A blistering summer afternoon drive in a kid-packed station wagon. Intently listening in the cool church sanctuary as the pastor reads from a Bible story book at dusk—and feeling weird perched in a pew in shorts and sneakers. Making crafts at long tables in the fellowship hall. Eating oatmeal-raisin cookies and sipping apple juice from Dixie cups. Tenderly cradling my newly decorated T-shirt—a teen volunteer had drawn a cartoony rabbit on it with fabric markers. Learning new songs and Bible texts. Chasing around lightning bugs as my mom tried to wrangle neighbor kids and me for the dark ride home.
These and other bright, shiny memories of Vacation Bible School (VBS) spilled into my thoughts as I prepared to write on the topic. Just about all of my VBS experiences were fun. They were also spiritually rewarding. And not just when I was a kid—I also gained when I volunteered at church as a teen. It was a pleasure organizing children into activities and serving snacks. And seeing faces light up when we did our Bible lessons was truly rewarding.
Of course, there can be only pleasant memories and positive, life-changing experiences if local churches conduct VBS. What does it take to run a successful program? VBS directors/coordinators from three different churches recently shared their experiences and tips with me as they prepare for their 2012 summer programs.
Prayer Power
“I got involved in coordinating VBS for a few reasons,” says children’s ministries director and VBS coordinator Trina Farrow-Ware. “I became a mother and wanted to help with children’s ministries (and their spiritual development), and I enjoyed VBS as a child. But it’s more than that. I get to see God working in the lives of those involved.” Farrow-Ware is a member of the Riverside Chapel church in Nashville, Tennessee. With Pastor Furman F. Fordham II at the helm, the 850-member congregation has gone through spiritual giftedness testing—church volunteers have been appropriately assigned to areas where their talents can shine. This includes the group that works with Farrow-Ware on VBS.
While Farrow-Ware believes this approach has been helpful in creating a strong team, two other reasons top her list for VBS success during the five years she’s been coordinator. Prayer is first. “This is God’s ministry, God’s plan,” says Farrow-Ware, “and prayer has been the most important part of our planning. When we try to do things on our own it doesn’t go over correctly; prayer is a key ingredient to having a successful VBS.”
And this team, which blends adult and teen volunteers seamlessly, takes planning ahead to a new level. Farrow-Ware explains: “As soon as we take down the VBS decorations, we start planning. We plan and submit the budget [to the church board] almost a year before the next VBS. This is very helpful as we look for resources.” Farrow-Ware recalls buying sheets of fabric during after-Christmas clearance sales, and getting tractor-trailer slabs free from stores—all months before the end-of-June VBS week. Other church members help look for bargains. They pick up kids for VBS in the church’s “vus.” They also bring food. “We start each day with supper at 5:15 [p.m.],” says Farrow-Ware, “and last year dinners were donated by members.”
Attendance at the Riverside VBS evening program ranges from 100 to 120, with 20 to 30 percent of those attending from the community. It takes four to five hours each weekday, about a month before the opening night, to cut out crafts and do the decorations. But for Farrow-Ware, all the effort is worth it. “Not only are we showing the kids attending how to have a personal relationship with Jesus at a young age—our teens come back year after year. They learn to work with children, they are included in all the planning meetings, and they have testimonies to share with the children,” Farrow-Ware says. “Kids have gotten baptized through VBS, and our church has grown [through VBS and other children’s programs].”
Farrow-Ware is excited about the theme “Sky” that they picked through Group VBS—she knows it will have a positive impact on those involved. “The theme is important. We always pick themes that are [Christ-centered]. . . . VBS helps those participating develop their personal relationships with Jesus.”
Youth, Youth, and More Youth
Klyde and Lily Layon are the husband-wife VBS team for the Loma Linda Filipino church in San Bernardino, California. Both participated in VBS when they were children, and they’ve been coordinating their church’s June evening VBS program for four years. And even though they believe that VBS is important because “it allows the children and adults to participate together in a program that is exciting, fun, and yet providing God’s messages to a child-?friendly environment,” they were hesitant about directing. So they tapped their congregation.
Knowing that VBS directors must be creative, imaginative, and resourceful, Lily explains: “Our VBS program typically draws more than 200 kids each year. So we decided to involve the youth and integrate them into the program. Our VBS staff is made up of less than 10 adults, but we have more than 100 youth volunteers.”
The Layons make prayer a priority too. But they know, without a doubt, that they’d be lost without the youth. “We adults are just too old,” jokes Klyde. “Three reasons we are successful? Youth, youth, youth.”
And with this infusion of teens and young adults, there’s a benefit to both church and community. “Our church members are surprised that the youth, the church’s future, are participating in such large numbers,” Klyde says. “And guess what? VBS ministers to those young people also. We’ve found that the kids respond well when they see the program ‘run’ by the youth.”
With a church membership of more than 1,000 the Layons start brainstorming and planning as soon as the conference gives them the go-ahead—and they realize that with such a large congregation, programs may need to be modified. “We find that the group VBS program allows for the most flexibility. The church’s support, especially from associate pastor Lambert Trinidad, has been wonderful.”
A Heart for Kids
VBS coordinator and associate pastor Sonia Perez also sees the teens and young adults who help the Beltsville program as the church’s future—but she also emphatically considers them the church of today. “The heartbeat, the lifeblood, of our church is kids,” says Perez. “And programs such as VBS allow us to disciple both the kids helping run the program and those attending.”
For the past six years Perez has coordinated Beltsville’s weeklong morning VBS held the first week of August. With an average of 200 kids signed up, being organized is a priority. “We include our young people in everything: planning, setup, and all the kids’ activities,” says Perez.
Planning usually starts early in the year with Perez and her team picking out the Group VBS program and theme. By April the VBS materials have been purchased. Songs with hand motions are learned ahead of time, the six stations of 12 groups each are assigned, and rotations to stations—Beltsville separates groups by age—are figured out before any attendees ever arrive. And almost all of this is done by the volunteer group of adults and teens. “No one wants the title of ‘coordinator,’ ” laughs Perez, “so I take it. But really, my team is so good, so dedicated, they really don’t need me.”
“I never have to worry about this church because of my leaders. The youth who lead know I believe in them, and they step up to it. And yes, sometimes they get distracted because they are kids, so it may look chaotic. But what they do is so organized—the kids have not had to worry about discipline or other things,” Perez says. “They have fun with it . . . it’s not just about the people coming. Those involved get back more than they give. I see it in my youth, as they grow up and go on. I’ve seen how VBS has been great training for them, no matter what field they go into: They have a heart for kids.”
Perez not only coordinates the actual program, but makes sure preprogramming tasks, such as online registration, are done. She also works on follow-up. As with the Riverside Chapel and Loma Linda Filipino VBS programs, there is a special Sabbath event culminating the week, with parents invited to attend. And it doesn’t end there at Beltsville. Group photos are taken during VBS and made into invitation postcards that are mailed to children’s homes in mid-August. “We invite them to a special Sabbath program in September or October—this gives us the opportunity to show these families we care, and it reminds them of the fun their kids had—and of the lessons they learned.”
Letting the young people lead—and discipling kids for leadership—are reasons the Beltsville VBS has been successful. Keeping prayer at the forefront and realizing nothing is impossible with God are also key. Says Perez, “Beltsville has a heart for kids . . . VBS is just an extension of that. The kids leave, but they come back and they give back. It’s a great training place. . . . That’s what makes this church so special.”
Perez explains that VBS is one of her church’s local evangelism programs. But this congregation of about 800 doesn’t keep the props, or the blessings, just to themselves. “We have amazingly talented young adults who make our backdrops every year—other churches borrow them. We also share our props and costumes with other churches in the conference. That way we all benefit.”
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Kimberly Luste Maran is looking forward to having her kids at Vacation Bible School: she’ll be driving them—and their friends—in the family car. This article was published May 24, 2012.
