Read The Cdc Guidelines
The CDC has new guidance for summer camps. These updated guidelines can help your planning efforts and is a helpful resource.
Things to consider this year are physical distancing, screening, cleaning, food service, and activities. To name a few.
Some may be important in your environment. Some may have less of an impact on your kids. Regardless, take the time to review the guidelines so your team can take the necessary step to ensure a fun and safe camp.
Trusted By Thousands Of Churches Worldwide
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This was our fifth year using Answers VBS. I dont even look at the others because of your biblical content, affordability, and the way it engages the children. Its the best! L.M.
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Solid Bible teaching that applies to everyday life. J.M.
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Best VBS out there by far! It was a great switch for us, and we have been using it now for years! E.H.
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“I used for all of my previous years of directing, even after they closed their doors. I reused some, purchasing it cheaply from . So, swapping to anyone else was a big deal for me personally. Answers in Genesis far exceeded my expectations. I am very pleased and grateful. I can tell the thought and prayer that goes into your planning. I am very excited about next year!” S.M.
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I absolutely love the depth of what we teach the kids, and how we dont teach stories but Bible accounts that teach the kids how to defend the faith. L.P.
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The science experiments were a HUGE hit with our kids! Thank you for putting out quality programs year after year. S.K.
Does It Have Quality Bible Teaching
VBS themes are always fun to explore, but as you evaluate programs, you will want to consider theology and quality of the lesson plans as a main priority.
We recommend lessons with clear learning objectives. A good VBS curriculum will balance between challenging church kids and connecting with the un-churched kids who will attend.
Some options will also have suggestions for enlisting the help of older kids. Just remember that the Bible teaching is the heart of your VBS program and you will want to be sure it shines!
Not sure where to start? Check out The Action Bible VBS. Kids will discover how to Love, Believe, Trust, and Witness as they engage in Gods big story of redemption!
Bible teaching is the heart of your VBS! Make sure it shines.
Recommended Reading: Rhema Bible College Courses
Take This Time To Create Your Own Vbs
Nothing says you truly are meeting the needs of your faith community than personalizing VBS to make it a unique opportunity. If you are willing, create your own VBS, so that you can identify and connect to your individual churchs mission and vision. Those values can be reinforced throughout VBS as easily as they can during Sunday worship experiences. This is a great way to seamlessly get the entire leadership on board with creating and supporting a ministry opportunity for the entire church. This approach could provide opportunities for your entire congregation to offer a VBS theme around social justice issues in your community. .
What Makes Answers Vbs Different
Answers VBS isnt fluff and stuff! We dive deep into Gods Word and teach apologetics so kids know what they believe and why. With Answers VBS, you can trust that youre giving the kids who attend your Vacation Bible School a solid biblical foundation.
Solid Bible Teaching: Answers VBS teaches apologetics so kids know what they believe and why.
Bringing Kids to Christ: Opportunities to share the gospel are woven into every lesson.
Songs Boost Bible Memory: We offer contemporary and traditional memory verse songs to help kids remember God’s Word.
Learning Made Fun: Every game, craft, science experiment, and snack intentionally reinforces the main Bible teaching of the day.
VBS Digital: Quickly set up your VBS public webpage, rotation schedule, and more! This powerful tool makes managing your Vacation Bible School a breeze.
Missions with Childrens Hunger Fund: Kids work together to raise funds for meals that deliver the hope of the gospel to suffering children worldwide.
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What To Know About Vacation Bible School For Kids
Vacation Bible School is a ministry outreach churches provide to educate children about God. Each church runs its own Vacation Bible School program but may use a purchased religious curriculum in its teachings.
To get more help on finding the right kids’ summer camps, you can read the Summer Camp Guide.
How To Plan An Amazing Vbs Your Essential 20 Step Guide
1. Answer the Purpose Question: Start your Vacation Bible School planning by answering this question: Why does VBS matter? Or to put it another way: If VBS was cancelled how would your church miss out? If you can answer the purpose question with passion and clarity your ready to continue!
