The Best VBS Workbook Ever!

PART ONE

The Vision

CHAPTER 1

The First Decision

ONE OF THE FIRST DECISIONS YOU will make about VBS is whether to buy a ready-made program or create your own curriculum. In any case, there are a number of things to consider as you begin your planning.

When you chose a ready-made VBS program, what drives your decision? Cost? Theme? Theology? A quick Internet search will yield dozens of ready-made Vacation Bible School programs, each one more cleverly themed than the next. Professionally produced music, craft kits, colorful signage—they’ve got it all. Or do they?

In many communities, numerous churches line the main drag that runs through the literal and figurative heart of town. By the first of June, as you drive down that road you will pass Vacation Bible School banners in every churchyard, most reflecting the purchase of a commercially produced VBS program. Do you ever question why a church chose a particular theme? And after you’ve passed the third sign featuring the same bad Jesus-pun in the title, do you wonder if these churches even considered collaborating or at least making sure there was no duplication in the programs offered? But that’s just it—none of these churches are offering anything that could be described as their program. Each church merely puts its own spin on an out-of-the-box pre-packaged idea. Consider that in offering a ready-made VBS package, you send the message that your congregation is interchangeable with the one next door or down the block. More subtly, you send the message that children’s theological questions can be satisfied with slick, superficial answers. And finally, you send the message that your denomination’s theology is identical or interchangeable with every other Christian understanding of God.

There is an alternative to purchasing a ready-made program. If you are uncertain about whether or not it’s worth it to invest the time and energy into developing your own VBS curriculum, you might want to consider these three reasons to do so.

Reason #1: Your Congregation is Unique

Even within denominations, no two churches are exactly alike. Each church family—like each human family—is unique, with specific strengths, weaknesses, and talents.

Each church facility offers a particular physical space. And each congregation exists in a particular moment in time in the midst of a particular community, facing challenges or sharing goals unlike those that have come before or will follow. Rather than choose from the existing offerings and try to adapt a package to fit your purposes, isn’t it a better exercise to identify your congregation’s overall goals and focus and build your VBS from that perspective?

In today’s world, people church shop, looking for that particular combination of worship, programming, personality, and vibe that appeals to their particular family. When a family sees your VBS banner, what message do you want to send? That you are one of many interchangeable churches or that you are a congregation with a strong sense of identity? You want to send the message that you are a church that plays a distinct role in the neighborhood, and that you are a church that is aware of the issues facing the broader community and is working to address them.

Reason #2: You Value and Respect Children

Developing a Vacation Bible School is a labor of love. It considers the unique perspectives of children and invests accordingly. It’s a home-cooked meal compared to fast food. It sends a message to the parents in your congregation and in your wider community that you respect children enough to take the time and effort to identify and meet their specific needs.

In a world where children are inundated with commercial media largely designed to drive consumption, the church needs to provide another narrative. We need to take time to speak to children with respect, love, and patience, offering programs designed for authentic spiritual growth and reflection. It’s not our calling to compete with Disney or Nickelodeon. How we engage children says everything about who we are. If we take the easy way out, purchasing a slick, splashy package with little thought to the spiritual depth of the audience, indeed we are saying that we don’t believe children capable of spiritual depth. We ignore the profound faith of which children are capable in favor of topical entertainment, doing both our audience and our congregations a disservice.

Reason #3: Reflect Your Church’s Theology

Certainly among Christian denominations, there is a wide range of theology. As much as we have in common, there are dogmatic differences that separate us. Would your priest or pastor stand in the pulpit and preach verbatim a sermon coming from another member of the clergy, particularly someone with a completely different theological perspective? Nor should you offer your children something that contradicts your denomination’s theology, the Gospel as we know and live it in the world. Although the theology of VBS programs might not be immediately obvious, make no mistake that children are highly attuned to nuance. They will pick up on the implicit (hidden) message in the curriculum. The way the Gospel is interpreted and directives about how we as Christians are to act differ greatly from one VBS curriculum to another. Differing theological perspectives can confuse even adults, who are at a more mature place in their faith journey. We need to make intentional theological choices in the stories we tell and in the lessons that we draw from them. Again, we owe our children no less.

