5 Reasons the Best VBS Teams Come Back Every Year
You worked hard to recruit an amazing team of VBS volunteers. How can you ensure they’ll want to join your VBS teams year after year? Maybe you can even recruit your VBS team to help throughout the year!
5 Reasons the Best VBS Teams Come Back Every Year
Invest in their hearts! Here’s how to have motivated, equipped, and passionate volunteers year after year.
1. Celebrate success together.
Once VBS is over, take time to marinate in the wonder of what you just pulled off—together. Tell success stories and share God Sightings. Giggle over minor catastrophes and high-five each other over the way you overcame obstacles. It may not have been perfect, but the fact that your team came together and poured into children is worth celebrating.
2. Rest.
It’s no secret: VBS is a monumental effort of time, energy, and resources. Take a short break to allow your VBS team to recoup, rest, recharge, and not think about ministry for a week or two to thrive. You can have your team take time off to get space from church responsibilities. Bring them to training and buy their lunch! Investing in them is investing in the longevity of their service.
3. Train together.
“For a team of volunteers, VBS is a little like a CrossFit workout,” says Jody Brolsma, executive editor and VBS champion for Group Publishing. “It’s a new experience every day. It pushes them beyond their comfort level. It leaves them exhilarated…and exhausted. But it also leaves them stronger and more unified. A training program keeps those ministry muscles primed and ready. Post-VBS training fuels enthusiasm, giving a team practical tools right while the memory of what God did through VBS is still fresh in their hearts.”
The most successful teams know individually and as a group how important each contribution is—from filling Dixie cups with apple juice to leading large-group time. Solid communication, regular affirmation, reinforcement from God’s Word, and a strong sense of team are all elemental to building a strong and successful team dynamic that lasts far beyond VBS.
5. Show that their work has a huge impact.
It’s no secret that churches are facing challenges with church growth and attendance. VBS is one of the most effective avenues your church has to reach your community. Share success stories, data, and growth. Ensure you communicate all the ways your VBS team reaches your community and makes a difference in people’s lives for Jesus.
Need more ideas for VBS? Start here!
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