VBS SHOP

Kids Ministry

Dedicated to helping Kids Ministry leaders in their mission of making disciples

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Backyard Kids Club (BKC) and a traditional Vacation Bible School (VBS) both aim to share the gospel with kids, but they differ in structure, location, and format. Here’s a breakdown of the key differences: 

1. Location & Setting 

  • Backyard Kids Club: Designed to be held outside of a church building—like in a backyard, neighborhood park, apartment complex, or community center. It’s more flexible and outreach focused. 
  • Traditional VBS: Typically held inside a church building with dedicated rooms and times for activities like crafts, Bible study, recreation, and snacks. 

2. Structure & Scale 

  • Backyard Kids Club: More condensed, with a simplified schedule. Usually, it lasts around 1.5–2 hours per session. 
  • Traditional VBS: A more immersive experience, typically running three hours daily for a full week. 

3. Team & Volunteers 

  • Backyard Kids Club: Requires fewer volunteers since it’s smaller in scale. A few families or a small group can host a Backyard VBS. 
  • Traditional VBS: Requires a larger team, including Bible study teachers, rotation leaders, worship leaders, and other volunteers. 

4. Reach & Audience 

  • Backyard Kids Club: Designed to reach kids who may not usually come to church, offering a localized, community-based approach. 
  • Traditional VBS: Welcomes the community into the church by engaging regular attenders and first-time guests alike. 

5. Curriculum & Content 

  • Backyard Kids Club: Uses a modified version of the same Lifeway VBS theme and Bible content, but streamlined for a smaller setting. It includes Bible stories, music, games, crafts, and snacks packaged in a more portable format. 
  • Traditional VBS: Uses the full version of the VBS curriculum with all elements like large-group worship rallies, extensive decorations, and more hands-on activities. 

6. Flexibility 

  • Backyard Kids Club: The unique flexibility of the Backyard Kids Club is that it can be presented in a variety of settings (including on the mission field), with budgets of all sizes, and smaller numbers of personnel. 

A Deeper Dive into the Backyard Kids Club  

Backyard Kids Club is designed for approximately 20 kids. You’ll need one Directors Guide for your church and then one Backyard Kids Club Kit (box) per BKC site. The kit includes all the basics needed to do a Backyard VBS: promotion instructions, snack ideas, folders for a children’s and a preschool Bible study each day, activities for crafts and music, recreation cards, music CDs (for both preschool and children), and a choreography DVD. You’ll notice that, unlike the traditional VBS materials, BKC does not include a missions rotation. 

Lifeway’s Backyard Kids Club includes six areas of responsibility: Team Leader (This would be your VBS Director role or host if doing VBS offsite), Snacks, Music/Worship Leader, Bible Study Leader (we would recommend recruiting two Bible study leaders, one for kids and one for preschool), Recreation Leader, and Crafts Leader. Each role in the BKC Kit has its own folder with simple teaching plans that are easy to follow and require little prep and supplies (since a typical use is outside). So, this could be done with a minimum of seven volunteers, remembering of course that you always want to have a minimum of two adults with children at all times for safety and accountability. A sample schedule is here (we recommend two hours): 

Interested in utilizing the Backyard Kids Club? Check it out here!

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