Posted on March 23, 2010 - by rfrank

How to make VBS the biggest thing all summer – part 1

God has given me the privilege of connecting with thousands of children’s pastors and ministry workers. Through the ministry of KidzMatter and K! Magazine, I connect with new people in children’s ministry almost every day. One thing I’ve learned is this: everyone in children’s ministry has a desire to reach children for the Lord Jesus Christ. Is there anything greater one can do than to reach boys and girls for our Savior?

One of the greatest ways you can reach children in your church and community each summer is with Vacation Bible School. It’s the biggest thing we do at my church and it’s the highlight of my summer.

I learned early in ministry that it’s not enough to say, “I want to reach kids.” It’s not enough for a church to say, “We want to reach kids.” Those are simply words unless there is action. In order to take action, you have to have a plan.

Here are six tips to help you make VBS the biggest thing all summer.

First, choose to take the lead.

As a vocational children’s pastor, part of what I do is assess our current ministries. If they aren’t fulfilling the intended purpose, they get scrapped. If there is something new that we can do to better facilitate our purpose, it’s time for change.

Recently I was evaluating our summer ministries, specifically, Vacation Bible School. We do VBS each summer to fulfill the Great Commission (reach kids with the Gospel and make disciples) and to engage our community. I looked at other summer programming options—there are lots of new programs we could start to help us reach these goals. When I stopped to ask which new program would be best, it dawned on me: I already have a program that does what I’m after. Why should we start several new programs to do the work Vacation Bible School was designed to do? I left that evaluation session with a renewed passion to make Vacation Bible School the biggest thing of the summer.

If you have decided to use VBS in your church, purpose to step up to the plate and take it from good to great. Decide that you are going to take seriously this business of reaching children for the Lord Jesus Christ. Be the leader.