ORTHODOX VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL

A child grows spiritually when more of Jesus is being expressed in and through him. To help a child to have a transcendent relationship with God, we need to plant the seeds which when fully grown gives bloom to spiritual fruit in the lives of child.Orthodox Vacation Bible School (OVBS) is one such program organized by Sunday School Association (OSSAE)of Malankara Orthodox Church with the motive to help a child grow in Christ. OVBS is structured as an education outreach program based on The Holy Bible and gives great emphasis on Jesus Christ. OVBS is a week-long extravaganza of fun and learning where the participants are engaged with teaching and a lot of other activities. It creatively combines learning about God with scriptures, saints, feast, prayers and worship. It includes classroom lessons and discussions, memorising verses, upbeat songs/hymns (liturgical or non- liturgical), orthodox worship/prayers, arts and crafts, recreation and more.Thus, it focuses on deepening the knowledge and experience of the Orthodox faith and embraces the teachings and traditions of Orthodox Christianity which in turn becomes a central organising principle of a child’s spiritual growth in his life.

Since 1957 classes based on Holy Bible were conducted in different parts of the church. In a general meeting held on May 1st 1977 conducted by Orthodox Sunday School Association, the duty to conduct OVBS was given to OSSAE. According to the Kalpana 138/77 issued by His Holiness Baselious Marthoma Mathews 1,OVBS became a part of Malankara Orthodox Sunday School Association and it became extensively at the church level.Since then it is being organised every year by the OSSAE with the help of an OVBS committee which is being recommended by the OSSAE Executive committee and commissioned by the President Thirumeni.During the early days OVBS didn’t have its own books and in 1979 OVBS published its first song book and gradually increased the making of learning materials.From 1983 onwards OVBS is capable of providing all the required learning materials by itself.OVBS has a separate syllabus to follow and is being revised whenever felt necessary.OSSAE publish separate text books, devotional materials, song books and cassettes for the OVBS every year.

1) To help children accept the faith which was confessed during baptism and to develop a fellowship with Jesus Christ. It also aims at making children understand about the importance of becoming an inspiration to the world by setting an example by following Jesus Christ. 

2) To guide children, participate in the church activities and to equip children with the qualities needed to take a leading role in the Sunday school; moreover to help child grow beneficial to the God, church, society and family. 

3) To enlighten children with the knowledge that learning Bible and memorising its verses will help them to take right steps in their lives.

 4) To help in the development of a child’s personality.

 5) To make them a responsible citizen of the country by instilling values based on Bible so that they could rationally interfere and raise their voice against social evils. 

6) To make children understand that even for someone without a divine nature could replicate holiness by contemplating and following the lives of saints who lived and became examples and inspiration to the world with their prominent virtues in their lives. 

7) To inculcate interest in children to preach gospel to the world.

At present OVBS has seven different classes, Seeds, Roots, Buds, Leaves, Branches, Flowers and Fruits. Children are allocated to each class according to their age 

 Class                     Age 

Seeds                Less than 5 

Roots                5 and 6 

Buds                7 and 8

Leaves                9 and 10 

Branches        11 and 12 

Flowers               13 and 14

 Fruits             Above 15

• OVBS classes are scheduled for 8 days including an inaugural day, concluding day and 6 days classes.  
• Every year OVBS has different themes to meditate.
• The songs and chapters are designed according to each year’s thought.  
• There will be 6 different topics for 6 days. 
• In every class ranging from seeds to fruits, the same topic will be dealt in a day.
• The only difference is that the depth of the topic will be according to each class learning capacity.  
• There will not be any examinations in OVBS.  
• Any child according to his/her age will be admitted to the class.
• But certificate will be awarded only if the child attends the whole sessions.
•   Teachers should come to class prepared using the teacher’s manual book

Time                   Topics

 8.00 - 8.15       -   Teachers meditation, prayer 

8.15 - 8.30     -    Assembly 

8.30 - 8.45     -   Meditation, beginning prayer

8.45 - 9.00     -   Meditation on each days topic 

9.00 - 9.35     -   Class 1

9.35 - 9.45        -  Refreshment

9.45 - 10.20     -  Class 2 

10.20 - 10.50   - Learning Song

10.50 - 11.40   - Quiz, Games, Talent Show

11.40 - 11.50   - Evaluation 

11.50 - 12.05   - Recap

 12.05 - 12.15  - Ending Prayer 

12.15 - 12.30   - Teachers Meeting After 1.30 PM children could go for activities