CHAPTER 2

Know Your Congregation

WHERE TO BEGIN? LET’S LOOK AT the big picture first. Whether you develop your own curriculum or decide between various pre-packaged kits, program development for your Vacation Bible School should result from the merger of both theological and practical considerations. Form follows function: Knowing who you are, knowing how you function as a congregation and as a member of a wider community, will drive the type of VBS program you offer to the world. The following series of questions will be offered throughout this book as we explore each topic in more depth, but it helps to identify them from the start.

Who Are You?

If you were going to describe your church to a new acquaintance, how would you do it? If someone asked, Tell me about your church, what would you say? How would you answer these questions?

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What are three words you would use to describe your church?

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What does your congregation do well? What are three ministries that are working well right now?

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To which ministries does your congregation allocate the most resources?

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What are your three favorite church traditions?

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Are there any new or special ministry initiatives?

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What particular challenges are you facing as a church at this time?

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What are the existing or well-known long-term needs in your congregation?

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What ministries are you known for in the wider community?

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What challenges or needs exist in your wider community? Which ones are you already serving? Which ones are you not serving? How might you meet them?

Your answers to these questions might influence your VBS program choices. How might your VBS program help your children’s ministry live into the answers of these questions?

What Are Your Resources?

As you plan your VBS, you will want to consider the resources available to you, evaluating both church and community sources. By thinking beyond the boundaries of just those resources traditionally allocated to children’s ministry, you may realize that you are richer than you realized. VBS shouldn’t exist in a vacuum; it should draw from the wealth of your congregation.

Consider the following categories and questions. How might each type of resource benefit your program? They can come from your church community or from the greater community around you in your town or city.

Financial Resources

Is there a budget allocated to VBS? Are there additional revenue streams either from program fund raising, grants, or donations? Are there any available pools of money that aren’t earmarked specifically for children’s ministry, but might fund outreach, for example, if your program serves the wider community?

Personnel Resources

Consider the broad pool of people from whom you might find support for your VBS program. This might include church staff, volunteers, and church and community members.

Material Resources

What craft items, paper goods, and food stuff do you already have? What books, games, toys, and puzzles?

Physical Facilities

Does your church facility lend itself to a large group event? Are there indoor gathering spaces? A stage? Gathering spaces for small groups? Is there an eating space? Is it air-conditioned? Is there a yard or outdoor area that is accessible and safe? Are there other accessible community sites, such as a community center, playground, or park that you might utilize to increase the impact of your program?

Art, Musical, and Theatrical Resources

Does your church have instruments? Does your congregation include any musicians, actors, dancers, or actors? Does anyone in your congregation have access to costumes, theatrical props, or stage sets? Is anyone in a band?

Community Resources

Consider local educational institutions such as museums, zoos, and arts organizations. Do they provide community outreach programming?

Media Resources

Does your church maintain a website or a presence on social media? Do you have a relationship with any local print or broadcast media? Does your con-gregation include photographers, videographers, or moviemakers?

You may not have access to all of these resources, but if you consider the wealth of resources available in your congregation and your community, you may find that you have far more support for your VBS program than you imagined.

Take a Ministry Inventory of Your Congregation

Having thought about it systematically, hopefully you will discover that your church has a strong identity and many resources. Ministry can be thought of as being the way your church uses those resources to build the kingdom of God; ministry is the work of your congregation. Your VBS program should be an organic outgrowth of your congregation’s existing ministries, not an independent, unrelated program running parallel to the real work of your church. Children should be invited into the work of the church and be engaged in authentic ministry.

Consider each of the different ministries as they currently exist in your congregation, starting first with those areas of ministry specifically focused on children. Next consider broader ministry areas, and how the children in your congregation might better engage in those ministry areas through VBS participation.

