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Top 10 Tips for Craft Leaders

Teaching crafts? It's tons of fun, but it also takes a lot of organization and creativity. Here are 10 tips from the craft pros to set you up for success.

10. Label It

Address labels or VBS 2018 Sticker Name Tags can be used to put kids’ names on their crafts.

9. Bag It

Place individual craft supplies in ziplock bags. Kids will have what they need and can place their completed craft back in the bag to carry home.

8. Collect It

Collect the supplies needed for each craft and place them in individual bags. Write the name of the craft on the front of each bag for easy identification. Start early if you need the congregation’s help in collecting items.

7. Check It Out

Look for alternate crafts in the 3s–K Rotation Pack, VBX: Preteen Bible Study Leader Guide, Adult Leader Guide, Student Leader Guide, and on LifeWay VBS's official Pinterest board.

6. Make It

Make a sample and think about your kids. As an adult it may be easy for you, but will it be for a group of 25? Remember it may take you only 5 minutes, but kids take longer to process and complete a project.

5. Plan It

Develop a plan for early finishers. Will you have a second quick craft kids can complete, a small game to play, or maybe a large sheet of paper on the wall where kids can create a mural?

4. Instruct ‘Em

Give one instruction or step at a time. Kids are generally not efficient with multi-step directions. Ask them to place their hands on their heads when they complete a step to gauge whether it is time to move to the next step.

3. Train ‘Em

Prep your assistants on how to make each craft. Assistants can then work with smaller groups of kids while you give them the main instructions.

2. Remember

It is about the process not the end product. It is okay if a child’s craft doesn’t look like the sample.

1. Connect It

Ask kids to line up against the wall or gather in an open area for brief instructions and Bible story review before allowing them to go to the tables. Ask kids to recall elements from Bible study. Tell kids how the day’s craft can help them remember what they learned about the Bible or The Point of the day.

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5 Quick Tips for Follow-up

The days and weeks immediately following VBS are the most crucial for outreach. But so often this critical element seems to fall through the cracks. We all have good intentions for connecting with children and families again after VBS, but then the aftermath of VBS kicks in. The excitement of VBS is over, people are tired, life returns to normal, it’s time to go on vacation … there are tons of excuses and most all of them are valid.

But here’s the thing. Follow-up will NOT magically happen on its own. You must have an intentional strategy in place BEFORE VBS and a follow-up plan ready to spring into action as soon as VBS is over.

So here are 5 tried and true ideas to try as you connect with children and families:

1. Enlist a “Follow Up Director” just like you enlist a VBS Director.

Make this your point person for coming up with a strategy for follow-up that is effective and easy for everyone to participate in. The Follow Up Director should enlist a follow-up team to work with VBS teachers to make sure every child is remembered after the week of VBS is over. This is especially important for children who are not already a part of the church family! Those first few weeks immediately after VBS may be the only time a church member is welcome in the home of an unchurched family. So don’t lose the momentum of VBS by putting it off.

Activate follow-up teams immediately after VBS. People will never be more receptive to follow-up than they are immediately after the event. This is a great time to showcase what your church has to offer the entire family. And while we’re on the subject, send or deliver information about the church directly to the home. Don't trust that fliers or handouts will make it home with kids from VBS!

2. Embrace a relationship-building approach to follow up.

Train every VBS worker to intentionally connect with parents during VBS. Talk to them when they drop off or pick up their kids. Try to find things you have in common, find out where they normally attend church, tell them how happy you are that they are here and how well their kids are connecting with other kids in their group. Outdo one another in being welcoming and inviting so when it comes to following-up after VBS, parents have positive impressions of your church.

Follow-up has to be more than a single postcard or phone call—it must be about building a relationship with children and their families. Relationships take time to develop and will require an ongoing strategy to move unchurched families into the life of the church. But a relationship is what earns you the right to share the gospel. So it’s something we must take seriously!

3. Partner with other kids ministry leaders in your church to bridge VBS with other ongoing programming and summer events for kids.

For example, ask children’s Sunday School teachers to participate in follow-up alongside children’s VBS teachers. That way visiting kids will already know a familiar face when they visit again. This is huge in helping kids feel connected when they return to church the next time. Kids need to feel a sense of ownership—this is MY church, MY classroom, MY teacher, MY friends—and giving them that sense of ownership is one way to help them feel loved and accepted and that they belong.

4. Provide opportunities for families from within your church to build relationships with unchurched families.

Conduct a family movie night, a cookout in a local park, or some other activity for the whole family within two weeks of VBS to give unchurched families an opportunity to reconnect with the church. This year, why not partner with a local minor league ball team to host a Faith Night? Offer discounted tickets in a reserved seating block and encourage VBS families to attend. Plan for a picnic on the grounds or tailgating before the game begins. Encourage families to get to know a family they haven’t met yet.

5. Take a small gift to the home of each child who visited your church during VBS.

It can be something as simple as the Music for Preschoolers CD, Music for Kids CD, a Playbook, or a Devotional Bible for Kids. Any of these would make an excellent gift! Plus, each of these allows a parent to hear the good news of God’s Word that their kids heard during VBS. Now that’s a gift that keeps on giving.

So now it’s your turn. Which of these ideas will you implement this year in your follow-up strategy?

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Help! I'm a New VBS Teacher!

As a first time VBS teacher you're probably feeling a little overwhelmed. But don't worry, there are TONS of tools to make you successful. We'll look at a few of them today. But the real secret sauce for VBS is preparation. You simply cannot be successful without it. So with the clock ticking down to the start of VBS, let’s take a step back and evaluate where you are and make a plan to ensure you start strong and end strong! Here are 5 steps to success as a VBS teacher.

