How to Make Your Vacation Bible School the Hit of the Summer

By: Robert Bell | Posted: 15th May 2009

They've asked you to be director of vacation Bible school. You've got to satisfy some of the toughest customers there are - an entire group of children. You'll have to come up with some pretty spectacular stuff to please today's kids, right? It's not as daunting a task at it may seem at first. By following a few simple steps and utilizing available resources, you can create a fun, exciting, effective vacation Bible school and NOT blow the church's budget in the process.

Choosing a theme:

Deciding on the theme of your vacation Bible school is perhaps the single most important decision you'll have to make. There are so many different programs to choose from, fro so many different publishers. Even if you're restricted to one "church approved" publisher, you may find more than one theme offered. When choosing your theme, there are several things to keep in mind. Perhaps the most important is decorations. How easily and budget friendly can this theme be decorated? Your second consideration is how many volunteers the theme will need. Also of great importance is space. If you have a small facility, will you have enough room to implement the theme in a fun, uncrowded manner?

Themes that appeal to kids the most are those that offer a hint of adventure. Travel back in time to the Jerusalem of the first century. Travel along to Ireland with Saint Patrick as he evangelizes the Celts. Take a journey to the Arctic. Kids also like themes that have little to do with their everyday environment. Try a week at a dude ranch. How about a jungle safari? Have you considered training secret agents or Special Forces troopers, in the service of a Heavenly commander? The variety of themes publishers have available is nearly endless. All vacation Bible school publishers try to incorporate kid-appealing aspects into their themed programs. What if you can't afford a program, or can't find one that suits your needs? Well, then, you'll just have to create one from scratch! That's not as difficult as it seems, either. It all comes back to choosing a theme. Decide on one that you know you can decorate, can staff and can accommodate easily and effectively.

Making it effective:

You and your volunteers will be putting in many, many hours to ensure that your vacation Bible school is fun and appealing for the children who will be attending. Take the time to remember, though, that your vacation Bible school has a purpose. Whether you see it as a major outreach to the "unsaved" children of the community, or you view it as a safe, fun place for the children of your congregation to learn and grow in their faith, your vacation Bible school should have a lasting effect on the children attending. If you're not certain of the purpose, your volunteers and your vacation Bible school won't be, either. Determining the purpose of your Bible school is as important as the theme, perhaps even more so. Deciding on the purpose at the beginning will set the tone for everything that follows, from the kinds of activities and games, to the materials you use, to the amount of publicity you have you create, to ultimately, the amount of fun and enjoyment everyone experiences at your vacation Bible school.

Keeping it active:

Nothing bores a group of children more than sitting for long periods of time, listening to someone read or talk to them. Keep your vacation Bible school an active place. Set up different stations in different rooms or parts of the facility. Divide the children into groups and rotate them through the various stations. Designate one area as the meeting place for opening and closing the sessions. After the opening, turn your groups loose to move from one area to the next, until they are ready to return for the closing. There are many easy and inexpensive ways to create active learning environments throughout your vacation Bible school, too. Don't just tell them the Bible story - act it out. Incorporate your youth or senior citizens to perform short skits that dramatize your Bible story. Many programs now incorporate skits and mini-dramas, but if yours doesn't, or if you are creating your own, keep in mind that showing is a far better way to communicate than simple telling. Use puppets for younger children, to keep their attention.

Crafts needn't be expensive or fancy, either. Crafts should be meaningful, something more than just coloring pages or construction paper and pipe cleaners. Children can create a scrapbook of their week, using photos taken and printed on a computer and inexpensive scrap booking papers. Or select one craft that goes with your theme that can be worked on all week long. How about a mural, showing their "journey" that stretches along a hallway? It can be added to every day. Meaningful craft ideas could include banners or other decorations for the church, baskets or other gifts for shut-ins, or table cloths, placemats, floor cloths or other painted fabric items that could be used at home. Some groups choose to alternate crafts one night and games the next, so that the children are kept guessing, the amount of craft supplies needed is small, and the schedule allows for some flexibility due to weather if the games take place outside.

Snacks can be more creative, too, if the children are allowed the opportunity to make their own. If using a journey-based theme, take-along foods like trail mix and granola can easily be made by the kids themselves. Provide the kids with plain sugar cookies and tubs of colored icing. Graham crackers can be glued together with frosting to make houses, chariots and even arks full of animal cracker passengers. Keeping children actively involved as much as possible lightens the workload on volunteers, creates fewer opportunities for behavior problems and helps to ensure that your vacation Bible school is looked on as a memorable, exciting place to go.About The Author
Concordia Supply has everything you're looking for to make vbs and Sunday school a success with the kids. Visit online at http://www.concordiasupply.com/ for all your church supplies.
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Tags: budget, suits, journey, scratch, simple steps, available resources, volunteers, jerusalem, adventure travel, special forces, saint patrick, celts, jungle safari