By Joni Sullivan Baker
Christmas decorations are down, second semester is underway, and snow is on the ground. It”s January. For those involved in children”s ministry that means only one thing””it”s time to start planning Vacation Bible School.
Every summer, Standard Publishing puts its brand-new, unpublished VBS curriculum to the test by asking a local church to actually try it. Christ”s Church at Mason (Ohio) tested the new VBS last June.
VBS 2011 is called “Inside Out & Upside Down on Main Street: Where Jesus Makes a Difference Every Day!” The children in the field test learned about five of Jesus” parables while experiencing a friendly and whimsical town center.
They started and ended each day at “Sidewalk Celebration,” plus visited “Firehouse Fitness” for games, “Brown Bag Bistro” for snacks, and the “Fun Factory” for crafts and service projects. The highlight of each day was visiting the theater where children participated in “Parable Productions” to learn that day”s parable.
Leaders of the field test VBS have many years of experience. Christian Standard asked their advice for preparing for VBS 2011, and their comments about the new “Main Street” VBS now available from Standard Publishing. Below are some of their insights.
Those interviewed include VBS director Wendy Rote, one of Mason”s children”s ministry directors; Bible teacher Robin Davis; and worship leader Renae Hudson, who has served as Standard Publishing”s VBS choreographer for more than a decade.
WENDY ROTE
Wendy, you”ve directed VBS many times. What advice do you have for a first-time VBS director?
The most important thing is to get an early start. I generally start working on it in January or February. I don”t mean I”m working on it every day, but I familiarize myself with the target dates, get the curriculum materials, and most importantly, I create a time line so we can do things well.
There are a lot of little details and behind the scenes tasks to make VBS seamless.
Second, get your key people in place””for snacks, recreation, missions. If you get your key people in place, you can pass along your vision for how you want to do things, Then they can run with it.
And finally, make sure you bathe the entire process in prayer, and ask God to help you be organized and get that good core team to support you. And realize that one person can”t do it all.
How do you find that “good core team”?
Whatever the church”s size, there are people who have skills and talents you need. Look for people who don”t already teach in Sunday school. And be creative. For example, one of the lessons in Standard”s VBS is about a banquet feast. Maybe you have a chef in your church””have him or her come and talk to the children about banquets.
Pray for God to open your eyes to other people who might help.
We have seniors who help, and people who take vacations from work and help. Use your teenagers as assistants in the classrooms””the kids love that.
There are untapped resources in every congregation, and the bigger the team you build the more successful you will be.
Did you feel the new VBS curriculum you tested was effective?
Standard does a good job of keeping the Bible focus. They do the fun activities, but they are always about the Bible. I thought the overall theme was a good one and I liked how the characters involved the kids in something at the end of the day to tie the story together. These lessons were ones kids could learn from and relate to their lives.
And I also liked the service emphasis available with the craft time. Two or three of the projects we did were service related, and we could have chosen all five days to do the service project crafts. There is a lot of flexibility to plan the way you want it.
ROBIN DAVIS
Robin, you were the storyteller for the field test. That”s an important job. What do you think is vital in preparing for that role?
This is going to sound really obvious, but the most important advice is to actually read the Scripture you”ve been given to tell. It”s easy to just tell the story as it”s given to you in the VBS materials, but some perspective is lost when you haven”t read the full Scripture text.
Plus, especially for this VBS that focuses on Jesus” parables, I think it”s important to be careful what words you use to tell the story, because the words of the Scripture are Jesus” actual words. I think it”s really important we get those right.
But also consider your audience. You might use less detail with the kindergartners than with the fifth-graders. The beauty of the Bible is there are layers of meaning. The older the kids get, the more depth they comprehend.
And finally, you don”t have to spend a lot of money on expensive props. It”s surprising how many things you already have in your house that will work great. In fact, when you tie the story to everyday objects, you help the children remember the story, because then every time they see that familiar object””a rake or a paper plate””it reminds them.
What did you think of this new VBS?
I loved the theater theme in the storytelling area, because you could do so much. The kids could pretend they were in the parable and were very much part of the story. The best way to teach kids is when they don”t know they are being taught. And the Bible content was solid, yet at the appropriate depth for each age group.
RENAE HUDSON
Renae, you lead children”s worship at Lifespring Christian Church in Cincinnati, and you develop the worship time and the choreography for Standard Publishing”s VBS each year. What”s so important about this worship time at VBS?
The worship time for VBS is really important, especially the opening, because it introduces the theme for the day. It gets the kids going on the main thing they are going to be learning about. There is at least one song per day that emphasizes the day”s theme and reinforces the lesson.
Repetition of the main idea is key. Repetition is how kids learn.
There”s a specific song for each day?
Standard Publishing has 10 songs each year. There”s the theme song and at least one song for each day that fits the day”s lesson. This year”s VBS features a daily concept, a word like compassion or forgiveness, called the “Word on the Street.” At least one song each day is about one of those words.
Sometimes there are different choices of styles of music so a director can choose what fits her church best.
And there”s a music video for each song that can be watched as part of the worship time or to teach kids the motions. The videos fit the theme, but they don”t include any of the VBS graphics, so they aren”t limited in how they can be used. So when the kids get excited about the songs, they can keep using the songs and the videos all year long.
What are some key elements a VBS worship director should prepare for?
If I sat down with someone who was going to be a VBS worship director, I would tell them to start by learning the songs and motions, and then decide which ones they plan to use.
Any final advice?
Smile and have fun, and the kids will have fun, too. I think just about every day in VBS I make a mistake, mess up the motions or forget some words. No one cares, so don”t worry about it. I think the kids actually kind of like it that I make mistakes so they know that no one is perfect””we”re all just learning together.
Joni Sullivan Baker is managing director of Buoyancy Public Relations.
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As Your Church Prepares for VBS
More help is available at www.vacationbibleschool.com, Standard Publishing”s VBS site.
Electronic tools there help churches handle registration, calculate craft and snack quantities, and work out their planning calendar and decorating needs. In addition, there are free downloads of supplemental materials, and forums where VBS leaders share challenges, blessings, and ideas.
As one of the nation”s leading VBS publishers, and the first publisher of VBS, Standard Publishing is an award-winning provider committed to the ministry of VBS and its ability to change lives.
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