How to Build a VBS Kids Worship Team
One of my favorite parts of VBS is the music. I may say goodbye to the decorations and theme when the week is over, but the songs stay with me and the ministry for months, sometimes years, afterward.
4 Ways to Partner with Other Churches for VBS
We're not in competition with the churches around us. We're all working toward the same goal: reaching people in our communities for Jesus. Making your VBS stand out can seem antithetical to that ethos.
But I don't see it that way. We want to run excellent events, and excellence is what makes them stand out. That doesn't mean we can't also cheer on what other churches are doing and work alongside them.
Making Your VBS Stand Out
If you live in the South as I do, it’s easy to drive down the road and pass all the churches hosting VBS this summer. It can be overwhelming. And honestly, disheartening when you see so many other churches doing the same theme as you. We never want to be in competition with other churches, but you do want to be different. You want to give a reason for that unchurched family to choose your VBS.
How to Handle VBS Registration
One of the biggest administrative tasks of VBS is registration. You have to collect each child's name, birthday, grade, gender, contact information, emergency contacts, allergies, and medical notes. Then you have to make all of that information easily accessible to the right people at the right time.
And that's just the beginning.
5 Steps to Easy VBS Dismissal
You’ve had an awesome night of VBS. You had a ton of kids. More than you originally planned. Now all their parents are outside, and you need to get those kids to their parents safely, quickly, and efficiently.
Good luck!
7 Steps to Resource Your VBS Volunteers for Success Part 2
In my previous post, I talked about the importance of having a strong volunteer team for your VBS. In order to have a strong team you have to work hard and fast to get them ready. You only have weeks, not months to get them ready.
7 Steps to Resource Your VBS Volunteers for Success Part 1
One of the biggest indicators of a successful VBS is the strength of your volunteer team. You can’t do this big event on your own. I’ve led many VBSs with hundreds of kids in attendance, and it’s my team that made it all happen.
VBS Planning Calendar: 9 Steps to Success
If you’re in kidmin, Vacation Bible School can be one of the biggest events of the year. It takes a lot planning, organizing, recruiting, vision casting, prayer and so much more.
4 Summer Outreaches that Aren’t VBS
With the end of the summer, we start to look at all the things we did and ask if they were effective. One of the biggest questions I see this time of year is “What are churches doing other than VBS?”
4 Follow-Up Ideas for VBS Success
One of the biggest questions I hear for VBS is “How do you get the kids to come back?” I had this same question myself. Actually, the first person to ask me was my pastor.
3 Tips for Creating Your VBS Budget
I often see questions from people asking their VBS budget. How many kids? How big is your church? How much do you spend? Those are all great questions because your budget will depend on those three things, the size of your church, the size of your event, and how important it is to the church’s outreach strategy.
3 Groups who Attend Your VBS (and Which One to Focus On)
It’s VBS season and for many churches, the event is seen as an outreach. We want to get as many kids as possible through the door, show them the way to Jesus, and then hopefully get them to come back on Sunday.
But when you put on outreach events, it’s important to realize that not everyone is seeking Jesus, not everyone is new, and not everyone is a prospect for coming to your church. This isn’t a reason not to do the event, but we need to be aware.
A Simple VBS Fundraiser
One thing about VBS is that it takes a lot of supplies. Crafts, games, decorations, Bible stories and so much more all need stuff. It’s a lot to handle and can be one of the biggest line items in your budget.
To keep my costs down, I’ve used this one fundraiser for years with great success.
5 Questions to Create Your VBS Schedule
VBS is one of the most complex ministry outreaches in children’s ministries. It takes 3-6 months to put on a one-week event for tons of kids and a major part of the kidmin annual rhythm.
One of the more complex yet essential parts of VBS is the schedule. It answers the question, “How are you going to get multiple groups of kids to multiple rooms throughout your campus all at the same time, not lose anyone, make time for bathroom breaks, and still get all the content covered?”
5 VBS Volunteers that Make a BIG Difference
Many of the curriculums I’ve used over the years give you an idea of how many volunteers you need and where they should serve. However, if you’re doing a VBS for 100 kids or more, these lists can be found lacking. They’ll list small group leaders and station leaders, but what about registration? Décor? Marketing? Supply management?
Over the years I’ve added several positions to my VBS that have helped me reach more kids and made my workload so much simpler.
5 Easy Steps to Promote Your Summer Events this Easter
With Easter in just a few weeks, you’re probably deep into prep for the big weekend. Whether you’re doing an egg hunt, planning your worship set, or just getting your volunteers ready, there’s a lot of focus put on this weekend.
Not to pile on, but there’s one more thing to consider for Easter. What are you doing this summer?
3 Questions to Ask Before Picking a VBS
It's January and that means it's time to start working on VBS. I know it’s 6-7 months out, but there are a few high-level decisions you need to make now to set you up for success in the coming months.
One of the first questions that is asked is, "What VBS curriculum should my church use?
The truth is there are a lot of great curriculums out there, and while I have my preferences, I won’t advocate for any of them in this post.
VBS Marketing Made Easy
I recently saw a post asking what children’s pastors do to get kids to their VBS. COVID has changed a lot of things, and this summer will be telling if these strategies will still have as much effectiveness, but I know pre-COVID, my VBS continued to grow, and I saw more and different kids every year.
If you want to reach more kids with the Gospel, you need to tell people what you're doing regardless of whether your VBS in-person, online, in the neighborhood, or something else.
5 Things I learned from doing VBS Online and In-Person
I haven’t written in a while. This pandemic has done a number on me. My family and I have been healthy, but if you’re in ministry, you know the crunch we’ve been in for the last few months. Every new month feels like the next level of Jumanji. (What happened to the murder hornets?!)
A big part of most kidmin’s summer is VBS. I’ve led 12 of these as a kid’s pastor and been a part of one for as long as I can remember. However, it goes without saying, this year is different.
What I Learned from my First Mega Sports Camp
I have led vacation Bible school (VBS) almost every year of my ministry and had participated in VBS for as long as I can remember. When I first heard about MEGA Sports Camp (MSC), I was resistant, because I was very happy with the curriculum I was using. I had systems and procedures in place to put on a large VBS without having to reinvent the wheel every year.
