Vacation Bible School Archives - Page 3 of 9

CentriKid, Evangelism, Events, Kids Ministry, kids101, Podcasts, Preteen, Vacation Bible School

November 13, 2015

The Importance of the Mountain Top Experience

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Most followers of Jesus begin their journey during or following a “mountain-top” experience. Many believers are reminded of the essence of their journey when they have one. Most of the people in scripture, including Jesus, had unique experiences when they “went away” and spent time with the Lord.

Why wouldn’t every KidMin leader want to provide these catalytic opportunities for kids?

Jeremy Echols engages in a compelling conversation into why mountain-top experiences should be a regular part of the the rhythm of every healthy kids ministry.

Key points from this insightful podcast:

The nature and importance of a “mountain-top” experience
The positive impact on leaders while they lead kids at camp and VBS
A Brief overview of CentriKid camps, VBS events, and ETCH.

If you are interesting in these amazing events for kids and leaders, you can click on one of the links above.

In 2016, we will be launching the ETCH Conference, a great new opportunity for leaders and volunteers in all areas of children’s ministry. You can bring the entire church family ministry team or come on your own. In either case, it will be a great mountain-top experience for you!

JE (@coachechols) leads the @centrikid camps and events team for LifeWay Kids. He met his wife Emily working summer camp, they serve in the kids area on Sunday’s at church, and they are blessed with their daughter #BabyMadison who was born in 2011.

Evangelism, Events, Podcasts, Uncategorized, Vacation Bible School

October 22, 2015

How to Maintain VBS Energy Throughout the Year

By Kids Ministry 101

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We hype it! We prep for it! Thousands of work-hours are put into it. Some begin planning the next as soon as the last is over. In fact, this blog was posted in the Fall!

Why? Because we know that many church leaders are already gearing up for the excitement of VBS for next summer. VBS is not only one of the most effective tools for evangelizing children, but it has energy that can be harnessed and extended throughout the year.

We don’t use the term “expert” lightly here. This podcast features Jerry Wooley, an expert that we believe is one of the most well-versed individuals in VBS. If there were a PhD in VBS, Jerry has earned it! Listen to his insight and, even if your church doesn’t do VBS, consider that it might actually be a strong option for your summer schedule.

Here’s what you’ll hear today:

How to prep for VBS so that it doesn’t stress you out
How to follow up VBS to get families plugged into your church
Tips for developing a VBS calendar
Ideas to get people excited early and keep them excited after

Check out LifeWay Kids’ VBS SUBMERGED™ for 2016 on our interactive site. It’s amazing!

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 you about VBS. Jerry loves the local church and serves as a 1st-3rd Grade Teacher at Creekside Fellowship in Castalian Springs, Tennessee.

Evangelism, Events, Fun, Kids Ministry, Leadership, Small Groups, Vacation Bible School

September 25, 2015

How Do You Measure Ministry Success?

By Jeff Land

For some reason this year, as my Facebook feed filled with posts from kidmin friends about VBS, I began noticing a common trend. It seemed that everyone was focused on the numbers. Post after post touted record breaking numbers. Kids coming in droves. Don’t get me wrong, lots of kids at your VBS is amazing, but is it most important? Are “enrollment” and “daily attendance” more important than the fact that kids came to church and heard the word of God taught?

As I traveled this summer, I met a kids ministry leader and I talked briefly with her about VBS. She said her church quit doing VBS because it was so expensive and not enough kids came. She said “we want to spend our money on helping the kids have fun.” Her words stung in my head, as I reflected on my observation of my friends’ facebook posts about VBS.

Sometimes I wonder if we, as church leaders, have become too consumed with number reporting and not concerned enough with life transformation. I’m certainly writing this post directly to me as I am definitely guilty of the “how many can we get” mentality. I teach in the preteen VBX area and this year, I was thinking, “I wonder how we can get more kids tomorrow.” I tended to focus on that more than I did the, “Wow, this lesson is awesome. This will change kids’ lives’ aspect.”

Toward the end of the summer, I helped a neighbor with a backyard Bible club. Despite signs, fliers, and facebook messages, we had a smaller number of kids. It would have been easy to get disappointed, but I didn’t. I loved the smaller crowd. I loved getting to know the kids. I loved knowing this was some of the kids’ first time to hear a Bible lesson. I loved that it provided connections with parents who have contacted me since then to ask for prayer. I chose to focus on the quality and not the quantity. How do you see the quality in what you do? I hope I can always remember to choose quality, not just quantity.

