VBS Planning Starts Now!
I have run this article every year and it yields tremendous results because everyone has a connection to Vacation Bible School (VBS). From my experience, VBS does not start a the month before; to have a successful VBS the planning starts at least six months from the VBS date.
Take a moment and read the thoughts below. I would like to hear your feedback.
First published in May 2008.
Summertime is just around the corner and that means the everlasting rush to get VBS done. A close friend of mine and I were talking about the process of getting ready for VBS and I thought I might give some hints to get VBS done better each year. Remember, I am no VBS guru, but I have learned some vital necessities of getting VBS done well and it has nothing to do with me, but the people involved make it happen.
It used to be the preacher was the one "volunteered" to handle VBS, but the trend is changing and people are now more involved. So if this does not apply to you, pass this list along to someone else.
Here are Gallagher’s Rules for VBS:
Start early – Don’t wait until two weeks before VBS to begin handing out the material and drafting teachers! This is possibly the second worst mistake you can make with VBS.
Here is a timeline I used for VBS:
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Six Months from VBS Start Date – First meeting to gather teachers, helpers, maintenance crew, snack people, and any other area needed.
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Five months from VBS Start Date – Begin gathering material or ideas for material if your plan to create your own.
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Four Months from VBS Start Date – Begin sending postcards to family, friends, visitors, and even the congregation to remind them of the VBS date. Publicize the VBS date on the Internet.
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Three Months from VBS Start Date – Gather your Decorating Crew together and brainstorm for materials and ideas for decorations.
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Two Months (8 weeks) from VBS Start Date – Pass out material to the teachers and ask if they need anything and be sure to get it. Advertise VBS again in the community paper, direct mail, word of mouth, postcards, whatever is takes to get the word out. Be sure a sign is placed on the church property noting VBS is coming.
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Six Weeks from VBS Start Date – Begin Door knocking opportunities and create posters to be passed out to the community bulletin boards in grocery stores, etc. Arrange for transportation of kids whose parents cannot bring them; begin now to get volunteers.
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Four Weeks from VBS Start Date – Gather every VBS member together and as if there is anything needed. Whatever is needed, get someone other than yourself to be responsible for getting it and delivering it.
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Three Weeks from VBS Start Date – The Decorating Team should be placing the final touches on the decorations and material. Also, more flyers need passed out and sent to each contact.
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Two Weeks from VBS Start Date – The teachers need to be asked if there is anything they need. Constant encouragement is needed because of their powerful role.
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One Week from VBS Start Date – Pray! The final touches need placed on VBS and the congregation needs to be regularly encouraged to be there.
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The Day of VBS – Drink Coffee, Jolt Cola, Mountain Dew and eat lots of Twinkies – you will need it!
Gallagher’s Notable VBS Techniques:
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Always encourage your VBS staff – Write them notes weekly, email them, call them and be there for them. Make sure they are taken care of, because they will take care of the children during the week.
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NEVER MICRO-MANAGE! Now stand up and say it with me, "I WILL NOT MICRO-MANAGE VBS!"
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Involve Everyone – Make sure everyone in your congregation is involved in some way. Get those who like to talk on the phone to make phone calls inviting people, get the computer savvy to develop a web page for VBS, let no one out. Get a new Christian to be an assistant and watch them grow.
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No Skimping on Snacks – No generic gospel, no generic snacks!
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Reward the reward-able – make sure you reward the children for a job well done. Give Bibles to those who brought others, give good gifts to those who work hard.
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Acknowledge your staff each day – At each gathering thank, show appreciation and acknowledge the great qualities of your staff. Provide your staff with rewards as well.
Gallagher’s After VBS Techniques
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Food! After VBS is over, have a meal for everyone who took part in VBS and thank them for all the work they have done.
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Review VBS! Soon after VBS, but separate form the Appreciation Meal, have a VBS review. Be open and honest, let people voice opinions and discuss situations that could be improved and situations that are great. Bring the good and the improvable to the forefront of the discussions.
The techniques listed above is a brief look at the way VBS worked for me. Here in Mount Pleasant, we do not have a VBS yet, but I am sure we will one day. I look forward to the day to put theses techniques back to work.
