How to Prepare for Vacation Bible School

Preparing for Vacation Bible School is an important consideration for all church leadership staffs. Regardless of denomination, those responsible for quality summer programs for children within their church community are always looking for ways to make the summer's offering a high quality affair. The more times you offer a Vacation Bible School program the more you learn but even for experienced leadership there is always room for improvement. My nearly 25 years in parish ministry has taught me the value of these suggestions for both old hands and rookies on the job.

The central decision that has to be made by staff as they prepare for Vacation Bible School is the content matter they hope to share with their young people. Fortunately there are many publishing companies that provide prepackaged Vacation Bible School programs which, though at times a tad pricey, will reduce your work monumentally and can usually be repackaged and stored for re-use in years to come. Depending on your faith,check with reliable publishers to initiate your hunt. Even if you don't like everything in the prepackaged VBS program you can often alter it to fit the needs of your program. If you get started early enough you might also simply consider choosing a theme and going off on your own to produce a VBS curriculum that is a perfect match for staff, volunteers, church facilities and parish young people. Your choice of program needs to be the first choice you make because everything else flows from that selection.

With a theme in mind you will know the kinds of people that you will need to recruit. For example will you need some highly skilled arts and crafts people or can the crafts projects be directed by ordinary volunteers. What about music, drama and spirituality that is included in your VBS curriculum? What kinds of specially talented people must you seek out. The theme may well dictate the kinds of leadership people you will need, but you as a director or directorial staff will need to do the actual personal recruiting.

Once you have found your leadership team it is time to select a date. You might think that you would set your date first and then go after your volunteer leadership folks. My own experience has led me to see the value of talking through possible dates with your committed leaders and then choosing dates which fit the summer schedule of your most important VBS staffers. For example you can certainly find replacements to pick up leadership positions for committees in charge of things like snack or clean up. But your program may lose some of its quality if an outstanding music or crafts person can not be available for a previously selected date. The tail can't wag the dog of course, but you will want to do your best to select dates that coincide with volunteer availability. Choosing your date will also mean taking studied look at town and parish activity schedules to avoid unnecessary schedule conflicts that could reduce the numbers of participants. Once you select your date put it on your church calendar. Select registration dates that are far enough in advance of your starting date to allow time for you to adjust your activities and supervision in accord with your VBS participants.

At this point the three most significant decisions have been made: program, staff, dates. Now it's time to open the doors wide to all volunteers. Holding an open meeting will help to flush out some helpers but volunteers often require personal affirmation and encouragement. Rely on the leadership core you have already assembled to help you bring as many willing volunteers to a general meeting. At the meeting provide an overview of the Vacation Bible School program for the summer and then ask volunteers to meet with your core leadership staff according to their own interests like art, music, drama, snack, security, general help .

Rely on that same leadership group to help with ideas for putting out the word about Vacation Bible School. Even the best program with a crack staff can be a giant flop without the presence of the kids. Use church bulletins, available bulletin board space, church yard advertisements, newspaper space, flyers and any other advertising technique you can imagine to get the word out and to drum up enthusiasm for attendance at Vacation Bible School . Mark your program and registrations dates clearly on all your materials.

It is important to hold registration on specific days. This tells folks you are serious about getting a handle on how many students you will need to prepare for. As an encouragement to timely registration on the assigned days you may offer a price incentive. You would be surprised at how many people will gladly sign up on the right day when they are getting even a small reduction in cost.

When parents register make certain to encourage their valued participation at key spots during the Vacation Bible School program. Knowing that they are welcomed to join in some of the activities can give a very family friendly tone to your program. Maybe they can help with snack one day, join in one of the presentations, come a little early to help with arrivals. Lots of folks are glad to help even if they can't offer themselves for the full week. Besides they may like it and come back another year.

Don't miss the chance to draw in the participation and support of other ministry groups from your larger church congregation. Nothing is gained by separating yourself and your program from everything else that is going on in your church. You may be surprised at the results of inviting other ministries to visit or participate in Vacation Bible School activities.

Along the same lines don't forget to make every effort to include clergy visibly. Many priests and ministers are so overstretched that it is physically impossible for them to show up every day for Vacation Bible School. But most want can be scheduled into one or even a few time slots. Their presence will mean a lot to parents and children and can also be an eye opener for the priests and ministers themselves and possibly a nice change of pace.

You will have ups and downs during any Vacation Bible School Program but you want everyone to leave on that final day feeling good about the experience. So, put plenty of time and energy into planning some type of closing event that will include the children, possibly other members of your congregation, parents, clergy and some type of refreshments. This of course is also the time to publicly thank everyone involved for their participation in making Vacation Bible School a success.

Don't be surprised at the amount of effort that goes into a good VBS program, even a pre-packaged one. But good planning and lots of help can also make VBS a stand out activity on your church calendar each year.

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