Choosing the Right VBS Program – Plus FREE Evaulation Chart
The ABCs of VBS
Hello, and welcome to the ABCs of choosing a VBS program that’s right for your church, your budget, and your kiddos! We know how hard you work, and how much time, energy, research, and love goes into your programs…especially your annual VBS program. Whether you’re a veteran VBS Director or brand new to this fun and life-changing outreach opportunity to bring your church and community together, we’ve created an easy-to-use tool that can help! Let’s jump in to the fun and thought-provoking checklist that will help you start to think about what you really want from your next VBS program!
A) All VBS programs are not equal! In addition to theme, programming, training, and décor, VBS is the single biggest (and most effective) children’s outreach effort a church may make in the entire year! So it’s a BIG decision to choose which program is right for your kids, volunteers, leaders, and budget!
Be sure to look deeper to see if the VBS you’re considering will deliver more than just a decorating opportunity or fun crafts. Will you have a long-term impact on kids? share the Good News about Jesus in a compelling, effective way? build relationships that last? At the end of the week, those are the things that really matter. The enclosed evaluation chart helps you rate your top VBS choices.
B) VBS is all about the Bible! BUT there’s also more to a VBS program than being Bible-deep or Bible-heavy. You’ll want to be sure the material presented through your VBS is fun, interesting, and absorbable by young minds. Try looking at programs through the lenses of: Bible-wide, Bible-focused, and Bible-rich rather than Bible-memorization or Bible-overwhelm. There are all kinds of VBS programs out there, and we hope you’ll take a look at several of them while using the enclosed evaluation chart to ask yourself how deeply Bible-centered each one is. You can also evaluate whether you believe the kids who attend your VBS program will take the Bible verses, lessons, and stories home with them in their minds and hearts.
C) A VBS program should be comprehensive! Ask yourself if the programs you’re reviewing include and involve all ages, if they present ideas in a multitude of learning styles, and create experiential lessons to help kids develop lifelong relationships with Jesus. You’ll see in this VERY easy to use evaluation chart that it’s simple to see when a program is unilateral or if it reaches and teaches children through science, Scripture, music, play, all five senses, and loads of fun!
From ABCs to “That’s for Me!”
How to use this evaluation chart to choose the program that’s right for you:
Choose a few of the VBS programs that are at the top of your list.
- Review a random Bible lesson from each.
- Listen to a few songs.
- Skim the Director Manual.
Answer the YES/NO questions, and if YES, give the program a grade for their performance of that YES. Grading is outlined on the form, but ranges from 1 (poor) through 5 (excellent). At the bottom of the grading column, you’ll have the space to add up your scores and give that program a GRADE from your honest and thoughtful review of the short list of areas within each one.
Ready to download? Submit your email below to access the evaluation chart.
Please be sure to call us and one of our personal VBS advisers will be on-hand to help you with every preparation and planning question you might have. Dial 800-447-1070 (or 800-403-5598 in Canada) and we’ll work through your evaluation scores together!
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