Spring has sprung, and summer's standing
by--are you ready?
Use our handy emergency-preparedness guide to ensure your summer
ministry plans stay on track.
3 Ways to Get VBS
Supplies
Waiting until May to order VBS supplies can leave you high and dry
if your supplier is out of the items you need.
• Wait. Order the supplies you need and wait. Sometimes
items are on back order or may be returned by other churches that
ordered too much.
• Ask. Many curriculum companies offer alternative
products or provide substitution ideas for crafts.
• Network. Check with churches in your area to see if
they over-purchased for their programs or would be willing to lend
you a prop that's sold out.
School's Out!
Your weekend volunteers want a summer vacation--apart from
volunteering in your ministry. Give them the break they deserve
with these last-minute summer volunteer options.
• Parent Power-Ask parents to supplement your summer
openings by helping in a classroom at least once over the summer.
Who knows--it may become your best fall recruiting
tool!
• Merge-If your attendance drops over summer months,
consider merging into a multi-age program--these typically require
less volunteer power.
• Collegiate Push-Tap college students who are home for
the summer as volunteers--their energy, age, and creativity
captivate younger children.
• Off-Duty-School employees often miss little faces when
they're not in school. Ask them to bless you with their experience
on Sundays during the summer.
4 Easy Programs to Connect
Kids
Have you planned extra opportunities to minister to kids over the
summer? Try these easy ideas.
• Park-and-Play-Meet kids at a local park for lunch and
an hour of play time. Use this time to get to know kids in a small
group environment, free of programming worries.
• Church Mice-Have kids sign up for a morning of
doughnuts and service. Kids can come for a light breakfast on a
Monday morning, then work together to clean your worship center,
bathrooms, and common areas after busy Sunday services.
• Walk About-Call a group of kids to meet you at a local
trail head and venture into God's creation for hiking,
conversation, and friendship.
• Bookworms-Choose a kid's book and have it available for
purchase during your weekend worship services. Choose one day a
week for kids to come back to church for a book discussion. Let
kids dress up as characters from the story or together make a snack
that relates to the book.
180,000 = The number of U.S.
churches that host VBS each year
52 Percentage of pastors who
decided as kids to follow Jesus while at a Christian summer
camp