Jeff Land loves life! That’s pretty great, because his job here at LifeWay is the Team Leader for Bible Studies for Life: Kids. Jeff loves his life which is so blessed by his amazing wife, Abbey, and their four sons, Reed, Nash, Will, and Tuck. A natural encourager and fun-lover, look for Jeff’s posts about teacher appreciation and game ideas. When not serving at work, Jeff serves 2nd graders at his church, First Baptist Church, Joelton, TN.

Encouragement, Evangelism, Events, Fun, Kids Ministry, Vacation Bible School

October 24, 2014

Calling All VBS Amateurs, Professionals, and Everyone in Between

By Jeremy Echols

Have you heard of VBS Preview events? There is no better way to equip yourself and your team to run 2015 VBS than by attending one of these events. Here’s what you can expect:

VBS Preview Events are 50% information (how tos), 50% motivation (why tos), and 100% inspiration!

Get informed! Our goal is to get you and your team started on your VBS “Journey Off the Map” by providing brief, technical “how tos” for your specific VBS assignment (i.e. how to enlist workers, how to teach first graders, how to make a craft applicable to the daily Bible lesson, how to build a worship rally stage set).

Get motivated! You are more likely to take your VBS responsibilities to new levels of commitment, expertise, and creativity if you understand and embrace why we do what we do before, during, and after VBS. For example, VBS leaders typically become much more evangelistic once they realize the great opportunity VBS provides to connect not only with unchurched kids but with their parents as well. Embracing the “why tos” of VBS stirs our passion to take our VBS beyond what we have done in the past and challenges us to reach more, teach more, and evangelize more.

Get inspired! VBS leaders are often the men and women who are heavily invested in the mission and ministry of their churches. They are often the people who are at church every time the door is open. They are often the people who spend so much time feeding others that they have little opportunity to be fed themselves. Previews are a lot more than enthusiasm about a VBS theme and curriculum. VBS Previews are about the needs of the individuals attending. Quite often their greatest need is time away from the everyday to reconnect with the voice and heart of God. That’s why we strive to make the main sessions a time of worship and inspiration. We want our guests to leave excited about VBS 2015 Journey Off the Map, but more importantly, we want our guests to leave excited about their relationship with Jesus Christ and the mission to which he has called them.

Last Chance for Early-Bird Pricing for VBS Previews! Early Bird pricing for VBS Preview Events will end this month, so book your spaces for VBS before November 1st. You can reserve space as an individual or as a church group. Register online and find all the accommodation details.

Evangelism, Missions, Vacation Bible School

September 10, 2014

6 Steps for Turning the Unchurched into the Churched

By Jerry Wooley

As kidmin leaders, we spend a lot of time and resources trying to find and attract unchurched families through VBS, carnivals, egg hunts, and countless other “y’all come” events. We often rush to the conclusion of one event just so we can get on with the next. Without realizing it, we have jumped on a hamster wheel of prospect gathering that never slows yet produces few results.

What if we stopped spinning long enough to take a good look at the prospects already discovered through this summer’s VBS?

Statistics tell us 10% of the people who attend VBS are not connected to a church. On average, that’s 10 people (mostly kids) per church, but when family members are added to the equation the number of prospects discovered grows to 35! Now that’s something to celebrate!

However, statistics also tell us we establish ongoing relationships with only 1% of the unchurched who participate in VBS. We have successfully found and attracted unchurched families, but we didn’t keep them.

So what’s the problem?

The biggest issue seems to be the lack of an intentional plan to build upon the relationships begun during VBS. While we planned how to find prospects, we haven’t planned how we will keep them.

Here are six steps that help us go beyond finders to become keepers.

Step 1: Create a follow-up plan that focuses on building intentional relationships not just assimilating information about the church.

Step 2: Intentionally connect with the entire family, not just the kids. Don’t become so focused on the kids you ignore the parents.

Step 3: Train volunteers to be connectors (relationship initiators) instead of greeters. Greeters welcome guests then leave them on their own. Connectors welcome guests and make sure they are connected to others.

Step 4: Work with ministry leaders to connect parents with church members through ongoing ministries such as women’s and men’s Bible studies and support groups.

Step 5: Work with adult ministry leaders to create connection opportunities such as a new Sunday morning Bible study group for unchurched parents to connect with each other.

Step 6: Stay focused on working to keep the unchurched families you have already found.

