Vacation Bible School has sure changed since I went to VBS in my little town in West Virginia about 60 years ago. My home town was mostly built on the narrow stretch of land between the road, railroad and the mighty Kanawha River. We pretty much made our own fun, mostly playing Hide and Seek, Kick the Can, football, and softball in my grandparents' yard. We played baseball for a while, but after hitting the ball into the McDade's house, we had to switch to softball. There was also a bookmobile every two weeks, and I always checked out as many books as I could carry. There were no theaters, no swimming pools, no Dairy Queens or any other restaurants for miles.
But for a week during the summer, we had Bible School at our church. It was wonderful! We made crafts with popsicle sticks and macaroni alphabet letters, heard stories told with a flannel board,
and raced to find and read the verse called out during the Bible Drill. Everyone brought a Bible, and those with a finger index seemed to have an advantage but sometimes I could still find the verse first! We sang "Hallelu, Hallelu, Halleu, Hallelujah! Praise ye the Lord!" and "Deep and Wide" with lots of enthusiasm -- until we reached the age of being too embarrassed to do the motions.
There was also a Baptist church in our town, and we went to their VBS too. That was the only time I was inside the Baptist church, and their pastor was known as Brother Mickey. I can still remember starting with "GOOD MORNING BOYS AND GIRLS!" in his big booming voice, and we replied "Good Morning Brother Mickey!" Bible School was in the morning in those days, and almost all the leaders were women, because the men were all at work. I always think of Brother Mickey when we sing "Onward Christian Soldiers" because we sang that after the pledge to the Christian flag. And "Wonderful Words of Life" followed the pledge to the Bible.
Years passed, and after I was married and had a child, I volunteered to help with Bible School at the Army Chapel in Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, Alaska. I don't remember much about it, except for the Worst. Craft. Ever. My friend Donna Miller and I were told to lead the children in making a cross out of sugar cubes and Elmer's glue. When I tried it at home, it seemed simple -- took about 3 minutes and I was worried about what we would do for the remainder of the craft period. As it turned out, that was not a problem. It was a disaster. Some ate part of the sugar cubes and didn't have enough to make the cross. Others used so much glue that the sugar dissolved. Since then I have never volunteered to help with crafts, especially if it involved sugar cubes!
Bible School today has a theme -- our is "Shipwrecked" and we teach the children that Jesus rescues us from our problems. The volunteers include many men and women who spend days making props.
We have screens and videos instead of flannel boards, and they serve an entire meal instead of the cookies and Kool-Aid we had back in my childhood. The songs are not the hymns and choruses I knew, but have a rap or rock beat, and lots of bouncing and dancing around. It is very different.
But the message is the same. Last night, the children heard the story of Jesus and the cross. They were given a strip of a black rag, and as they thought of things they had done wrong, they hung their cloth, like their sin, on the cross. Jesus still rescues us from our sin. 
I am so thankful for volunteers and parents who realize the importance of giving time during the summer to teach our children about Jesus. VBS experiences have stayed with me for all these years, and I hope that it will make a difference in these young lives.
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