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Kids Ministry

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Vacation Bible School

And the winner is . . .

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 I know you have all been patiently waiting for us to announce the winner of the VBS giveaway . . .

The wait is over!! Drum roll, please!!!

Here is our random number from random.org

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

123

Timestamp: 2011-02-01 23:33:47 UTC

And the winner is: Beth Wampler!!!

on january 4, 2011 11:08 am, beth wampler said || reply

As far as I know, we have always used Lifeway’s VBS at our church. We would love free curriculum as our church is really struggling financially this year. I do know that free curriculum or not, God will provide!!!!

Congrats to Beth and her church!!

Vacation Bible School

Ministering to Kids with Special Needs through VBS

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Today, we’re blessed to have a guest blogger, Carlton McDaniel. Carlton is a champion for kids with special needs, and he’ s sharing some tips about using VBS with kids of all abilities!

On church mission trips, I have always been assigned to work with the Backyard Bible Club Team-of course we’ve always used LifeWay VBS or Club VBS. I’ve often wondered if I’m chosen in case a child with special needs shows up, or if everyone in the church knows how terrible I really am at construction! Regardless of the reason, I love the wonder and excitement that kids bring to any experience. And to be honest, I’m at my “ministry best” when I have an opportunity to minister to a kid with special needs.

Whether it’s on a mission trip or at the church, VBS

  • is about sharing the Gospel with kids in a fun atmosphere with the goal of leading them into a relationship with Christ
  • extends an open invitation to any and every kid in the community with the greatest potential for an unexpected visit from a child with special needs
  • uses the greatest number of “once a year volunteers” given the responsibility to teach

That’s why it’s so important to train VBS leaders/volunteers to work with kids of all abilities. Every person who volunteers to teach deserves the opportunity to be at their best, just as every child who attends deserves an opportunity to be taught in the way they learn best. And since many kids are first-time visitors, we don’t have much advance knowledge of their learning needs. So the only option we have is to equip leaders/volunteers to be at their best.

To help your leaders/volunteers prepare for every child, LifeWay has the VBS 2011 Special Friends Leader Guide. Inside there are rotation tips, teaching plans, multi-sensory teaching ideas, and a designated area for working with kids and an area for working with older youth/adults with special needs. Also included is a CD-ROM that has over 100 pages of printable activities and teaching helps. The resource follows the main VBS theme so many of the printable activities can be used in a variety of classroom settings. This resource is helpful in both mainstream and self-contained teaching environments.

If you want to know more, visit www.lifeway.com/vbs. And keep watching for a special training video on using Special Friends VBS in your church that will be posted later in February.

You may not have anyone in your church like me who is “terrible at construction”. But you do have people like me who can be equipped to share the Gospel to kids with special needs. And if God uses one event like VBS to send a family with special needs to your church, let’s be prepared to give our best.

Vacation Bible School

VBS 2011 Preview Photos from Ridgecrest

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I had such a good time at Ridgecrest during the VBS events last weekend. We have some more events coming up in the next few weeks, but I didn’t want to hold out on you guys! Here are some pictures from the Ridgecrest event!

 

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

var so = new SWFObject(“http://www.db798.com/pictobrowser.swf”, “PictoBrowser”, “500”, “500”, “8”, “#EEEEEE”); so.addVariable(“source”, “sets”); so.addVariable(“names”, “Big Apple Adventure pics”); so.addVariable(“userName”, “LifeWay VBS”); so.addVariable(“userId”, “27788125@N06”); so.addVariable(“ids”, “72157625803083540”); so.addVariable(“titles”, “off”); so.addVariable(“displayNotes”, “on”); so.addVariable(“thumbAutoHide”, “off”); so.addVariable(“imageSize”, “medium”); so.addVariable(“vAlign”, “mid”); so.addVariable(“vertOffset”, “0”); so.addVariable(“colorHexVar”, “EEEEEE”); so.addVariable(“initialScale”, “off”); so.addVariable(“bgAlpha”, “90”); so.write(“PictoBrowser110111170739”);

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

var so = new SWFObject(“http://www.db798.com/pictobrowser.swf”, “PictoBrowser”, “500”, “500”, “8”, “#EEEEEE”); so.addVariable(“source”, “sets”); so.addVariable(“names”, “Beach Blast Pics”); so.addVariable(“userName”, “LIfeWay VBS”); so.addVariable(“userId”, “27788125@N06”); so.addVariable(“ids”, “72157625803086628”); so.addVariable(“titles”, “off”); so.addVariable(“displayNotes”, “on”); so.addVariable(“thumbAutoHide”, “off”); so.addVariable(“imageSize”, “medium”); so.addVariable(“vAlign”, “mid”); so.addVariable(“vertOffset”, “0”); so.addVariable(“colorHexVar”, “EEEEEE”); so.addVariable(“initialScale”, “off”); so.addVariable(“bgAlpha”, “90”); so.write(“PictoBrowser110111171412”);

Training, Vacation Bible School

Burning Question – Room Decor – Enhancement or Distraction?

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I’m here at Ridgecrest Conference Center with the rest of our Vacation Bible School team introducing LifeWay’s 2011 VBS theme, the Big Apple Adventure: Where Faith and Life Connect.  It’s already been an absolutely great event, and we’ve just started! This afternoon, I taught an elective breakout session on Preschool Rotations and tomorrow, I’ll be teaching about VBS Family NIghts. I’ve had a great time getting to connect with friends from around the country who come every year to preview the curriculum.  Many of these friends serve on teams who will take what they’ve learned here and go back to their state associations and help local churches prepare for this summer’s VBS weeks. It’s an exciting time — and I wish you were here! (Click here to find out where our next preview event is so you can join us!)