Encouragement, Vacation Bible School

June 17, 2014

5 Things I Learned While Teaching VBS

By Jeff Land

I love teaching kids. I recently saw a post of a friend on Facebook where she wrote, “Tonight I GET to teach mission friends and I even GET to help take care of babies during the service. I don’t HAVE to, I GET to.”

That really made an impression on me as I was getting ready to teach VBS for the week. I have GOTTEN to teach VBS almost every year for many years, but sometimes I think I look at it more as a “have to” than a “get to.” This year, I tried to focus on the “get to.”

Here are some things that I learned while teaching VBS:

1. Kids have a need to learn about the Bible.

It’s probably won’t surprise you to learn that I taught “Agency D3” this year and I loved watching the eyes of my preteens as you could see them learning about the importance of defending their beliefs and learning how the Bible is really true.

2. VBS kids are from all backgrounds.

Our church has a great outreach area for VBS and so kids come from all walks of life. Each child that comes to VBS truly needs something. Many times its a physical need that must be met before we can begin to speak to their spiritual needs. I loved seeing one of my VBS co-workers giving a sixth grade girl her first Bible and seeing the glow that came across her face.

3. Balancing the “homegrown kids” with the “visiting kids” can be difficult.

VBS is a great time to build relationships with the kids in your church, but you can’t forget to build relationships with those kids who might not ever come again. I want every kid who has been in my class to have a positive memory of their time in VBS.

4. You’ve got to have fun.

Kids learn a ton during VBS, but I notice that they never come to VBS asking, “What are we going to learn?” They come to VBS each day asking, “What are we going to make in crafts? What’s for snack? What are we going to do during rec?” Many kids will come for the fun, but will leave with their lives sealed for eternity.

5. Preparation goes a long way.

I taught with amazing teachers who were all dedicated to giving it their best. Because we all prepared and were ready, the kids got a great experience and we had very few (if any) disciplinary issues. Being prepared can help you avoid many behavioral issues.

Jeff Land loves Life! That’s pretty great, because his job here at LifeWay is the Team Leader forBible Studies for Life: Kids. Jeff loves his life which is so blessed by his amazing wife, Abbey, and their four sons, Reed, Nash, Will, and Tuck. A natural encourager and fun-lover, look for Jeff’s posts about teacher appreciation and game ideas. When not serving at work, Jeff serves 2nd graders at his church, First Baptist Church, Joelton, TN.

CentriKid, Kids Ministry, Vacation Bible School

May 27, 2014

Why Wouldn’t You Do This? (Part 2)

By Jeffrey Reed

Most folks know that the soil of the human heart is most fertile when a person is, well, a kid. Even before I responded to God’s call on my life to serve in children’s ministry, I always felt like churches should pour twice as many resources and energy into kids ministry. (Have you read Part 1 of this post?)

But what about “mountain-top” experiences for kids? What about those VBS events? What about camp? Despite the work involved, are they REALLY worth it?

You bet!

All you have to do is peruse virtually every segment of Scripture and see that God takes people out of the “normal” flow and churn of life to someplace that is “remote.” Moses literally experienced transformation on the mountain-top. Many scholars believe that Moses’ experience is the origin of the phrase “mountain-top experience.”

Jesus demonstrated (regularly) that getting away from the crowd and spending that one-on-one time with God is critical.

I gave my life to Jesus Christ at a camp in the mountains of North Carolina. There is something about taking kids away so that they can experience something that is far-removed from their “normal” ebb and flow. Camp is a great place to meet the Creator. VBS is another chance to take kids away from the “regular stuff” and give them great mountain-top experiences. They are so worth it! Yes, it’s hard to get volunteers. Yes, its possible for our “out-reach” events to become “in-reach” events, but they are worth it.

Mountain-top experiences provide the perfect container for the soil of a kids heart.

Here are three cautions.

First, don’t allow mountain-top experiences to be the ONLY place where dynamic life-change takes place. You should put equal energy into your week-to-week ministries. You should consistently present the gospel. Don’t wait until your curriculum tells you to. In fact, if your curriculum doesn’t tell you to on a regular basis, you should change curriculum.

Second, engage the family in the journey. Mountain-tops are designed to launch. It’s the beginning of a journey. It’s not THE journey. Make sure that every kid’s family is on that journey with them.

Finally, mix up those experiences from year to year. Try different locations. Try doing VBS at night or on the weekend or over Spring or Fall break.

