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Over the course of this summer, many churches will be hosting VBS, or Vacation Bible School, at their church. It’s an incredible outreach event, but what is the next step after the last kid has gone home for the week? Melita Thomas, joins the podcast this week to share encouragement and 5 tips for follow-up after a week of VBS.
I’m thrilled to share new insights about VBS coming out of a brand new study from LifeWay Research, commissioned by our Kids Ministry team. When we set out to conduct the study, we wanted our researchers to uncover how the general American population remembers VBS growing up and how those memories affect them now in their own parenting journey.
The results were even better than we thought! Not only do most Americans recall going to VBS—they have positive memories of their experience! You may be thinking, “well, that was then and this is now—VBS has served its purpose, let’s move on.” Hold that thought. It turns out, the positive memories from the majority of Americans who attended VBS growing up translate into them wanting their own children to experience it—now.
Kidmin leaders and VBS directors should be encouraged that 69% of American parents say they would let their child attend VBS with a friend if invited—this includes parents who do not go to church. The tried and true strategy of “invite a friend to VBS!” still works. How can we equip our church family to invite friends to VBS? Here are three ideas:
The LifeWay Kids team will be sharing more about this extensive research in the coming weeks and months. This is only the first sneak peek and the results are looking good, friends. VBS is truly still worth it!
To see the first round of research, check out this article from Facts and Trends magazine.
Jana Magruder serves as the Director of LifeWay Kids. She is a Baylor graduate and offers a wealth of experience and passion for kids ministry, education, and publishing. She is the author of Kids Ministry that Nourishes and Life Verse Creative Journal, which she co-authored with her teenage daughter. She and her husband, Michael, along with their three children reside in Nashville.
Recruiting VBS volunteers is a challenge but the rewards are worth it.
For many churches, Vacation Bible School is one of the most important and exciting times of the year. It’s when many children hear the gospel and commit their lives to Christ. And in most congregations, it takes an army of volunteers.
Recruiting them is no small task. Sometimes it’s a struggle to find enough volunteers to work with children on a normal week—and that’s asking people to help for only an hour or two.
For VBS, volunteers often have to give up a week of their time. VBS usually takes place in the summer, conflicting with vacations and summer activities. And more volunteers are needed—as many as three times the number needed for a regular week.
Despite all those issues, it’s worth doing. It’s worth it for the kids and families who will hear the gospel, and it’s worth it for the church family to serve alongside one another for the greater purpose of kingdom expansion.
Vacation Bible School and other large-scale events can be a great opportunity for an all-hands-on-deck mentality that can strengthen entire congregations, with multiple generations playing a role. Here are some ideas to consider when recruiting, training, and rewarding those who choose to say yes to serving.
Begin with the “why.” Tell your church why VBS matters. It’s not about entertaining kids for a week. It’s not about silly songs and games, even though they’re fun.
It’s about creating an intentional time and space for kids of all ages to hear the gospel, learn Scripture, and tell their friends about Jesus. Most pastors agree VBS is the most evangelistic program a church can offer to communities. Churched and unchurched kids get a full week of diving into God’s Word.
Is it a lot of work to put on? Yes. Do we need everyone’s help to accomplish this? Yes. Is it worth it? Absolutely.
Create a systematic way for people to sign up to serve. After the vision for VBS has been presented, be ready for what’s next.
Some churches devote multiple Sundays to enlistment, decorating tables with VBS promotional items in heavy foot traffic areas. Friendly faces greet people and ask if they would like to sign up.
Other churches have online sign-ups with emails going out for the call to action. Electronic applications can be used to capture information. Some churches use both methods.
Many people assume serving in VBS means they have to teach kids. Not everyone feels equipped to teach, and that’s OK. There are many ways to serve in VBS.
Be sure to present all the roles—snack coordinators and servers, set builders and decoration installers, greeters, worship leaders, registration helpers, T-shirt organizers, and the list goes on. Everyone has a way to use their gifts during VBS.
