I have to admit, I struggled with VBS last year. We visited a few other churches to see how their program was being run and to gather up ideas only to see the same faces over and over again. We have kids that come to our VBS and never darken the door of the church again until next summer. We have kids from Christian families that spend their entire summer VBS-hopping.
What does that all mean? Does it mean the program is a failure? That it’s not making an impact? Could we use our financial and volunteer resources better somewhere else?
Is it enough to have kids hearing the Word of God for one week a year? What if the kids at our VBS heard the same message at a different church last week? Are we still being effective?
This year, we’re stepping out of our comfort zone a bit to try something new. This doesn’t mean we’ll be done with VBS forever. However, we’d like to explore the idea of engaging families a bit more and getting out into the community where we can. We’re still kicking around ideas, but we’ve narrowed it down to Friday Family Movie night (inspired by a chapter in the Collaborate
What about you? What kind of plans are in your summer-time future? Are you rethinking VBS or is it still a strong and successful program in your community?
Other Links of Interest:
VBS Evaluation Form (originally posted by Wayne Stocks on Ministry-to-Children.com)