Water and feed well!

Have you read: Why Wouldn’t You Do This? (Part 1)?

Jeffrey Reed serves as the Director of Kids Ministry for LifeWay. 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. Jeffrey’s posts will give your heart and brain a workout, just like the fitness Boot Camp he leads in the mornings for LifeWay employees. Jeffrey and his wife Katherine have four kids.

Kids Ministry, Vacation Bible School

May 21, 2014

It’s Time to Reimagine VBS Follow-up

By Jerry Wooley

With the first days of Vacation Bible School just around the corner it’s time – actually past time – to start making plans to continue the connections begun with unchurched families during VBS.

You might assume I’m referring to follow-up (an action or series of actions), and on some level you would be correct. But continuing the connection is much more than an action. It’s a philosophy of why we conduct VBS in the first place. It’s a change from believing VBS is an end in itself, to believing VBS is just the beginning – the launch pad for future evangelistic opportunities.

Simply put, approximately 300,000 unchurched individuals attend VBS each year. During VBS we have a great opportunity to share the Gospel, resulting in approximately 80,000 professions of faith. This is a phenomenal number for one week of ministry, but what might the number of professions of faith be if we truly became intentional about building on the relationships (continuing the connections) begun during the week?

Each of the 300,000 unchurched individuals are connected to family members who did not attend VBS, yet we have their names and contact information on the registration form. When parents and other siblings are added in, we have discovered 1,000,000 (that’s one million) unchurched individuals who are at least interested enough in a relationship with a church to allow the kids to attend VBS.

Continued connections are required to reach the 1,000,000 and to disciple the 80,000 making professions of faith. This is bigger than a postcard or even a single home visit. What is required here is the mindset that says our work is not done until every person discovered through VBS is connected with the Gospel and connected with the church. We know that more people become active in the life of a church through relationships than for any other reason. VBS is not a relationship, but it is the catalyst for relationships.

Actions are required, but more importantly relationships are required. It’s time to start making plans – not for follow-up actions but for relationships!

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 you about VBS. Jerry loves the local church and serves in various roles (including VBS teacher extraordinaire) at Inglewood Baptist Church.

CentriKid, Vacation Bible School

May 9, 2014

How Are You Promoting Your Summer Activities?

By Jeremy Echols

What are you doing to help kids get excited about this summer? With VBS and camps fast approaching, many churches are in full-swing sharing their promotion materials to make sure parents know the dates and kids are signed up. How will you draw kids in from your community to be a part of camp or VBS this year?

Check out this highway billboard for a church’s Agency D3 VBS.

One CentriKid church used an old-school Atari that goes along with the 8-bit video game theme “Reset: God Redeems!” to help kids get excited about signing up for camp. We’ve seen customized signs, great costumes, and other exciting ideas in the past.

Show off your promotion strategies for camp and VBS by posting a photo on the CentriKid or VBS Facebook page. We would love to see all the different ways that churches are promoting camp and VBS.

Summer ministry is going to be great!

Jeremy Echols (@coachechols) leads the @centrikid team, finds new camp locations, plans training, and lots of other projects. He met his wife Emily working camp, and their daughter #BabyMadison was born in 2011.

Training, Vacation Bible School

April 21, 2014

Are You Reaching Unchurched Kids through VBS?

By Jeffrey Reed

Why did Jesus come? He tells us in Luke 19:10. It’s pretty clear. Jesus came to “seek and save the lost.”

If we are his representatives here on Earth, then our purpose is to help Him fulfill that goal. He commissions us in Matthew 28:16-20 to do just that.

Is your purpose for VBS clear? Check out a brief history of VBS: About LifeWay Vacation Bible School.

I was a “lost” kid. I didn’t give my life to Christ until I was 17. Were churches “seeking” me out? Did churches really want to be used by God to “save” me? I walked across the lawns of three or four churches almost every day. I’m pretty sure that they did VBS. I rarely felt invited.

They were probably great “in-reach” events for those churches. There is definitely a value in that. Building community is important.

However, as the season of VBS approaches, don’t forget THE purpose. Don’t forget that there are lost, un-churched kids walking across your property almost every day. Sure, they are usually a “handful.” Sure, their parents might even use the different VBSs in your community as childcare. But those kids still need the hope that only Christ can give. Don’t punish kids because of bad parents.

Go and SEEK them out. INVITE them in. CHANGE their hearts and lives forever. Be Jesus to them.