Once you have enlistment complete—or even partially complete—get folks excited by throwing a party. This helps potential and committed volunteers feel more connected to the upcoming event. More specific training can come later for certain groups, like those who will teach.
Get creative and serve the snacks that will be served during VBS, decorate with theme-related décor, play some of the games, and engage with the crafts. Most importantly, talk about the Bible content and how exciting it is to share this with the kids who will come to VBS.
Close by praying for the week, asking God to work in the hearts of those who attend, and to do great things in the life of your church.
Let potential volunteers know they will be cared for: create a hospitality team with the task of serving VBS volunteers. Encourage this team to provide food, daily notes of encouragement and, if possible, a space to take quick breaks during the event.
This strategy allows another group of people to use their gifts while helping those who are working feel blessed and refreshed.
When VBS is over, the most important way to thank your volunteers is to celebrate what God has done.
After the last bit of glue has been scrubbed from tables and the worship pastor finally has the stage free from extra props and scenery, don’t forget to give thanks for the gospel being displayed and shared, for God’s name being made known, and for the work He accomplished in the lives of those who served.
Once volunteers see what happens when everyone rolls up their sleeves and serves alongside one another for the gospel to be shared, this joy can overflow into the next season of recruitment.
Jana Magruder serves as the Director of LifeWay Kids. She is a Baylor graduate and offers a wealth of experience and passion for kids ministry, education, and publishing. She is the author of Kids Ministry that Nourishes and Life Verse Creative Journal, which she co-authored with her teenage daughter. She and her husband, Michael, along with their three children reside in Nashville.
VBS is almost here! For many churches, VBS is only weeks away. By now most of “the big stuff” is done and checked off the list—things like purchasing curriculum, enlisting volunteers, training teachers, promoting within the community, and opening registration. But now it’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty details. These extra touches often are the difference between a smooth launch and a rocky start to VBS. To help with your last minute preparations, here’s a checklist organized by specific areas within your VBS. Don’t try to tackle all of these alone. Delegate responsibility for each area to a different person or team. After all, VBS is a team effort!
Registration Area
First-aid Station
Bible Study and Rotation Rooms
Resource Rooms
What else is on your list? Comment below to share your ideas with others.
Melita Thomas serves as LifeWay’s VBS and Kids Ministry Specialist. For the past 14 years she has also been an editor of LifeWay’s VBS resources. Melita holds a masters degree in Childhood Ministry from Dallas Baptist University. A passionate advocate for kids ministry in the local church, Melita enjoys teaching kindergartners and preteens at Nashville First Baptist Church.
Ever wonder if you should still plan a VBS for your church and community? Let’s be honest, it takes a lot of time, resources, and energy to put on a week of Vacation Bible School, Bible Camp, Bible Adventure—or whatever your church calls it! Some leaders debate if it’s worth it for a couple of reasons—“we’re just reaching our church kids” or “parents hop around from church to church to get free childcare.” I get the frustrations behind these reasons, but I want to challenge and encourage you to broaden your vision when it comes VBS.
VBS is not just for kids: we all know that preparing and producing a VBS of any size takes an “all hands on deck” mentality from the church. This is a time for parents, empty nesters, teens, college kids, and senior citizens to lock arms and go all in for the purpose of sharing the gospel in a fun and impactful way. Therefore, parents should be exposed to all the biblical content their child will be hearing which will help them have engaging conversations at home. You are equipping them without them even knowing!
VBS is a place for families: Even if parents are not volunteering due to work schedules or other reasons, VBS should still offer something for parents to be engaged in either daily or sometime during the week. It may be a kickoff “party” where the Pastor gives the heart behind VBS being about sharing the gospel or it may be a family worship night where parents get to worship with their kids. Corporate worship is so important in the life of the family because kids need to see Mom singing and Dad reading the Bible, all while sitting together and hearing a message about what was learned at VBS.
