News / Education
VBS 2007 had good numbers, big impact on churches
Vacation Bible School still a large evangelistic emphasis for kids, churches
Game Day Central: Where Heroes Are Made and Club VBS: Jungle Jaunt were 2007 the themes, embraced by churches and enjoyed by children.
The VBS area of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention released the 2007 statistics based on information provided by churches submitting a Vacation Bible School report and/or Annual Church Profile.
-- Number of congregations reporting VBS: 25,574
-- Total VBS enrollment: 2,876,877
-- Decisions to receive Christ: 88,097*
-- Decisions for church-related activities: 2,380*
-- Total Sunday school prospects discovered: 267,771*
-- Prospects enrolled in Sunday school: 37,888*
-- Prospects added to Sunday school prospect file: 198,774*
-- Percentage of SBC baptisms resulting from VBS: 26 percent*
“The whole point of Vacation Bible School is to lead the children, youth and adults who attend to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Bottom line. That’s it,” said Jerry Wooley, VBS specialist at LifeWay.
“The fun, the games and the music are the means to getting the opportunity to talk with the children and their families and share the Gospel with them,” he added. “Vacation Bible School is the single most effective evangelism strategy in the Southern Baptist Convention. In 2007, about 26 percent of the total number of baptisms in SBC churches was a direct result of VBS.
“These numbers are just the ones we know about, that we have documentation about,” Wooley said. “I can only imagine how many more people are reached when you think about the parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents and friends of these children.”
*Numbers are projections based on the ratio of the total enrollment from VBS reports (1,751,384); to the total enrollment reported on the Annual Church Profile (2,876,877). The process is that which has been followed in research with a select number of churches representing the total.
For up-to-date news and information regarding LifeWay Christian Resources, visit www.lifeway.com/news .
