Lead Well

If you have looked into running a VBS at all you will soon realize that it is not cheap.  Sure the craft looks cheap at 1.50 per unit, but multiply that by 150 and it is all of a sudden not so cheap.  An additional expense to VBS not including supplies for each class is decorating the main room and each classroom. Last year I made a list of everything I will need for VBS and sent some volunteers on a scavenger hunt.  Keep in mind that this was done 4 months in advance.  I had them go around and label paint, find decorations, and locate supplies.  Just by them looking for what we needed and using what was already available, I was able to save hundreds of dollars. In addition to looking for what your church already owns, make a booth where members can see what you need and provide for you.  Group suggested this to me for Power Lab by making a molecule wall.  Members who helped me during the actual week of VBS or not were able to participate simply by picking sheets of paper off a wal

A very important part of VBS is the team you're working with.  It is impossible to have a successful VBS without an incredible group of people working around you.  These people bring creativity, ideas, skills, and resources that you could never have imagined.  Sometimes getting people on the team is all about putting them in the right place.  Jim Collins talks about this concept in Good to Great.  He says that building a team is like getting people on a bus.  You may have the right people, but you must get them in the right seat as well. I am reminded of how this concept worked for me.  I had one volunteer who is an incredible organizer, but is also good at crafts.  I originally wanted her to work in crafts, but because of outside circumstances became a regular crew leader.  The next year she said that she would not like to be a crew leader again.  I was worried that I might lose an incredible volunteer so I asked her what she would like to do.  She said that she did not like h

So we've picked a VBS, now what do we do?  In planning a VBS, we have to think about the big picture at get smaller and smaller as the event gets closer.  When I did my first VBS, I had to decide what time to do it.  No one time is the right time for any church and if you don't get it right the first time that's ok.  Just chalk it up to experience and adjust next year. There are several questions we have to answer to help us plan. 1. What time works best for my church for this VBS?      a. At night      b. During the day      c. Sunday School      d. Summer Camp      e. Sunday Morning      f. Wednesday night? 2. How long do I want this VBS to last     a. 1 week     b. 2 weeks     c. a weekend     d. the entire summer? 3. Consider volunteers     a.  Do you think you have enough people to work at the time you want     b. how much of a commitment are they going to need to make     c. how many volunteers will you need 4. Are only children in the VBS or are w