have them in the church office.

Online Registration

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Printable PDF Registration Form
Please fax, mail or hand deliver this form.

History of Vacation Bible School
The origins of Vacation Bible School can be traced back to Hopedale, Illinois in 1894. D.T. Miles, who had been a public school teacher before marrying, continued to teach Sunday School but felt she was limited in time constraints in teaching the Bible to children. Miles started a daily Bible school to teach children during the summer months. The first Bible school enrolled 40 students and lasted four weeks. A local school was used for classes, while an adjoining park was used for recess.
In 1898 Eliza Hawes, director of the children's department at Epiphany Baptist Church in New York City, started an "Everyday Bible School" for slum children at a rented beer parlor in New York's East Side. Hawes continued her efforts for seven years.
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 5 schools. In 1922 the World Association of Daily Vacation Bible School was founded by Boville.

Today many churches run their own Vacation Bible School programs, without being under the umbrella of a national organization.