Night class

Almost as soon as school is out for summer, vacation Bible school is in session.

In fact, the recent extended school in Eastern Iowa caused by several snow makeup days threatened to keep the kids in school during what would traditionally have been the first few days of Vacation Bible School at St. Paul's United Methodist Church, 1340 Third Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids.

'We were just two weekdays from overlapping with the school schedule,” says the Rev. Allison Warren, minister of Children's Discipleship at St. Paul's.

St. Paul's Vacation Bible School started on Monday; the last day of school for Cedar Rapids students was June 12.

That scheduling conflict was just one of the reasons the church decided to offer its summer bible school in the evening this year for the first time.

'Offering an evening session is something that's come up for years - we have people who work all day and can't volunteer, even though they'd really like to be part of the program,” Warren says. 'This year we really had to do it.”

St. Paul's reasons were the same as other churches who also have made the switch.

More and more churches are adding or even switching to evening offerings, citing scheduling conflicts with busy children and families.

Church calendars dictate when vacation Bible schools will be held, as does volunteer availability.

In some cases, the lack of availability of volunteers has kept some churches from offering bible schools at all.

The Barna Research Group, which studies religion and religious trends, reports that 68 percent of American churches offer vacation Bible school, and of those that do not, three in 10 pastors said it was because they didn't have enough available people to run the program.

At St. Paul's the change has meant 'fewer preschoolers than we've had in the past,” Warren says.

'Our VBS goes until 8 at night, and that's really kind of late for many preschoolers. But we do have more volunteers, and more older kids are coming.”

She said she will work with church leaders later this summer to evaluate the evening sessions and determine whether it's something they want to continue to offer.

Evening Bible school isn't new at The Church on Northland, 5200 Northland Ave. NE, in Cedar Rapids.

'We have been doing an evening summer option for kids for over 10 years,” says Dina Brake, the church office manager. 'We have done VBS, SportsLife Camp and gone back to VBS. The change from day to evening was due mostly to the availability of volunteers during the day. We had a number of people say, ‘If you had it at night I could help.' ”

At St. Mark's Faith and Life Center in Marion, families are offered a choice between morning and evening vacation Bible school, something the church has made available since 2005.

'We have a ton of volunteers, and that's a huge part of how we can do what we do,” says Jody Skogen, director of youth and family ministries at St. Mark's, 8300 C Ave. NE, in Marion. 'We have probably 160 volunteers who give their time and energy to make it a really great week.”

Skogen said the church typically has about 250 children participate in the morning sessions, and another 75 to 100 in the evening sessions.

'One of the things we like to think about is connecting faith and life, and we want to do that for as many children as possible,” she said. 'Having two sessions is about offering another opportunity that works better for some families.”

Vacation bible schools

Many Eastern Iowa churches offer vacation Bible school. Here is a sampling of those that have submitted their events to The Gazette:

'Weird Animals Vacation Bible School, 9 a.m. or 6 p.m. July 13 to 17, St. Mark's Lutheran Church, 8300 C Ave. NE, Marion. Discover how Jesus' love is 'one of a kind” through music and messages. Choose from 9 a.m. to noon or 6 to 8:30 p.m. For children from 3 years through fifth grade. Register at Faith-life.org.

'Vacation Bible School, 6:30 p.m. July 20 to 24, Zion Lutheran Church, 201 First Ave., Hiawatha. Theme is Gangway to Galilee. For ages 3 through fifth grade.

'Fun in the Sun Day Camp, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 7 to 11, First Assembly of God, 3233 Blairs Ferry Rd. NE, Cedar Rapids. This year's theme is Weird Animals. Children rotate to the different activities in age appropriate groupings. For kindergarten through sixth grade. Bring a lunch. Snacks provided. Free. Registration each day at 9:30 a.m.