Step 1—Go to God

Spend time in prayer. Ask God to give you what you’re going to need for VBS. Ask Him to give you patience, creativity, and flexibility. If you’re short on help, ask Him to send more volunteers. If you’re worried about taking on the responsibility of teaching kids, ask Him to calm your spirit. Pray for the kids you will teach. Ask God to already begin working in their hearts and preparing them to hear and respond to the gospel. Pray for your fellow leaders. Bathe your entire VBS in prayer!

Step 2—Prepare Your Heart

God’s Word never returns void. So as you study the passages you will be teaching during VBS, God will be teaching you too. And as the Holy Spirit works in your heart and brings clarity to your mind, you will be better prepared to teach. You’ll be teaching out of the overflow of what God is teaching you. So go ahead and read through all 5 Bible stories that you’ll be teaching to kids during VBS. Use the leader devotions at the beginning of each session in your leader guide as your own personal Bible study. Get your heart ready to teach.

Step 3—Practice!

Practice telling the Bible stories out loud in your own words. Do it in front of a mirror to see how your gestures and facial expressions either enhance or detract from the story. Test activities and crafts ahead of time. They’ve already been tested by the people who wrote the curriculum, but you need to test them and make sure that all of the instructions make sense to you. You need to see how long it takes and what kind of adjustments need to be made for your kids. See if you need to substitute any supplies or adapt the activity in any way. Curriculum is a good starting point. It’s a great guide. But you know your kids best. Feel free to adapt, change, toss out, or add to this guide to match your kids, your resources, your schedule, and your preferences. You’re the teacher. You know best. Own it!

Step 4—Get Organized

Get together with your teaching team. Divvy up responsibilities so that everyone has an equal share. Don’t try to do it all yourself. I like to have one person be in charge of large group each day and all of the other teachers to each take responsibility for a small group activity each day. That way there are lots of choices and variety for the kids to choose from, but no one is overloaded by the amount they have to prepare each day. Go ahead and print everything out that you need from the CD-ROM included in the leader pack. Cut out and prep your pack items. Get boxes or large paper grocery bags and label one for each day 1-5. Then as you prep pack or CD items, go ahead and put them in the box/bag when they’ll first be used. As you collect supplies, go ahead and put them in the appropriate box. That way when you get ready to leave for VBS each day, you just grab that day’s box and go!

Step 5—Make the Main Thing, the Main Thing

VBS can be chaotic, but don’t lose your cool. Keep your focus on the main thing—the gospel. VBS is all about creating an environment where the gospel is preached, taught, and lived out through every song, every game, every moment. Your job is to build relationships with kids so that you earn the right to share the gospel. It’s to live out what Christ’s love is like so that boys and girls can experience it. When viewed through the lens of the gospel, VBS takes on a renewed purpose. Suddenly, every job is important. Snack ladies are no longer “just snack ladies.” Recreation leaders are not just responsible for wearing kids out so that they can sit still and listen longer during Bible study. No matter your role during VBS, your primary responsibility is to love on kids and watch for opportunities to talk to a child about what the Bible teaches and about what the Holy Spirit might be saying to him or her.

So there you go—5 quick steps to start you on your VBS journey. You’re going to do great! Just take a deep breath, pray, get organized, and keep the goal in mind. You can do this!

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New KidEvent Pro Feature Keeps Kids Safe

KidEvent Pro is the easy way to manage your VBS. It handles everything from online registration, class attendance, and volunteer assignments to keeping track of allergies and medical special needs, to following up with visitors and those who made decisions. If you're not already familiar with KidEvent Pro, you owe it to yourself to check it out. It's an incredibly powerful tool and incredibly affordable too! Learn more at kideventpro.com or search YouTube for "KidEvent Pro."

One of the best new features of KidEvent Pro to roll out this year is the ability to print name tags and security tags. You can choose to turn on or turn off the feature when you set up your event details. If you want to use the name tag feature, you can allow participants and volunteers to include their "preferred name" when they register to be printed on their name tag. That way a teacher can choose if she wants to be called "Ms. Melita" or "Ms. Thomas" or even "Marvelous Melita" on her name tag. You can print name tags by class each day, so it's always up to date with the latest class roll. And you event get to choose which size name tag to print so that you can use them by themselves or stick them onto the nice lanyard name tags you've already purchased for VBS.

Some churches already have a system in place for electronic check-in and security … but many do not. If you have a system you like, great! Keep using it! KidEvent Pro is not designed to replace or integrate with your existing system. But if you DON'T already have a plan in place to keep kids secure and ensure that they are only released to an authorized adult, KidEvent Pro's got you covered! You'll need to have the name tag feature turned on (selected) on the event set up page, then it's as easy as click and print.

You can choose to print only name tags or both name tags and security tags each day. Select the class from the drop down menu and the day you wish to print tags for. An unique alpha-numeric code will be generated for each child each day. Each name tag will have the child's preferred name, class, and unique code. A matching sticker with only the alpha-numeric code will also be created. When kids are dropped off, the child gets the name tag and the person picking up the child gets the matching sticker with code. When picking up a child, the adult must present the sticker and give the child's name. That way, if the sticker is lost in the parking lot it cannot be used by a stranger to pick up the child. The adult must know both the child's name AND the code.

This is an easy way to implement a common sense strategy of protecting kids while in our care during VBS. It's a great addition to KidEvent Pro and one I'm excited to use in my own VBS this summer!

Ready to take the next step toward keeping kids safe? Discounted background checks are available through LifeWay OneSource. Free registration runs now through May 31st: https://www.lifeway.com/en/shop/services/church-administration/background-checks

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