VBS is a launching pad: Families who experience VBS together should leave with a refreshed heart to live on mission together. Your goal as a kids leader should be to challenge them to live on mission in their neighborhoods, schools, and sports teams. Provide tools for them to share their faith and remind them that Jesus calls ALL of us to “go make disciples.”
If you broaden your vision to reaching families, not only kids, VBS can be seen in a totally new light. Vacation Bible School is for kids of all ages, their families, the local church congregation, and the community it serves. If all of these groups are engaged, and VBS is used to its fullest potential then it will surely have ripples of faith that last to eternity.
Jana Magruder serves as the Director of LifeWay Kids. She is a Baylor graduate and offers a wealth of experience and passion for kids ministry, education, and publishing. She is the author of Kids Ministry that Nourishes and Life Verse Creative Journal, which she co-authored with her teenage daughter. She and her husband, Michael, along with their three children reside in Nashville.
My alarm disturbed the silence at 5:00 AM on Monday and my cheerful wife said, “Ready to go teach children about Jesus in Vacation Bible School?” Regretfully, at that moment I didn’t feel ready to teach anyone. I admit that few things stress me as much as preparing to teach VBS. I don’t know why. I love Jesus. I love kids. I love to teach kids the Bible.
I think it may be the unknown. I don’t know how many kids will be in my Bible study group. I don’t know if the decorations in my classroom are still on the wall or if they are hanging by one piece of tape, ready to fall on a child’s head like a parachute.
I experienced this rubbing-my-bald-head-until-it-turns-red stress twice this summer. I taught VBS at my established church in the mid-south and at a church plant on the west coast. Teaching in these two very different environments taught me three things.
The fact that context plays a vital role in decorations, direction of content, and decorum may seem obvious. Irrespective of the context, kids can learn about Jesus anywhere. However, all the unknown variables can usher in stress unless we fully trust God. Regardless of how much time we prepare, how many decorations are on the wall and hanging from the ceiling, or how many kids show up, God is in control. Always.
Landry Holmes leads LifeWay’s Kids Ministry Publishing Team and is a kidmin volunteer at his church. He is a husband, dad, father-in-law, and dog person.
Looked at your calendar lately? Of course you have. And what you discovered is summer— less than two months away—sort of sneaked up on you. I feel a knot developing in my stomach just thinking about it.
With so much to do, and so little time to do it, you might be tempted to throw your hands up and declare it is just too late to pull off VBS this year. You could jump in with both feet and let instincts determine hasty actions. Or, you could take a moment to finish reading this post.
What you need is step-by-step actions to guide you through the process, while at the same time challenging you to give thought to why you are doing what you are doing.
LifeWay’s Administrative Guide for Directors is designed to make VBS planning thought provoking as well as easy using Six Simple Steps. Here’s the steps with some of my own ideas to help you make 2016 your best VBS ever.
Know Your Purpose and Theme
State Planning
Enlist & Train Workers
Promote & Publicize
Register Participants
Continue the Connection
Can you pull off a great VBS in two months? Sure you can, and thinking through and putting purpose to why you do what you do, you can make 2016 your best VBS ever.
Jerry Wooley is the VBS GUY! He serves as the Vacation Bible School Specialist for LifeWay. Don’t expect to talk with Jerry for too long without him asking about VBS. Jerry loves the local church and serves as a 1st-3rd grade Bible study teacher his church.
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VBS is a milestone event in a kids life. We also know from research, that VBS is the #1 evangelistic outreach tool in churches today. Anyone that has helped to lead, plan, and execute a VBS event knows that there is a ton of work involved to pull it off. With all of that work, it’s extremely easy to get caught up in the details, to put more emphasis on the things that have a tendency to distract us from the main goal of introducing kids to life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ. So how can we maintain a level of excellence in our execution of VBS, while keeping evangelism at the center of what we do? In this episode, Melita Thomas, a member of our VBS team, joins us to talk about this delicate balance.
