LifeWay VBS

Vacation Bible School 2018

Blog

By 5 Comments

Flying Banner Makes a Comeback

One of my favorite new additions to the Game On! resources this summer was the Flying Banner. I loved driving around and seeing flags on the church grounds proudly proclaiming the presence of a VBS. I also loved seeing pictures of all the many ways you used the banners indoors at registration and welcome areas, outside check-in spots, at the entrances to Worship Rally and in hallways.

Today I have great news to share with you. You loved the Flying Banner so much, we’re bringing it back for In the Wild VBS! So don’t get rid of those stands just yet. You’ll be able to use the same hardware with next year’s flag. So you can get the full set with both flag and hardware if you want to expand your collection, or you can just get the flag and use your existing hardware. That’s a great cost savings!

In addition to the “In the Wild” flying banner, we’re also introducing a more generic flying banner that you can use any time and anywhere in your kids ministry—all year long! I think you’ll love this “Welcome” flying banner and will find tons of ways to use it during VBS and beyond!

How will you use this Welcome Flying Banner?

By Leave a Comment

Connecting with Families After VBS

During VBS you likely discovered children and families who aren’t members of your church. But inevitably, once VBS is over, those families disappear and don’t come back. It’s tragic, but all too common. Fortunately, there are a few things we can do to reverse the trend. The key is intentionality. Any of the following ideas could work, but the most effective strategies will be the ones that involve buy-in from the entire church body.

Try these ideas for re-engaging visiting families after VBS is over:

  1. Educate adult small groups that one of the main purposes of VBS is to connect families to the church. Ask these groups to participate in post VBS celebrations and to intentionally connect with families, even if they don’t have kids in VBS.
  2. Implement a plan to connect new families with the people who will be in their same classes or small groups. Look for common interests and ages or life stages to help them connect.
  3. Provide welcome/information packets for church members to take to prospective families. Include information about other summer events for kids, fall programming, Sunday School, etc.
  4. Partner a child’s VBS teacher with his/her Sunday School teacher (or VBS leaders with adult Sunday School leaders) to deliver a craft made during VBS, a class picture, a Music for Kids CD, or other small memento of the week. This should make the invitation to visit a Sunday School class a natural extension of the visit, and will help the family to feel more comfortable seeing familiar faces upon a return visit to church.
  5. Target those families with special invitations (mail, email, phone calls) to return for other “safe events” such as a splash party, Back to School event, Fall Festival, etc.
  6. Be sensitive to visiting families’ needs. Meeting specific needs can draw in a family and help to build trust as they realize that people truly care about them.

By 3 Comments

What to Save for VBS 2019

I’m often asked, “Are there things I should be on the look out for or things I should start collecting now for next summer?” Great questions! It’s never too early to start planning ahead. End of summer sales sometimes have great deals on things you might need for VBS. For example I always like to snag a few new bubble wands and foam pool noodles on clearance at the end of summer … you’ll always need those in kids ministry! And I like to wait for back-to-school sales to replenish resource room staples like markers, crayons, pens, scissors, etc.

Those are things you’ll always need. But what about things specific to In the Wild? Wouldn’t you like to know if you’re going to have to find refrigerator boxes or film canisters (Boy, those are getting hard to find!) or if you’re going to need to collect 500 empty Pringles cans? Well then, you’ve come to the right place.

Here’s a list of things to start collecting for next summer’s In the Wild VBS:

  • clear plastic bottles/jars with lids (crafts)
  • small plastic animals (crafts, preschool activities)
  • small water bottles with lids (crafts)
  • small cans (crafts)
  • party blowers (crafts)
  • end-of-season sales on realistic animal pool floats (decorating)
  • various shades of green tablecloths (decorating vines, leaves)
  • 3D butterfly stickers (decorating)
  • animal lawn/garden stepping stones (decorating)
  • fake snow, snowflakes (if decorating Beluga Bay)
  • artificial trees (various sizes of unlit Christmas trees work well, decorating)
  • variety of cameras (instant print, disposable, digital, etc.)

This list is by no means exhaustive, but it is a good place to start. You’ll be able to know exactly what you’ll need when the curriculum becomes available on Dec. 1, 2018. Until then, I hope this helps you get a jump start!

By Leave a Comment

We Want to Hear from You!

My favorite part of summer is seeing the pictures and hearing the stories of the amazing things that have happened at VBSs literally all over the world. Thanks for sharing your experiences on the LifeWay VBS Facebook page. It’s so great to see how you’ve made Game On! your own. Before you switch gears completely to regular fall programming, would you do me a HUGE favor? Would you please take a moment to share your VBS experience with us? We want to hear what worked well and what didn’t. We want to celebrate salvations and other decisions with you! We want to know what kind of schedule you chose so that we can tailor VBS to your needs. There are TWO ways you can help us.

1. Send in an Evaluation

Filling out and returning an evaluation helps us know what your needs are and how we can meet them better. We’re always looking for ways to improve VBS and your insight is invaluable for both innovation and excellence! Click this link to print the Director_Evaluation (also located on the Administrative Guide CD-ROM). Please mail to:

LifeWay Church Resources
VBS Feedback
One LifeWay Plaza
MSN 172
Nashville, TN 37234-0172

2. Submit a VBS Report

Reporting is the way you get to share with others what God did in your church through VBS. When you share things like attendance totals, number of decisions, and prospects identified with us, we are able to get a big picture look at what God is doing across the country and around the world through VBS. We’ll share the grand totals with you in next year’s Administrative Guide and you can celebrate being a part of God’s work and His plan.

A report was mailed to your church back in June to the attention of the VBS Director. Please double check to make sure that form was completed and submitted. If you did not receive or need a form, or if you need another one please click this link to print the VBS 2018 Report (also located on the Administrative Guide CD-ROM). Instructions for submitting the report are located on the top of the report form. Please note, if you have already completed and submitted a form, there is no need resubmit.

Thank you for sharing your VBS success story with us! We look forward to receiving your report soon!

© 2018 LifeWay Christian Resources. All Rights Reserved