Ogden, UT – Redemption Church in Ogden led a Vacation Bible School April 21-23 at the church that drew 33 youngsters, just two shy of the 35 they were anticipating.
“Every kid was engaged with the Gospel each night,” VBS Director (and Connections and Family Pastor at Redemption Ogden) Casey Swails told UI Connections. “This was our first full-on VBS at Redemption Church Ogden. Many years ago we tried a makeshift VBS in the park before we ever had a building and it was not very well attended or executed. So this one was the first VBS we were able to fully make happen, and make it happen well.”
Swails credited a mission team from First Baptist Church at the Fields in Carrollton, Texas, for their enthusiastic assistance in bringing Illumination Station to Redemption Ogden.
Volunteers engaged kids on their level with Bible stories and activities based on the Lifeway VBS theme, Illumination Station.
“They presented us with the idea and gave us the know-how and lots of prep work to make it happen as well as it did,” Swails said. “In the future – probably 2027 – we hope to be able to do VBS during the summer. This was a great first time, and learning experience.
“The kids absolutely loved Illumination Station. From singing songs, to the nightly lessons, to shouting John 8:12, the kids learned that Jesus is the light of the world and that He can be the light of their life.”
At least 30 church volunteers worked with the mission team, including roughly eight junior high and high school students from Redemption Ogden’s student ministry. “That was a really great opportunity for them to partner with us in doing ministry,” the VBS director said.
High points of the VBS for Swails?
FBC at the Fields in Carrolton, Texas brought gifted and committed volunteers to assist in leading the event.
“Every night after the lesson portion, it was always a great encouragement to hear from the mission team’s lesson leaders that all of the kids were very engaged, good at asking questions, and the kids who are a regular part of Redemption Church Ogden had been taught the Bible well to respond to questions in a way that surprised the mission team.
“The excitement of the kids was unmatched. All the kids had an amazing time and it showed in our opening and closing ceremonies. We had some kids that we heard were itching to get away from their scheduled sports activities in order to come to VBS. We also heard kids running out to their parents after checkout excited to tell them about what they had been doing.
“We plan to continue connecting with the kids through the normal rhythms of life at Redemption,” Swails continued. “They were all excited to learn and enjoyed their time at VBS. Everyone from the volunteers to the kids had an amazing time. We learned so much and believe VBS could be an annual ministry moving forward.”
Swails expressed his thanks to UISBC for the evangelism grant awarded to the church that enabled supplies to be purchased for the spring VBS.
“It was a great encouragement that all the volunteers had an amazing time,” Swails said. “Every volunteer left tired, but so full of joy. While it was a lot of work for our volunteers, I believe that it breathed a lot of life into them to see the kids having so much fun and engaging in the Bible.”
Your Cooperative Program dollars help fund evangelism training events like our VBS equipping workshops held across the two states. Thank you for giving to the Cooperative Program so we can continue to equip VBS leaders to effectively reach their communities with the gospel. Join us throughout the month of April and May as we equip both English and Spanish language workers through Vacation Bible School. For more information, visit uisbc.org/vacation-bible-school
Earlier events on the calendar may push VBS planning to the back burner. But it may be the most important planning of the church year.
Nashville, TN- For many churches, dates for Vacation Bible School (VBS) are among the first placed on the church calendar each year. Churches give VBS high priority because pastors recognize VBS as one of the most important evangelistic events for the entire church year.
In some churches, a volunteer serves as the VBS director. Other churches may have a children’s ministry staff person who’s responsible for coordinating VBS. For some churches, especially single-staff churches, the pastor may wear the hat of VBS director. When a VBS director is wearing multiple hats, it is not uncommon for earlier events on the calendar to quickly push VBS planning to the back burner.
Preparation with a purpose
But preparing for Vacation Bible School can be compared to preparing for a trip. When I go on a trip for five days, I don’t just throw a toothbrush and some clothes in a bag and head to parts unknown. When planning a vacation, I sometimes spend months learning as much as I can about my destination. As a result, I can make lists of items I need to pack to enable me and those traveling with me to have the best experience possible.
Similar to planning for a destination vacation, planning must take high priority when preparing to guide children and families on an exciting journey during VBS. The destination for some may be accepting Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. For those who are already Christians, the destination may be growing in their daily walk with Christ. When a church recognizes the potential for eternal impact, VBS planning may become the most important planning of the church year.
I often hear, “There is no tired like VBS tired.” Let’s face it. VBS is hard work! But it’s worth it. VBS is the one week of the year with the potential to mobilize the entire church to reach the community with the gospel. At the same time, churches are providing a unique discipleship experience for individual children and volunteers.
Equipping leaders for VBS
Enlisting volunteers early in the year and providing teaching resources are important parts of VBS preparation. In order to be successful, volunteers need to receive more than a leader guide. Volunteers need training. While most churches schedule VBS during the summer months, the planning and training process should begin much earlier. Thousands of leaders attend Lifeway VBS Previews in January each year. State conventions and associations schedule training sessions as early as February.