2. Pray Early & Often: Any guide on how to plan an amazing VBS must include prayer! The Bible tells us in Psalm 127, Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builder is wasted. If your VBS is going to be successful youll need Gods help every step of the way. Seek Gods guidance in the planning, preparation and presentation of your Vacation Bible School.
3. Choose Your Leader: Because VBS is a big undertaking with many working parts strong leadership is essential. And while success depends on a team of volunteers, someone must keep this team unified, equipped and moving in the right direction. The right leader helps your team cross the VBS finish line victoriously. Or as John Maxwell says a leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way.
4. Pick Your Date: Your VBS should be the premier event on the week its scheduled. Be aware of other events going on in your church and community. And, as much as possible, schedule your VBS so that its not in competition with other big events. Check with other churches to see when theyre hosting VBS and do your best to pick the best non-conflicting dates available.
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Tips For Planning This Summers Vacation Bible School
May 11, 2021
Easter has come and gone, flowers are beginning to bloom, and spring is finally here which means that summer is just around the corner.
Hopefully, your church has been able to open its doors and is beginning to see people return who sheltered during the pandemic.
As the snow begins to melt and the tulips start to show off their spring colors, your team should be well on its way to planning your summer vacation Bible school.
Vacation Bible School may be a little different this year. But hopefully, your team is planning to create a fun atmosphere for kids that teaches them the awesomeness of our God.
The CDC has new guidelines for operating youth and children camps this year as we see this pandemic slowly go away. We all need to do our part to keep everyone safe, so following these guidelines is a first step in planning this years VBS!
Planning church eventscan be fun and stress-free as long as there is detailed planning and lots of hands to help.
This means taking the time to get your event organized will ensure a smooth running and successful event.
Recruit A Solid Team Of Volunteers
Churches vary in size, and so does the number of teachers and leaders necessary to lead a VBS. Directors need to ensure that each class has a teacher and at least one assistant. Activity stations may need more than two helpers depending upon the complexity of the game and the number of kids playing. For instance, some vacation Bible schools combine first and second grades at recreation time. These two grades might have 40 kids when lumped together. Two workers wont cut it. In fact, there should be at least one leader for every 10 kids. With 40 kids, four leaders ought to be ready to be wild and wacky with the children.
When calling for volunteers, dont badger people to serve. If people accept a position in VBS reluctantly, it might turn out to be a bad week for everyone involved. In prayer, ask God to provide who He wants to minister to the children. Hell do a much better job of nudging those He wants to serve than you ever will.
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Create An Event Budget
Creating an event budget ensures that your team is being good stewards with church money.
In addition, it can help you to designate the necessary funding for each area of the event.
Meet with your team and determine what resources are available and allocate them to each budget area.
Most events require budget dollars for these key areas:
- Supplies
- Miscellaneous
- New for 2021 may be cleaning supplies, barrier materials, screening supplies
Determine the projected cost of each of these areas, estimate the number of kids you anticipate attending, and this will help you figure how much to charge for the event.
For example, if you are expecting 100 kids to attend your VBS and your budget is $1000, then you would charge each child a registration fee of $10 to cover the cost of the event.
After Your Vbs Is Over
1. Thank Every Volunteer: After the VBS whirlwind is over make a point to personally thank every volunteer. Your team wants to know that their contributions were noticed and meaningful. Try writing thank you cards in advance that you can hand out to volunteers on the final day of VBS. Also, consider incorporating a time into your VBS where students can write thank you cards to their leaders. A little thanks goes a long way!
2. Debrief with Your Team: In the week following VBS set a time to gather your leadership team to discuss how VBS went. Encourage them to openly share the good, bad and ugly. You want to hear this feedback while its fresh in everyones mind. Use this feedback to confirm the things you want to stop, start and continue next year.
