Brethren, I have a confession. Maybe it’s just me, maybe it’s a sign of immaturity, but I frequently will hear about something that “churches” are involved in or are doing. Some way that they are changing what they do, how they do, and my gut, knee-jerk reaction is, “they shoudn’t/can’t do that”. I would guess that for most of us who have gotten very comfortable with where we are, who we are, and how we are fall into a place where this becomes our default response.
Change is hard. Traditions are comfortable. Don’t rock the proverbial boat because this is our boat and we are all in it together, and no one wants to go for a swim. Some time ago, I had heard that conservative brethren to our south in Texas were engaging in Vacation Bible School/Study (depends on who you talk to). My initial reaction was, “the world does that, not a conservative church of Christ”. We must take care, lest, [Mar 7:7 NKJV] 7 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching [as] doctrines the commandments of men.’
Disbelief should give way to better concerns and questions. Is that scriptural? Is it edifying? Is it something that the church should be engaged in? Do they have authority from God’s word for
such things?
We were challenged with change and “different” back when COVID-19 hit and we were forced to change some elements of our worship service. How we performed them for the sake of one another’s health. As the men considered ways to protect each one and be more hygienic, we came to where we are today observing the Lord’s supper from pre-packaged containers. When some locally expressed difficulty with driving at night, we considered them and their needs and determined that we would change our meeting
time on Sunday night. These things represent change and represent those things which were weighed according to scripture and changed to suit the needs of the local congregation. Yet for many of us, these changes were initially difficult and even uncomfortable.
I raise these because I think it is easy maybe for us to dismiss a lot of things and say, “denominations do this or act like this”. Now, I’m not losing my mind, and I’m in no way advocating that we should adopt anything that the world around us is doing which is not scriptural and which might violate the good principles of authority. That well established by command, example or necessary inference.
One area in which we might struggle and have confusion then is that of “church camps” and “VBS”. Even the idea of “Sunday School” has been criticized locally in the past. Some have tried to charge that our age-appropriate Bible studies which we call “Bible Class” are not authorized. The church has a very important mission to preach and teach the Word of God (Ma 28:18-20). Does the New Testament then contain that which gives us authority to perform such studies and classes as the local church?
In short, there is no scriptural authority for one to build and maintain campgrounds, have staff and/or support Bible camps. The church doesn’t have authority to be involved in providing recreations and retreats, etc. Certainly we should recognize that this type of thing is not the work of a local church, nor should it be. You would find as much authority for the church to open a retail store, movie theater, or discount grocery club.
But is it wrong for Christians to send kids to camp? If individuals are staffing and maintaining and performing such a camp, there is nothing wrong with it. It exists in the realm of our liberty. As a
young person, I knew and experienced many Chrisan families camping for several days at Ft. Cobb lake where they would enjoy each other and the great outdoors, then the men would lead a singing and bring a word from the Bible in the evenings. This wasn’t a formal camp, but that which individuals took on. It was great fun and a HUGE encouragement for a young Christian.
What about VBS? Maybe instead of calling it “school” we would call it “study”, but at the end of the day, are we authorized? We should consider what we might do as part of such an effort. We are, after all, to be the “pillar and ground of the truth.” (1 Tim 3:15). We must make sure that such efforts are not simply daycare, and that we aren’t just entertaining or enjoying recreation.
There are a few ways to use the term “School” of a distinct organization, but we can also use it as a verb meaning to “train or discipline (someone) in a particular skill or activity” (New Oxford Dictionary).
In as much as we have authority for gospel meetings and Bible classes, we have authority to train the young by focusing on their spiritual training and making time for such. Consider (1 Cor 14:26 2 Tim 2:2). Weigh everything by the measure of God’s Word. One must be discerning and establish all things by the Word of God.