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From The Heart
Vacation Bible School began with a nondenominational tone. It was a plan of a compassionate doctor’s wife who sensed a need to get children off the streets of New York during the summertime. Mrs. Walker Aylett Hawes went to New York City from Charlottesville, Virginia, with her husband who was specializing in a medical ministry to children. She noted that many of the children attended to at her husband’s clinic received injuries as they played in the streets of New York City. She surmised that they needed something safe and fruitful to occupy their time. In 1898 and 1899, Mrs. Hawes rented a beer hall in the city’s East Side to conduct her Everyday Bible School. Thus, Bible School began with an evangelistic thrust of taking the study to where the people were. In 1901, after three years of Mrs. Hawes’ effort, the New York City Baptist Mission Society picked up the banner of Vacation Bible School and established schools throughout the East Side. Robert G. Boville, of the Mission Society, used college and seminary students to lead the work in five schools in 1901. The next year, Boville expanded to 10 schools and had 17 schools by 1903. By 1921, Vacation Bible School was a trend that was finding favor among pastors of Southern Baptist churches. That year, the Convention approved the suggestion of its Sunday School Lesson Committee that pastors and Sunday School leaders give consideration to the values and possibilities of Vacation Bible School. In 1922, the Sunday School Board assigned the work of Daily Vacation Bible School to the Sunday School Administration Department. In 1992, Southern Baptist Vacation Bible School hit an enrollment record of 3,709,174. (Information comes from an article “VBS: An Historical perspective by Willie Beaty.)
Bro. Kyle |