Melita Thomas serves as a Content Editor for LifeWay’s VBS and Zip for Kids resources. Melita holds a masters degree in Christian Education/Childhood Ministry which accompanies her passion and expertise as a leader in kids ministry—both in her role at LifeWay Kids and in the local church. Melita is a member of First Baptist Nashville, where she enjoys teaching kindergartners and preteens.
We can’t offer the perfect environment to the kids we lead. We can’t be perfect teachers. After all, we aren’t perfect. The kids are cute, but they’re 
definitely not perfect. Our buildings aren’t perfect. However, we can get very close to a perfect scenario in what we offer. We CAN offer them expertly crafted lessons; sessions, in the framework of a wise-plan of discipleship.
Here are five things that can give you the best possible scenario for teaching kids.
1) The Plan is strong. There is a framework of lessons, often called “scope and sequence,” that has an intentional journey through scripture. Maybe that journey is a cycle through key Bible stories. Maybe it’s a chronological trip through the Bible. Maybe it’s a book-by-book scope. Perhaps it focuses on key Biblical truths. Whatever the case, you should be able to step back and look at your curriculum and say, “That makes sense.” It helps greatly when the key monthly or quarterly truths can be pulled straight from scripture and point kids to God, not themselves.
2) Experts craft it. The lessons and scripts are crafted by vetted experts. Ideally, you want to use a curriculum that has been run through the “ringer” for theological strength, relevance to kids, and educational gauges: Seminary PhDs, KidMin leaders, Parents, Educational experts, Developmental experts. All good.
3) Christ-centered lessons. The language of the lessons would compel a child (and leader) to consider the attributes of God (i.e. his holiness, righteousness, mercy, grace, etc). These are the key components of God’s nature that allow Him to work in and through us. Does the lesson challenge a kid to “Go out and do this because this Bible character did it.” or to “Do this because of who God is?” There is a huge difference and it shapes a child’s theology.
4) The Church partners families to Jesus. You treat the classroom as an extension for what happens at home. This won’t always be the case, but you want your language to reflect the expectation that the church has in that it wants parents to be the primary spiritual source in their kids’ lives.
5) Leaders are well-trained. Every volunteer and teacher knows the plan and how each lesson fits into it.
1-3 above have everything to do with your curriculum. 4-5 have more to do with weekly strategy and will require constant work.
Choose your curriculum wisely and strategize how to imprint God’s Word into the life of your kids and families. This gives you the greatest chance for success.
Jeffrey Reed (@jeffreymreed) serves as a Kids Ministry Specialist for LifeWay Kids. He came to LifeWay with a wide variety of ministry experiences including worship leader, director of children’s ministry, and executive leadership in several growing congregations. He, his wife Katherine, and their four kids live in Spring Hill, Tennessee and serve on the staff of The Church at Spring Hill.
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VBS. It’s making a comeback. Churches are realizing that, when good follow-up is executed, VBS is a powerful outreach tool. It can bring families into the church and is a great platform for sharing the gospel with kids. So, the question is, “Is it worth going through the effort of producing your own or is it better to go with a resource that comes complete with curriculum, music, videos, etc.?”
In this podcast, we’ll sit down with a VBS expert who will take a glance at what is required to put on a VBS as well as the choices that a KidMin leader has. You’ll get a glimpse into…
It’s right around the corner. Before you consider what you are doing with your kids this summer, listen to this podcast … and check out our VBS and Zip for Kids while you’re at it.
Melita Thomas serves as a Content Editor for LifeWay’s VBS and Zip for Kids resources. Melita holds a masters degree in Christian Education/Childhood Ministry which accompanies her passion and expertise as a leader in kids ministry—both in her role at LifeWay Kids and in the local church. Melita is a member of First Baptist Nashville, where she enjoys teaching kindergartners and preteens.
