Youngchurch:

Making a splash at Bible school

Here's how some youth spend their summer vacations

With summer vacation comes Bible school. Here's a look at some innovative programs.

Messiah Lutheran Church, Mifflintown, Pa., shares Bible school duties with St. Jude Roman Catholic Church. The school's special features include a welcome breakfast on the first morning of classes, a Sunday morning program at the end of Bible school and a "Farewell Splash Party" at the community pool.

Bible school is a shared affair at Granite Falls [Minn.] Lutheran Church too. Coordinators from Granite Falls, United Church of Christ and St. Andrew Roman Catholic Church first meet to develop the program.

Each church hosts a different age group and provides snacks and crafts. Music and storytelling volunteers travel from church to church.

At Faith Lutheran Church, New Effington, S.D., youth went "On-line with God." They visited Lutheran Web sites, sent and received e-mail prayers, and shared their thoughts about prayer with people in their hometown and other states.

Zacchaeus was a big hit at Calvary Lutheran Church, Woodbine, Md., where he told his life story from up a tree.

The high school class was a hit too. During Bible school they made baptismal banners, cooked a meal for an ill member, created Bible games and weeded flower beds.