Children’s Ministry

VBS is most closely associated with children’s ministry. In developing your program, you first should assess the health, intention, and focus of your children’s ministry in general, and then determine what role your VBS program might play. Ask yourself, or ask your clergy, your parish leadership, or parents in your congregation:

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What are the programs and experiences that fall under the category of children’s ministry?

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How do other members of the congregation view children? Would you like to change this perception?

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Are children central to the life of the congregation?

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Are children engaged and included in multi- generational experiences of worship, outreach, and fellowship, or are children steered towards child-specific programming?

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Are there areas of children’s ministry that are working particularly well?

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Are there areas of children’s ministry that you would specifically like to improve?

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Are there new areas in which you would like to expand children’s ministry?

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Would you like to increase or expand participation by the congregation’s children in certain program or ministry areas currently being done by adults?

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What do your parents and families want for their children?

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What do your children enjoy and respond to?

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Are there any particular ages or demographics that are underrepresented in your children’s ministry?

Once you’ve assessed your children’s ministry programs, then you will want to consider the other ministries that define your church. What ministries might benefit from the participation of children through your VBS program? What ministries could be expanded to include children? Consider each of the follow-ing ministry areas. How are they expressed in your congregation? Could or should your VBS program reflect, support, or engage any of these ministries and their resources?

Music Ministries

Music is the cornerstone of any great VBS program. When many of the lessons, crafts, and snacks have been forgotten, children will still recall the words to the songs they learned. Even if you aren’t personally gifted with a strong sense of music, it’s critical that you identify ways to incorporate music into your program. The best way to do that is to consider the musical resources and ministries that already exist in your parish and your community and build on those.

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Children’s choir: Could your VBS program invite existing choir members to share their gifts, leading VBS music? Or could VBS be a way to attract new members to the choir program?

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Adult choir: Who leads the choir and who sings in the choir? Might an adult choir member be tapped to help with music for VBS? (It need not be the choir director.)

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Handbell choir: Could children be introduced to this group? Could this group provide music for your VBS program, if not daily, perhaps for a special worship service or as special guests?

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Alternative worship services (For example: Taizé service, chapel service): Could children be given a role or learn the alternate musical styles reflected in these services?

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Ensembles or bands (For example, a praise band or jazz ensemble): Likewise, are there adults who could assist with VBS music? Or suggest theme-appropriate and singable songs for VBS?

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Camp songs: Is there a tradition of singing at camp, and can these songs be integrated into your VBS program?

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Music in your community: Do families participate in music programs such as Kindermusik? Have music budgets and programs been cut in local schools, making families eager for their children to participate in a music program at church? Are there local private music teachers and students? Are there local youth musicians from colleges, high schools, or other groups?

Outreach Ministries

Community service opportunities are a major consideration for some families as they look for a church home. The urge to instill values of service and compassion is strong in many modern families. And yet, parents often have a very unrealistic idea of age-appropriate outreach activities. VBS is an excellent way to afford children suitable opportunities to serve others while respecting their cognitive and emotional maturity.

What are the outreach ministries currently at work in your congregation? What are the outreach ministries supported by your diocese, judicatory, or greater denominational body? Do the social service providers in your community offer any programs? What needs do they serve? Does your church have active chapters of national or international support organizations?

Some of these local ministries might include:

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Hunger and food insecurity related ministries: Does your church cook, collect, or serve food at local food banks, homeless shelters, or soup kitchens, or support food delivery to the homebound? Could VBS offer you a chance to teach children about those ministries and engage them in collecting or preparing food?

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Community gardens: Does your church support a community garden, either on your property or nearby? Can you engage your children in learning about gardening, the challenges of providing fresh produce to people who are food insecure, or environmental concepts of ethical food production?

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Homeless ministries: Does your church collect toiletries and other small items valued by homeless people? Do you support initiatives to build and repair low cost housing? How could children in your VBS extend those efforts?

