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Kuwait United Vacation Bible School |
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Traditionally Sunday school conduct the Vacation Bible School every year during the month of June and July.
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It is conducted jointly by the CSI and the Mar Thoma Parishes of Kuwait.
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About 500 children will attend these vacation Bible classes.
"Let the little children come to me. Do not stop them, because the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Mk 10:14
The VBS is one of the many means by which JESUS seeks children and youth into His Kingdom.
The VBS initials mean:
V: A school conducted during a VACATION period
B: A school which follows a BIBLE centered course of study
S: A SCHOOL which maintains a regular daily schedule
VBS is a movement, which has in its existence of over 40 years, transformed children, youth and adults into God honoring men and women. Many of the Indian Christian Leaders of today are those whose lives were touched by God and who had committed their lives to the Lord during VBS.
VBS work has expanded tremendously in the recent years and more and more non Christian children are covered each year. Yet the percentage is just a drop in the ocean considering the Indian Population. The challenge of reaching India with the message of the gospel is great. Every ones prayer and active involvement in the mission will bring a change.
May the Lord bless this years Kuwait United Vacation Bible School and all the VBS in India.
History of Vacation Bible School
VBS in India
1952
Some of the staff and students of the South India Bible Seminary (SIBS), Bangarapet introduced VBS to 75 children and 8 teachers at Kovilpatti, Tamil Nadu. The VBS proved to be a success.
1953-56
This was the nurturing period for the infant VBS Ministry. The number of VBS centers increased to 25, enrolling 4500 children. VBS was introduced at Mallappally, Kerala and also near Mysore City in Karnataka by SIBS student Directors. In 1956, a VBS Directors' course and a methodology course in VBS was introduced at SIBS.
1961
The number of centers totaled 100 and the student enrollment was increased to 33,500. A follow up work were initiated in Kerala and Tamil Nadu by CSSM Area Directors which included VBS Prayer Cells, Bible Reading Notes and mid-year rallies. The same year a new three year course for VBS written by Esther and Theodore Williams was published.
1965
The VBS movement began to work more closely with CSSM which provided area directors, organized teams for many centers and successfully fulfilled the follow-up work. VBS materials in Marathi was first published in 1965.
1967- 80
This was the period of rapid growth for the VBS Ministry. Many new projects were undertaken and drastic changes were introduced during this period. The total number of Children attending the VBS classes exceeded 46,000 by 1970. A new building for VBS was dedicated on 18th Dec. 1971 at Bangalore. In 1972, VBS materials were printed in Gujarathi for the first time. The Jubilee Year was celebrated in 1977 and the theme for the year was 'Knowing Jesus'. Separate materials for non-Christian children titled 'Jesus loves you' were introduced in 1979. By 1980, the number of children attending the VBS in various part of the country rose to 1,42,000.
1981- 88
In 1982 alone over 1,50,000 children were reached through this great Ministry. The first All-India VBS Leaders' Workshop was held at Bangalore in March 1986 with 42 participants from 7 Indian states. Besides this Workshop, several regional and local training programs were conducted from this year onwards. VBS theme song cassettes in six languages were launched. Another introduction in 1986 was the 'Young Adult Course' in English and Tamil languages. Following this, penetration programs were conducted in Mizoram, North Assam, Darwad, Kottayam, Ambernath, Nagpur, Manipur and other places. The number of children increased many fold during the ensuing years and also other activities as well. This period was a productive period for the VBS
Kerala United Vacation Bible School
Mar Thoma Church and CSI in co-operation with Kerala CSSM started the Kerala United Vacation Bible School in 1981. It made tremendous progress during these years with the whole-hearted support of both the Churches and the Sunday School leaders. Over 80,000 students and 7,000 teachers participated in the Kerala VBS during 1995.
VBS in Kuwait
The first VBS in Kuwait was held in 1983 under the auspices of the Mar Thoma Church. However, in 1984, Mar Thoma and CSI Parishes joined together and organized the Kuwait United Vacation Bible School. On an average, 750 students and 60 teachers participate actively in the VBS which is conducted on all Fridays from 3.30 to 6.30 p.m. for three months from June to August. The Directors for each year are selected from among the Sunday School Teachers of either Mar Thoma or CSI Parish. The teaching materials are usually brought from India; but the song cassettes are recorded locally by the VBS Choir. In 1990, the KUVBS had to be abruptly stopped due to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. There was a break for two years as it took quite some time for the children to return to Kuwait after the liberation. By the grace of God Almighty, the KUVBS was started once again in full swing in 1993.
Right from the beginning our children accepted the Vacation Bible School with great enthusiasm and participated whole-heartedly in all its activities. Over the years KUVBS was instrumental in bringing the children closer to Jesus and had lead many to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.
KUVBS 1997
The Vacation Bible school was organized on a daily basis for the first time. Total Twelve days of Classes and two days of Programs were arranged for the students. For the first time, a VBS trained Leader came from India to lead the KUVBS. Rev. Joe Joseph Kuruvilla, General Secretary of the Mar Thoma Sunday School Samajam, Tiruvalla came to Kuwait as Leader for the KUVBS.
KUVBS 1998
The Vacation Bible school was organized on a daily basis in 1998 starting from 26th June, 1998 till 11th July 1998. The theme for this year's VBS was "Know This Love". Total Twelve days of classes and a closing day ceremony with entertainment programs by the students were organised. Rev. Abraham Scaria from Germany provided effective leadership for this year's VBS. 41 teachers, and 523 students actively participated in this VBS.