As July begins, most schools are close to announcing reopening plans, though their doors wont open until August.

However, as summer continues, a different type of school is already in session: Vacation Bible School.

And in the wake of COVID-19, churches are adapting their VBS programs in a number of different ways to deal with the changing times.

For Asbury United Methodist Church, this summers VBS will be entirely online. Their three-day program, BOLT, comes from GO! Curriculum.

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Their catchline is, Instead of bringing your kids to VBS, were bringing VBS to your kids, said childrens and family ministry director Heidi Warren.

Warren said that while the BOLT programming is designed to be completed over three days, the links and videos will be available to registered families throughout July.

You dont have to do them consecutive days, she said. It could be once a week, it could be all three days in a row. Warren added that the activities presented in the BOLT curriculum utilize common household items that are easy to find.

Warren said that, the church had different curriculum planned for VBS. And once the pandemic hit, they discussed pushing VBS back or even moving it to winter. However, they ultimately decided on using the BOLT curriculum, as it was purposefully created to be a backyard VBS, according GO! Curriculums website.

We feel great, Warren said. Were close to our numbers. Weve had a lot of participation, a lot of excitement about it.

A longer stretch

For the First United Methodist Church of Columbus, this summers VBS will last a bit longer than three days. According to director of youth and family ministries Jennifer Riddle, FUMCs VBS program is a five-week experience that began the week of June 29.

Riddle explained that the church has instruction packets for families, and there will be videos that accompany the packets. The activities in the packet will be completed at home. However, the VBS is not entirely an at-home experience; there is also a chance for kids participate in-person each week.

You have an entire week to do the activities that are in the packet, Riddle said. And then, on Friday, each week were getting together at the green space at the church at 10 a.m. to just do some activities that are a part of the packet. So families, if they dont feel comfortable coming in person, they can do those activities on their own.

Riddle added that, because of health concerns, in-person time will be limited to one hour. Furthermore, every family that attends will need to have at least one adult present to watch their children. All adults are required to wear masks, but for children its optional.

Were going to keep people in their family groups as much as possible, Riddle said.

Similar to the BOLT curriculum, Riddle said that the suggested crafts in the packets will require common household items or objects that are easily found in nature.

But I have bought extra of some of those things, especially for folks that may be struggling economically, so if they need things like that, Im supplying for whoever might need those, Riddle added.

Before planning out VBS, Riddle sent out a survey to see what families wanted to do.

A lot of them, I think, are kind of overwhelmed with online opportunities but understand that because of COVID, we kind of need to find a safe balance as best we can, she said. And so, they were really interested in trying to do some face gatherings (sic) such as doing something outside.

Riddle said the curriculum, Compassion Camp, was chosen because it was designed to be flexible for both online interaction and in-person interaction. She added that having the program take place over a longer period of time is a good way to include families who might be out of town for some of July.

In-person and virtual

While First United Methodist is doing a mostly at-home VBS with weekly in-person gatherings, St. Paul Lutheran Church has chosen a different approach: a three-day VBS from July 20 to July 23, with the option to either attend in-person or participate virtually.

For those that opt to do the virtual option, well be making videos and recordings that feel as much like they were here as possible, Director of Christian Education Cheryl LaBelle said. We will also have bags of student activities that they can take home with them, picked up ahead of time, and have with them so that they can participate. Like snacks with recipe cards, and crafts. Well have videos that lead and show them how to do that.

LaBelle said that she and some of the churchs VBS volunteers will record these videos in advance and upload them to YouTube.

So itll still be a lot of the same faces, the same personalities coming across, so that it will feel as if they attended, she said.

On the other hand, the in-person VBS will be similar to programs of years past, albeit with new health guidelines.

Well be sanitizing, day-to-day, after theyve left and give them their own designated space so that its not shared space, LaBelle said. Were going to be doing a lot of things outside, too.

She added that there will be prepackaged snacks and that children will be asked to bring their own water bottles to avoid the spread of germs.

Well still set it up so that activities can be had where they still have fun, LaBelle said. They will still interact with one another, still (have) some healthy competition as well as good fellowship and hopefully some laughs

And then the same thing with our other rotations, too the music, the Bible story, all of that stuffitll be interactive. So theyll fully get to participate, but still taking into consideration some social distancing.

She said that the church set up its VBS with flexibility in mind, so that the church could be prepared in case any new COVID-19 security measures or considerations arose.

But we did believe that people would desire coming together, LaBelle said. Weve been having in-person church services, and weve been seeing a lot of families coming. And so we see that that is important to those families to have that socialization. So, we knew it was important for kids to be able to come together.

But for those families that were more concerned, we did want to give a virtual option so that they can still participate.

Where to learn more about VBS

To find out more about VBS at your local church, ask a leader, check the churchs website and/or social media, and look through the Republics Saturday religion listings.

How to register for the programs mentioned in the article:

All three of these programs are free and open to all children within their age ranges, regardless of whether or not these children attend the church in question or live in-state.

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In person or in spirit: Local churches offer different approaches to VBS during COVID-19 - The Republic