I took these techniques and tweaked them over the years and saw a great increase in attendance and performance, but most of all the gospel being spread each year.
Remember — Start Early! and NEVER MICRO-MANAGE! (The micro-managing point will come in a few days!)
Just some thoughts,
Uncomfortable, I am Satisfied
Standing in front of Christians each week is no easy task. The message of Christ is a sacred message not to be taken lightly. The message is a changing one which steps on toes and breaks hearts in the process. There is no greater time to challenge Christians than the present. Immorality is growing more prevalent and Christians are becoming more accustomed to worldly pursuits.
The worldly pursuits involve an aspect of self. When self takes precedence, the thoughts of God are moved aside to make room for self. This is called selfishness.
Ministers have a difficult task of changing lives through changing behavior. The task is made more difficult by some who want a changed life without changing behavior. Many ministers have been taken to task, because the have stepped on toes, but I can assure you them stepped on their own toes or broken their own hearts first.
As a minister, my responsibility is not to assist you in happiness, but to assist you in godliness. Decisions must be made and many of those are uncomfortable and inconvenient, but they are worth making the change.
If those challenges make you uncomfortable, maybe it is time to move your feet.
Just my thoughts,
Building a Great Congregation
Great congregations do not become great by accident, they become great on purpose. Growing congregations do not grow on accident, they grow on purpose. The purpose of great and growing congregations is clearly defined and clearly determined. Each member knows the purpose and gladly shares it with others.
Take a moment and view the PowerPoint below as well as the sermon outline. You may also listen or download the audio using the streaming player below.
Here is a link to the lesson outline: Click here to view in a new window!
Just some thoughts,
The Key To Church Growth
As the clock is about to chime 3:00 am here I sit with my journal. My family rests soundly upstairs underneath blankets on a cool South Carolina morning. My eyes have been opening and shutting throughout the night while my mind races about building a strong congregation by bottling up the oldest formula for church growth. The oldest formula has been the truest and the most stable throughout all generations. While men shuffle to find the newest program, the old formula continues to work. When congregations explode in growth, the old formula holds its weight of pricelessness. Hundreds of thousands of people have experienced this old formula, but still some try to place it on a shelf.
Though all the church growth books a preacher could muster have been placed on a shelf, this formula has stood the test of time. It has outlasted the gospel meeting crowds of the 40’s and 50’s, the bus ministries of the late 70’s and even the direct mailing ministry of the 21st century. I am sure if it can outlast those it will outlast the movements to come. I believe placing our faith into a man made program has taken away our emphasis on the old formula. The creation of ministry motivated and approved seminars have refocused our eyes on the first formula of church growth – YOU!
You are the key factor in church growth! The old formula is You and Christ! Without Christ there is no light to shine and without you letting Him shine, the Father is not glorified (Matthew 5.14-16). While you think it sounds so simple, I am here to tell you it really is. Forget looking at everyone else and consider yourself. Do you make it easy for others to see Christ? Or do we mask him behind a program instead of opening our hearts so He can shine forth in our lives?
I believe Paul understood this powerful formula in Ephesians 4.16…
“…from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” (ESV)
Notice Paul’s words about the body, “..when each part is working properly..”; that part is YOU! You are a part of a body which depends on your to fulfill your part (Romans 12.3-8; 1 Corinthians 12.12-31; 1 Peter 4.10-11). The body needs you to fill your role so the body can grow. Notice what happened in the early church when the members found their role in serving – see Acts 6.1-8! When every member filled their role notice the results…
“And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.” (Acts 6.7; ESV)
Are you ready to find your role and strengthen the body?
Just some thoughts,
Could Church Use One of These?
Many times in talking with preachers the conversation leads to strengthening the congregation and the best way to go about it. While I am not an experienced as some I would like to offer a possibility below. I heard this song in my younger years and recently saw it again on YouTube. I thought this might be a new technique to try.
Could your church use one of these?
Just a thought,
Podcast Feeds
Some of What I am Reading
I use Elegant Themes
