Lead Well

One thing about VBS is that it takes a lot of supplies. Crafts, games, decorations, Bible stories and so much more all need stuff.  It’s a lot to handle and can be one of the biggest line items in your budget. To keep my costs down, I’ve used this one fundraiser for years with great success. Full-disclosure, I got the idea from Group VBS way back in 2008, and I’ve been iterating on the idea ever since. Here’s the idea: Create a Donation Wall. Groundbreaking, isn’t it?  I thought so.  But after using it year after year I found some great benefits. 1. Church members who can’t serve will give. I noticed quickly that many people in my church are unable to serve at VBS for various reasons but are happy to give. Every year, I’d have a few people who never served, but would pick up several donation cards (more on this later) every week and bring me the donations we needed. Many never came on a single night, but they played as big a role as anyone else. 2. You can use the supplie

Today is my 15th anniversary of vocational ministry. I owe my first job to Steve Lambert who saw potential in me and gave me a shot as a kid’s pastor. He paid for me to finish college, officiated my wedding, and gave my wife and I a place to live. I am forever thankful for his vision and generosity. May 12 of 2008, I was full of vim and vigor. I had so many dreams and passions. I remember telling my pastor that we were going to hit the ground running, and we did. In those first 12 weeks, I put on my first VBS with 100 kids and 50 volunteers and got married the following weekend. I can say that as the years have passed, things have not gotten any less exciting. My wife and I have had our ups and downs just like anyone else and now on the edge of a new ministry season, we are filled with as much passion as we were all those years ago. All that said, here are 15 things I've learned in 15 years of ministry. 1. Nothing is more important than your relationship with God.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash VBS is one of the most complex ministry outreaches in children’s ministries. It takes 3-6 months to put on a one-week event for tons of kids and a major part of the kidmin annual rhythm. One of the more complex yet essential parts of VBS is the schedule. It answers the question, “How are you going to get multiple groups of kids to multiple rooms throughout your campus all at the same time, not lose anyone, make time for bathroom breaks, and still get all the content covered?” While most curriculums have their own suggested schedule based on their proprietary structure, I’ve found most of them follow the same model. I’ve used the same basic schedule template for the last 20 years and today, I’m sharing it with you. Click here to download your VBS Schedule templates. Whatever you use for your schedule there are 5 essential questions you need to ask when creating it. 1. Is this a Day or Night VBS? The first question you have to answer is what tim