Training is an important part of seeing people come to Christ through VBS. Lifeway VBS statistics show that for every person trained for VBS, we see 1.1 salvations. Awareness of those statistics motivates me to see every VBS leader trained to share the gospel. Training VBS leaders includes more than Bible study leaders. Music, crafts, recreation, missions, and even snack leaders need to be trained to share the gospel during VBS. Recreation and snacks are areas where kids often let their guards down and are more open to conversations. I have heard testimonies of recreation and snack leaders who had an opportunity to lead a child to Christ. A trained leader will be more confident in having gospel conversations with children, parents, and grandparents.
Enlistment and training are key elements of preparing for a successful VBS, but there is so much more. Every April and May, multiple people ask me: “Are you getting ready to start working on VBS?” People are often surprised to learn I work on VBS all year long. While some breathe a sigh of relief when the last decoration comes down, some of the most important work is just beginning. Personal follow-up with prospects and individuals who have made decisions needs to start right away.
By now, you may be thinking “VBS is months away and we are already behind. How can we map out a strategy for VBS without getting overwhelmed?” Lifeway prepares a VBS Administrative Guide each year to help in planning a successful VBS. The VBS 2024 Administrative Guide presents a six-step strategy to guide churches in VBS planning.
Know your purpose and theme.
Start planning.
Enlist and train your workers.
Promote and publicize.
Register participants.
Continue the connection.
Each step has tips and tools to help you accomplish that particular step. One of my favorite tools for helping VBS directors is the planning calendar provided in step two. The calendar is a checklist of tasks that need to be completed before, during, and after VBS. The list is divided into months leading up to VBS, helping VBS directors track their progress as they move toward VBS week. The calendar begins with tasks to be completed as early as six to nine months before VBS and gradually adds additional tasks. This planning process helps directors avoid feeling overwhelmed by attempting to do multiple tasks within a few weeks before VBS begins.
Lifeway’s VBS Directors Club is another great resource. The VBS Directors Club gives access to recruiting and enlistment tools, downloads for exclusive themed clip art, training presentations, a downloadable VBS planning timeline, and more.
Keep the main thing the main thing
In the midst of everything that must be done before VBS, it is easy to forget the purpose of VBS. The VBS director may have gathered all the items on the supply list. Teachers may have cut and sorted all the items in their leader pack. Worship leaders may have learned the motions to every song. Craft leaders may have organized every item possible for a project. But a leader who has not studied information on sharing the plan of salvation is not ready.
Always remember that the main purpose of VBS should be to reach lost people for Christ. You can have lots of fun with a theme and share all kinds of stories from the Bible. But remember to keep the main thing the main thing—helping unsaved children, students, and adults come to an understanding of their need for a Savior.
When you have made your lists and checked them multiple times, what else do you need to do? Be intentional about informing leaders about how your church plans to handle decisions during VBS. Help leaders know it is not their job to save people. They may not see results from their efforts right away. Their role is to share the good news of Jesus prayerfully, carefully, and lovingly. Encourage leaders to leave the rest to God.
Consider having a commissioning service on the Sunday before VBS begins. Pray with leaders, thanking God for the privilege of sharing His love with future generations. Ask God to bless the preparation of each leader and to give them opportunities to share with children, students, and their families.
If you find yourself questioning how you can justify months of planning for one week out of the church year, remind yourself of the main purpose of VBS. VBS is worth it!
Vicki has served as a childhood specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board (TBMB) for 19 years. Before coming to TBMB, Vicki served on church staffs in the areas of preschool, children, students, family, and education ministries. One of Vicki’s greatest passions is to help churches explore ways to move outside the walls of the church to reach their community for Christ.
Make your ways known to me, Lord; teach me your paths. Psalms 25:4 CSB
Life is full of Twists & Turns. For kids and families living in today’s world, that statement rings truer than ever. Between online school, global pandemics, disruptions in family calendar plans, and the stress of everyday life, we can take comfort in knowing that God is still in control and we can follow Jesus wherever He leads.
Lifeway VBS 2023 is all about the life of Apostle Peter from the moment he first encounters Jesus to his transformation as a missionary sent to the Roman officer, Cornelius in Joppa. Kids and families will follow a board game themed journey with activities, songs, crafts, and mission stories that will help them understand how Jesus is there for whatever “Twists & Turns” life gives us. Following Jesus is the ultimate game changer!
We want to encourage you to find one of our seven VBS training events we are hosting close to you and plan on bringing your team for a day of encouragement, singing VBS music, equipping leaders, decorating ideas, and see the fun craft activities firsthand that kids will be doing the week of VBS. These events will take place across Utah and Idaho throughout the month of April and the first weekend in May. We will be livestreaming a couple of the events to be posted on demand on our UISBC YouTube page. Subscribe today to be notified when we plan to go live and visit our VBS page for updated times and locations.
Training Schedule
Tentative Locations and Dates April 1, 2023 – Utah | English Training: Roosevelt Baptist Church, UT April 15, 2023 – Utah | English Training: Layton Hills Baptist Church, UT April 22, 2023 – Southern Utah | English Training: First Southern Baptist Church, Washington, UT April 29, 2023 – Utah | Spanish Training: Location TBD April 29, 2023 – Whispering Pines | English Workshop: Redeemer, Grangeville, ID May 6, 2023 – Treasure Valley |English Training: Central Valley Baptist Church, Meridian, ID
