What Is the Real Impact of Vacation Bible School? Find Out Here.

You probably started thinking about next summer’s Vacation Bible School the day after you finished your program this year—and that’s a good thing! VBS can be an all-encompassing ministry effort that brings out the very best (and occasionally a bit of friction) in your church.

To encourage your head start this year, we’ve compiled loads of VBS information and tools as well as the results of our VBS Impact Survey. You’ll hear from more than 100 churches that recently hosted VBS. Plus, you’ll find resources to help you assess your next VBS program. Also, don’t miss our special VBS Guide!

The Impact of Vacation Bible School

Here’s an inside look at why VBS is important to your outreach strategy — and how you can make the most of yours.

Survey Says…

For this VBS Impact Survey, 120 churches that hosted VBS in the previous year participated. Churches surveyed are of all sizes and VBS attendances. This year’s focus is on uncovering the key takeaways for kids and the overall benefit VBS offers to churches and communities. Read on for the exclusive results.

$A SNAPSHOT: How many consecutive years has your church or ministry hosted VBS? 15+ years, 52%; 2 to 5 years, 21%; 6 to 10 years, 14%; 11 to 15 years, 8%; 1 year, 5%. Our VBS includes... Outreach to our community, 79%; Ministry to our church members, 60%; Missions outreach to another community, 12%; Other, 10%; A traveling VBS ministry, 2%. My main role in our VBS includes... Children’s ministry director or leader, 69%; VBS director, 52%; Volunteer leader, 10%; Leader of another church ministry, 4%; Volunteer worker, 4%; Other, 3%. Our average VBS attendance this year was... 201 to 500 kids, 22%; 21 to 50 kids, 20%; 101 to 200 kids, 19%; 51 to 75 kids, 14%; 0 to 20 kids, 6%; More than 500 kids, 3%. Our average budget for this year was... Under $1,000 , 20%; Under $3,000, 18%; Under $2,000, 15%; Under $5,000, 15%; Under $500, 13%; More than $10,000, 8%; Under $7,500, 8%; Under $10,000, 3% \.$

Survey Takeaway

For the churches in our survey, the biggest indicator of a successful VBS was parent/child satisfaction. This was closely followed by “other” indicators, more faith commitments from children and adults than the previous year, and more attending children than the previous year. Participants in this survey didn’t consider staying within the budget or fewer children from other churches attending as an indicator of success at their Vacation Bible School.

What is the main reason your Vacation Bible School was a success?

Overwhelmingly, participants listed the key reasons their VBS was considered a success as:

Number of children making faith commitments
Commitment from volunteers
More non-church members attending
Positive feedback from children, parents, and church
Outside-the-box thinking to better reach children and families
Greater attendance due to creative publicity efforts

If your Vacation Bible School was not considered successful, explain why.

Of the 7 percent of churches who said their VBS was not successful, here were the main reasons why:

Low attendance
Few faith commitments
Lack of church leadership support
Lack of volunteers

Survey Takeaway

For these churches, VBS is a success. A majority 89 percent said the VBS program was considered somewhat of a success or a complete success according to the church’s measurement.