3. Summarize Your Notes: Hopefully, you took notes throughout the planning and presentation of your VBS. After it over, review your notes and condense them down to the big ideas youll want to start with next year. The perfect time to do this is the week following VBS when your notes will still make sense!
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Trusted By Thousands Of Churches
Group gives you the recipe and the resources you need to do VBS. Its so simple yet so profound at the same time. Easy to put together, full of energy, the kids stay connected, and every step is so completely intentionally done.
Lisa Jost
Group VBS makes every moment count with life changing experiences using relational, experiential, applicable, and learner based techniques. My kids know my adults by name and my adults know each of their kids by name which create long lasting friendships and mentorships.
Joel Bullock Kauffman
Our church just wrapped up VBS – what an awesome program! All of the kids and adults involved had a blast and were busting at the seams with love for Jesus by the end of the week!
Jamie Margaret
Thank you for providing such a great Biblically strong foundation for us to use!
Donna Falvo
My two daughters recently attended VBS at our church. Their reaction to it was nothing short of amazing. They came home every day singing songs about Jesus and God’s love. They were willing to share the dances they learned, and the lessons of the day, which were easy for them to remember. Thank you very much for bringing joyful songs of Jesus back into their lives.
Kathleen Kauffman
Form A Vbs Planning Board
One way to share the load is to form a VBS planning board. Board members will help choose a program theme, oversee specific areas, contribute ideas and solutions to problems, and assist in recruiting volunteers.
Members can be the leaders who will supervise all departmental activities and help recruit age-level staff. Plus, it is always more fun to collaborate with a group of people who are as excited as you!
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A Weekend Vacation Bible School Experiment
Today our church wrapped up our first ever weekend Vacation Bible School event and I am feeling pretty good about it.
What we did:
We planned a VBS weekend with sessions Friday evening, Saturday morning, and Sunday morning. We weaved lots of family events into the schedule including Ice Cream sundaes on Friday night, Coffee and Donuts on Saturday morning, and a Family VBS service, Worship/ Art Gallery, and free meal on Sunday. Our theme was something we developed ourselves that covered the stories of Crossing the Jordan River, and the Battle of Jericho from the book of Joshua.
Why we switched to a Weekend VBS instead of a five-day Vacation Bible School.
Our church has a long history of having an evening Vacation Bible School in late July, but we didnt have VBS at all last summer because of staffing changes. When it came time to plan Vacation Bible School for this summer we asked a lot of questions about why we have done what we have done for so long and here is the feedback we received:
- Many years ago we switched to an evening VBS as opposed to a morning schedule because we had so many working adults in the church and had trouble finding volunteers.
- We planned the VBS in July to avoid conflicting with other churchs VBS schedules. .
Makes sense, but we also heard this feedback:
What We liked about the Weekend Schedule:
The challenges of planning a Weekend Vacation Bible School:
Practical Tips For Planning Vacation Bible School
New Sunday School Curriculum:free Bible lesson in pdfSunday School curriculum for kids
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How To Be A Lazy Genius: The Basics
Heres the basic idea: figure out what matters most to you. Name it. Then spend more energy on the things that matter to you and less energy on the things that dont matter.
It sounds simple, but embracing what matters most to you often requires significant discernment. Rather than providing a blueprint for productivity or healthy living, Kendra outlines thirteen principles that can help each of us embrace what matters and ditch what doesnt. Its not about living in one specific way, but connecting with what matters most to us, which is different for everyone. So why am I writing about this for a website dedicated to practical ideas for Christian formation? This framework is an exceptional tool for ministry. You can Lazy Genius just about anything. Let me demonstrate by applying a few of the thirteen principles to planning Vacation Bible School
How To Plan For Vbs
Planning is key to a successful Vacation Bible School, but even with the turnkey nauture of curriculum packages, the number of tasks can be overwhelming for the program director. Making a “to-do” list and completing tasks at the right time will help make life much easier. Here’s a planning timetable that can be used by most churches with minimal adjustments.
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Six Tips To Get You Started: