Our Summer VBS

I know, we're all getting started with the new school year and here I am posting about Vacation Bible School.  I'm sure we're all VBS'ed out but if you are a VBS coordinator you are probably looking into your curriculum for next year.  Or at least you should be!!  Yikes I had no idea we should have started so early!  We didn't start planning this until MAY!

This was our church's first full-out Vacation Bible School and I was excited to put it together with a couple of other ladies.  At the time I was going to post an in-depth blog post on the ins and outs of planning a VBS but time got away and here I am in September.  So I think I'm just going to give an abbreviated version of what I had in mind and share lots of pics. 

This lovely lady seated to your left was our indispensable, extremely talented artist who painted her heart out to get the decorations just right and create a rockin' atmosphere.  And a rockin' atmosphere is just what you need when you are going Backstage with the Bible, we chose curriculum put out by The Go Fish Guys.

With the concert theme in mind we set up our check in station to make the kids feel like they were waiting in line at a concert.  They needed their tickets and backstage passes ready before being escorted to their seats.  While waiting they could have their pictures taken.  Kentucky Fried Chicken was kind enough to donate the buckets that we used to make colored "lights." And our artist did up the portraits for the kids to stand behind.  (I know, it's weird me mentioning the Kentucky Fried chicken buckets when so many people donated to help us out but it's just that I think they came out so cool!)

We opened with a concert each night complete with strobe lights and music and dancing.  Three kids from our youth group volunteered ahead of time to lead the kids and be our dancers and they really helped to get the kids involved and having fun.  Each night after the concert they also put on a humorous skit that introduced the night's lesson focus. Something that has been lacking in VBS's lately has been the use of the Bible.  I think it may be that churches are trying to make VBS more easily accessible to the unchurched and I credit them for that however we need to find a way to keep the Bible in Vacation Bible School while making it a welcoming environment to those who don't have one.  This VBS program was big on that aspect of it and I think that's what drew me to it in the frst place.  Each child needed to have a Bible to get backstage and into the classes.  The way we made this possible for guests and those kids who didn't have a Bible was by giving Bibles away.  I believe each night we gave away at least one Bible and a couple nights three.  It was a small group so that's pretty good.  But even though it was small we had one to four guests each night.  It was such an awesome feeling to put a Bible into those kids' hands. 

And we didn't waste any time befoer the everyone was leafing through the pages, hunting for a requested verse.  In the classes every night they worked on a new memory verse and were often asked to look things up.  I had the pleasure of showing several new visitors how to find things in their new Bible.  And yes, I admit, they had the pleasure of receiving candy and prizes all along the way. 

Their evenings were filled with crafts, snacks, Bible lessons and games. 

As I look at this picture of our pastor's wife (the blond on your right, facing us) I am reminded that we had VBS in July.  Early July.  And she was PREGNANT!  But she didn't know it yet.  And neither did we.  But we know it now.  Yippie yay!!!!  Yippie yay!!!!! She's actually three months pregnant now and they only just made the announcement in church this Sunday.  I cannot believe how well they kept this secret because you KNOW every Momma in the congregation wouldn't leave them alone about when they were going to have a baby.  We've been gently nagging them for at least the two years they have been with us.  And now here they are pregnant and we are all so very happy!  But I digress...

For adults and kids, Backstage with the Bible was a very fun VBS.  Go Fish is putting out a new package with new songs er should I say old songs for next summer... It's called Kickin' It Old School.  Watch the trailer here.

  Oh and here's the other lady who put this thing together with me.  She's on  the left, also very talented and very fun.  And the gal on the right is my good friend and supporter and fellow KONOS homeschooler. 

So, even if you're not in the mood to think about VBS right now, you should at least consider which curriculum you are going to be using next summer and have it purchased this fall.  Then you can start planning it out in January and not be rushed to get it all together like we did.