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 u...

Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash With Easter in just a few weeks, you’re probably deep into prep for the big weekend. Whether you’re doing an egg hunt , planning your worship set , or just getting your volunteers ready , there’s a lot of focus put on this weekend. Not to pile on, but there’s one more thing to consider for Easter. What are you doing this summer? In the past, in the weeks leading up to Easter, I put my VBS and other summer activity planning on hold. However, I realized that this was a mistake. On Easter weekend, you will have more people come to your church than on almost any other day of the year. Whether they’re guests, CEO (Christmas and Easter Only), or all your regulars, almost everyone goes to church that day. Which means that it is a great opportunity to tell them about what’s coming and how they can continue to engage with your church community. Even though many parents aren’t thinking about the summer, yet, in a few weeks they will be. You can get in on th...

Photo by Edu Lauton on Unsplash It's January and that means it's time to start working on VBS. I know it’s 6-7 months out, but there are a few high-level decisions you need to make now to set you up for success in the coming months. One of the first questions that is asked is, "What VBS curriculum should my church use? The truth is there are a lot of great curriculums out there, and while I have my preferences, I won’t advocate for any of them in this post. When picking out a VBS curriculum there are so many things to consider. Theme Cost Content Structure Strategy Music Volunteer needs So much more While you will need to answer all those questions, I think there are three main questions you need to answer before any others. Three Questions to Ask Before Picking a VBS 1. Strategy (Why are you doing this?) For me this is the most essential question to answer.  If you don't take the time to think through your strategy, you're just throwing a dart at the wall ...

I recently saw a post asking what children’s pastors do to get kids to their VBS. COVID has changed a lot of things, and this summer will be telling if these strategies will still have as much effectiveness, but I know pre-COVID, my VBS continued to grow, and I saw more and different kids every year. If you want to reach more kids with the Gospel, you need to tell people what you're doing regardless of whether your VBS in-person, online, in the neighborhood, or something else.   With that said,  Here are my 7 steps to market VBS. 1. Build a contact list Whether you’ve done VBS in the past or this is your church’s first time, you have to have a contact list to begin. The contact information should include the kids’ names and ages, their email, their physical address, and their phone number. If this is your first VBS, your church database should have all this information of the kids in your ministry. Every year, I add to my contact list the new kids who are current...

This summer I decided to make the switch from Group VBS to Orange VBS. I knew this was going to be a big change for everyone. I've done Group for almost 20 years. It's the only VBS I knew and the only one I've led. I even got to be a part of a focus group for Group a few years ago. A few years ago, I transitioned my children's ministry to the Orange curriculum. I loved the strategy, my small group leaders loved the simplicity of following the curriculum, and my kids loved all the fun they were having. When I started at my church almost 6 years ago, they held several VBS programs in the past but they were hit and miss over the past 10 years, so I had a clean slate and did what I knew by bringing Group VBS to them. Group helped us grow from a VBS of 100 kids to over 300. They were great to us. However, I wanted to be more strategic and I loved the fact that the Orange VBS theme lined up with the summer series. So, I casted vision, laid the groundwork, ...

Vacation Bible School is this week, so I am going to blog every night about the night's experiences. We did it!  The week is over.  The decorations are down, the materials are put away, and the lights are turned down.  Another VBS for the history books.  I could not have made it without an amazing team helping me along the way.  Here are some things I've learned through this latest journey: When advertising say pre-registration and not just registration. I had several calls all week asking if their kids could still come to VBS even though they didn't register before the event.  After pondering why this question would surface I've narrowed it down to this  possibility .  People were confused and led to believe that if they didn't register early they couldn't register at all.  That's easily fixed next year. Don't put VBS in the same month that everything else is going on. This month alone, I went to Orlando for JBQ national finals...

Vacation Bible School is this week, so I am going to blog every night about the night's experiences. We're in the home stretch now.  Tonight was the night that the whole week was building toward.  We gave the kids two opportunities to accept Christ.  While I don't know the numbers yet, I'm sure most of the kids have been impacted by what they have learned throughout this week.   Children's ministry offers us an awesome opportunity to impact lives, but also keeps us young and provides many opportunities to laugh.  Here are two funny stories from tonight. During Elementary Chadder's Theater, our wonderful station leader was saying the sinner prayer with the kids.  In the middle of the prayer, a little girl had to "toot."The entire room heard it and half the room smelled it.  After the prayer was finished the little girl kept looking around asking who did it.  No matter what happens...Trust God! For the Finale, I needed to put some...

Vacation Bible School is this week, so I am going to blog every night about the night's experiences. Day 3 is over.  We had another great night.  Our volunteers continue to deliver from the oldest to the youngest, they are doing an incredible job night after night.   Tonight we got to help some ladies from another church learn some things about how to run a VBS.  They were amazed with the organization, the production, and most of all the excitement surrounding each event.  I had a blast walking around with them sharing some of the knowledge I learned through the school of hard knocks.   There is no way we could do this without all of our volunteers.  Your hard work and feedback is part of what makes this VBS so great.  Thank you so much for giving of your time this week. Don't forget to check out the pictures and videos on the Kidtricity Facebook page: http://facebook.com/kidtricity If your kids love their crew lea...

Vacation Bible School is this week, so I am going to blog every night about the night's experiences. What a crazy day!  Day 2 is complete and Liz and I couldn't be happier with the outcome.  Tonight we learned that no matter how you feel...TRUST GOD!  We talked about even though we may be sad, afraid, or sick we have to trust God.  It was an appropriate theme for the night since one of our volunteer's mother was put in the hospital minutes before the night began.  Instead of staying home and sulking, the volunteer decided to come to VBS and trust God.  Several of us prayed with this volunteer after the night, and we ask you to do the same.   I am so thankful for all the volunteers who are giving of their time to come to VBS.  Without them this entire week could not happen.  We are laying the foundation to make a huge impact in the years to come with future vacation Bible schools.   If you would like to see some pictures ...

Vacation Bible School is this week, so I am going to blog every night about the night's experiences. Day 1 is over.  It was a crazy day that went so much faster than I ever could have dreamed.  For the first big VBS at Evangel, I am blown away by the volunteer response and all the kids learning that "Everything is possible with God!"   We had our ups and downs, schedule mishaps, scratched fingers and even an overflowing toilet!  Nevertheless our kids learned that "no matter who you are...trust God!"  One hundred six kids came to tonight's event and we are expecting even more tomorrow night. Please continue to be in prayer for sick kids and volunteers, and for Thursday as we will be giving our kids the opportunity to accept Christ. You're welcome to come hang out with us each night for our Up & Away Sing and Play and our Fly Away Finale.  We'll have a chair saved just for you. If you came to VBS, leave a comment below and tell us ab...

Tomorrow is the big day.  All the hard work, stress, lack of sleep, advertising, and recruiting is over.  The materials are purchased and the rooms are decorated.  As I walk through the hallways, I am overwhelmed by God's faithfulness and blessings to my church and me. A year ago, I decided to answer God's call to leave First Assembly of God, not knowing where He would take me.  Here I am at an incredible church with amazing people and an opportunity to minister to more children at one time than ever before.  I cannot move forward with giving God thanks for all He has done. I am reminded of one of the songs from this year's VBS.  "I'm feeling kind of sad and afraid and kind of angry too...God give me strength and help me find my way."  It's chorus says that no matter how I feel right now I will trust in [God].  So here I am trusting in God.  I am believing that God will do incredible things next week and lives will be changed forever. N...