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Childcare or after school programs: Children helping children can be very powerful. How could your VBS program extend the ministry of the children’s outreach programs you are already engaged in?

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Immigration ministries: What are ways your VBS program could support, invite, and welcome newcomers into the community and support their transition? Are there special needs that immigrant children have that your program could serve?

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Animal shelters: Most children love animals and have a strong sense of compassion for all of God’s creatures. How could your VBS program encourage adoption or support local shelters?

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Environmental and conservation ministries: How might your VBS program expand or initiate your church’s ideas about environmental stewardship, Go Green initiatives, or creation care?

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Anti-racism ministries: How could your VBS engage in conversations and promote a better understanding of diversity?

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Mission trips: Does any individual or group in your church go on mission trips? How could your VBS support their efforts? How could you use your program to come up with a new answer to the old question, Who is my neighbor?

TEACHING COMPASSION

Ihad a parent of a four-year-old ask me about ways to teach her child compassion for others and to have an appreciation for their family’s many blessings. These are two very different lessons, and best uncoupled, but I listened while she continued. The mom thought perhaps she should take her child to serve lunch at a local homeless shelter. I had to gently steer this woman in another direction. The adult had no experience working with people who were homeless, and as such, I suspected that she underestimated the potential for interactions that were outside the scope of the scene she imagined. I explained that because some people who are homeless may be dealing with mental health issues along with issues of substance abuse and addiction, she and her child might encounter potentially confusing or disturbing behavior. The image of a kindly person patting her child on the head saying, Thank you for helping me, was not necessarily the reality of the situation. Also problematic was the idea of helping others primarily to make the child feel good about herself. Instead, I suggested that she begin to talk to her child about people in the community who don’t have enough to eat, and that they purchase extra groceries on their trips to the store. I suggested they pack the bagged lunches the shelter program distributed. Once the family had a better understanding of the needs and impact of homelessness, they could work toward being effective volunteers.

In addition to the ministries that originate and are specific to your congregation, you may support and participate in national and international outreach projects coordinated by other organizations. Do those organizations have resources or materials you could use as part of your VBS program and how might your VBS program strengthen your connection to these organizations? Some organizations you might have connections with include:

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Faith-based organizations: Episcopal Relief & Development, Catholic Relief Agencies, the Salvation Army, the Red Cross, the YMCA, and other service and relief agencies. When supporting any of these organizations, it’s important to consider not just the impact and efficacy of any particular program, but also the theology of the organization as a whole. Some organizations may take a very different stance than your congregation on social justice issues.

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Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts: While your congregation may support scouting by providing a gathering place, don’t forget that scouts make wonderful volunteers. Built into the scouting philosophy is the idea of older children mentoring younger ones. Consider forming a strong partnership with a scout troop as you plan and implement your program.

There are many other organizations your church may support that could provide you with inspiration and direction for your VBS program:

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Heifer International www.heifer.org

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Habitat for Humanity www.habitat.org

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World Wildlife Fund www.worldwildlife.org

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Amnesty International www.amnesty.org/en

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Child sponsoring organizations www.savethechildren.org

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National and global relief organizations www.episcopalrelief.org

Pastoral Care Ministries

Who are the populations within your congregation that your congregation specifically seeks to care for, support, and remember? Do you afford children the opportunity to care for others? How might VBS support these ministries? Consider the ways your members support the following groups:

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The sick

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The elderly

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New parents

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Caregivers

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Those who are homebound

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Military families

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College students

While it wouldn’t be practical or desirable for your VBS campers to visit a sick person in the hospital, children can support these ministries by making cards, preparing goody packages, decorating placemats or other items, and making bouquets. Although not always possible, it is wonderful when you encourage children to support these ministries if there can be some element of personalization and if the children can then receive some acknowledgment or response from the recipient.

Worship Ministries

Worship is the central focus of a congregation, and yet how central is it in your VBS planning