I’m sharing a classroom with another session leader, who will be displaying some fun ideas for decorating for Vacation Bible School.  I’ve noticed over the years that the breakouts on decorating always have a packed house. People come equipped with cameras, videos, and now cell phones to record as many new ideas as possible to take home in preparation for their VBS. This brings me to my burning question for this month: Classroom Decor – Enhancement or Distraction? 

 So many of my Childhood Leadership friends have faced this question in their ministry – not just during VBS, but as a general rule. On one hand, some would say that too much on the walls and in the room can be overstimulating to children who are primarily visual learners.  On the other hand, some feel that blank walls make the environment seem sterile and uninviting. The argument can be made that decorations are more for the parents than the children. And while opponents might agree with that statement – they may add that parents are the ones making the decision whether or not to bring their child to your church – so we should cater to them.

So – where do you stand on the issue?  Are you a Plain Jane or a Fancy Nancy when it comes to decor in your hallways? Now’s your chance to let us know why!  Look forward to hearing from you!

Resources, Vacation Bible School

Big Apple OMC

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Ready to take your church’s Big Apple Adventure to the next level? Now you can combine the fun of CentriKid Camps with the excitement of Big Apple Adventure! Use our brand new Big Apple Adventure edition of the official OMC game at your FAMILY NIGHT, your VBS KICK-OFF, or as part of RECREATION!

 

OMC.jpg

 

OMC stands for Organized Mass Chaos, and it’s the signature game of CentriKid Camps! Everyone works to complete different task cards, but all at the same time. So, it’s organized, but it feels like complete chaos. Just for VBS, we’ve created additional task cards that relate specifically to Big Apple Adventure. Combine these with normal task cards from the official game to make OMC bigger and better than ever!

We’ve included instructions, a supply list, decorating ideas, and 24 new, unique OMC task cards. Just print off several copies of these cards and combine them with your official OMC game cards. Don’t have the OMC game? Order a copy for your church online, at lifeway.com or pick one up at your local LifeWay Christian Store.

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Questions? Email centrikid@lifeway.com or post your questions in the comments and we’ll do our best to answer them! We always love to see your OMC pictures, so email them to centrikid@lifeway.com or post them on our facebook page. Come experience the real OMC at camp this summer – check us out at lifeway.com/centrikid.

AND – don’t forget to enter our giveaway to win free VBS for your church!! Details here.

 

Vacation Bible School

Win free VBS for your church!

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beckyBWsmall.jpgIt’s VBS month on the Kids Ministry 101 blog and to celebrate we are doing a big giveaway!!! 

What are we giving away, you ask?

Free VBS for your church!!

So what exactly does "free VBS" mean? It means if you win this giveaway, we’ll provide up to $300 in Big Apple Adventure or Club VBS: Beach Blast curriculum for your church and ship it to you for free!!

There are two ways to enter the giveaway, and you can enter once using each of these ways between now and midnight on January 31, 2011.  So bottom line, two entries per person are allowed.

Entry #1 – Comment on this blog post and tell me how long you have used LifeWay’s VBS at your church – including the name of the first theme you used!! If you haven’t used LifeWay VBS before, tell me that too!

Entry #2 – Let your friends on Facebook and/or Twitter know you entered our giveaway and link back to our blog, then come back to this blog post and leave another comment.

Here’s an example of what you could post on Facebook or Twitter:

It’s VBS month on the Kids Ministry 101 blog & you can win free VBS for your church! Enter at kidsministry.lifeway.com101

or

I just entered to win free VBS for my church at kidsministry.lifeway.com101

We’ll announce the winner on the Kids Ministry 101 blog on Tuesday, February 1st.

Good luck!

Vacation Bible School

Have you seen our VBS 2011 videos?

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I know it’s almost Christmas, but 2011 will be here before you know it!! Are you ready to start prep for your VBS next summer? Here are some of our videos about VBS 2011 to get you prepped and ready for next year’s VBS!

VBS 2011 Overview Video

 

VBS 2011 Leader Recruitment Video

Hope these videos get you excited about all the possibilities for having your own Big Apple Adventure in 2011!!

Leadership, Training, Vacation Bible School

The Official VBS Clock is Ticking

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A great VBS leader, cheerleader, and mentor once taught me the importance of having an official VBS clock. Of course I thought she had finally lost all sensibility and responded to her lesson with laughter.

She patiently explained that the only way rotations (crafts, missions, music, recreation, and snacks) could work properly is to have everyone set their watches to the same time – the Official VBS Clock.  As she said, a difference of five minutes on one watch could jeopardize the entire rotation schedule which would fall like dominoes.

For VBS 2011 the Official VBS Clock has started ticking. While we may be only a week away from a great Thanksgiving feast, any VBS groupie will tell you the clock never stops where VBS planning and training are concerned. VBS leaders across America have been working for weeks to plan and prepare for local training events that will be conducted at a church near you between February and May.

Most of these events are sponsored by Southern Baptist state conventions and associations and led by volunteers who give their time and resources to prepare your church volunteer ministry leaders in every aspect of VBS. Each year between 60,000 and 80,000 people are trained to work with preschoolers, children, teens, and adults. Your VBS workers – even the ones who have been working in VBS for 40 years – need to be trained.

The clock is ticking! Now is the time to put VBS training on your church calendar and to begin promoting the dates, times, and locations. Contact your local Southern Baptist association or state convention office today to learn about VBS training opportunities near you.

You will also be able to find information about training events – including LifeWay’s VBS 2011 Previews – at www.lifeway.com/vbs.

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