where to start

[newDirector]

I have been given the task of choosing the curriculum. Where do I begin. We like the SonWorld theme but I am overwhelmed by all the information.

[houseparent]

Gospel Light curriculums are great they are easily adaptable to your specific situation.

After you have viewed all the preview stuff on the VBS website, the next thing to do is just hang out around here. Feel free to ask specific questions. Everybody is great about trying to help out everybody else.

There are tons of great ideas posted and you can use the ones that will work for you, and not worry about the rest.

[newDirector]

Have you done SonWorld before? Have these curriculums been around awhile? My fear is the children's expectations. Will they not expect some "real" theme park stuff?

Have you always used Gospel Light. I notice that there are other curriculums by other publishers. What is your view?

[houseparent]

Sonworld is a new VBS curriculum that was released this year. Last year's theme was Sonforce Kids and it was the best VBS our Church ever did. This is my second year to use Gospel Light, and I will most likely us GL 9 times out of 10 in the future. I like how easy it is, and I especially like the reproducible Music CD. I think the music is one of the most important aspects of VBS and I can make a cd for every child in VBS for much less than a $1 each. I have kids that still listen to their VBS CD from last year everyday, my grandson calls it his heart song.

Gospel light has been around for 75 years. I think most kids that attend VBS understand what it is and won't expect to be riding carnival rides for 2 or 3 hours. A good VBS is a great time for the kids while providing an opportunity to share the Gospel with them.

I have used curriculum's from other publishers in the past, but GL is my favorite. I considered a different publisher this year, because their theme fit my personality better, but the music brought me back.

IF you are a VBS director with no experience, try to contact some churches in your area and try to meet with their VBS director, you could even find somebody nearby that is also doing the Sonworld theme or whatever theme you choose and get their advice. Most VBS directors are more than willing to help others out, that is the reason I spend so much time on this board.

Don't stress too much and try to have a great time, for me even the day before VBS when I am at the peak of my stress level, I am still having a great time.:D

[newDirector]

Technically this is my first time, I had the title of Director last year but I didn't choose the curriculum and I had no idea what I was doing. We had a great team of teachers and helpers last year so hopefully I will have them again last year.

I am taking on more of the Director role this year and so want to make sure I get it right.

I am seeing a lot about the reproducible CD. Last year, we decided to make our VBS an outreach program and did not charge a reg fee and then we realized that we couldn't re-produce the CD. We ended up having to try and sell the CDs and it was hard. I agree the music is very important. Just this weekend, my soon to be 4 year old was singing one of the VBS songs from 2007.

I also like this forum and that GL staff are writing in the forum. It seems that they provide good support. I have just downloaded Christy's Director Calendar.

By the way, I note that your VBS is during the same week as ours.. Where are you in the planning stage. Last year we were way behind and I am determined not to be this year.

[houseparent]

I am at the stage of studying my materials, planning crafts and decorations, and pondering what leadership changes I would like to make this year. Our VBS is 6 weeks later than last year, so I am not as pressed for time and I will be able to take advantage of learning from everybody else that has their VBS before me. I may even get to be a receiver of decorations rather than a supplier this year.

Last year the decorations I made ended up at 5 or 6 different VBSs. We are all really good about sharing. If you don't choose this theme, be sure to choose one with an active forum, it could turn out to be one of the most valuable resources you have as a director.

[TrinityJen]

Hi newDirector! Welcome, I have only taught and directed GL VBSs, so I am not much help in choosing a program. I like that GL has so many options, and you can expect the same format/choices each year. To me it is like a formula, you just change the information for the new year.

I also like the reproducible CDs. I am lucky to have a member of the congregation copy them for me each year. The last 2 years I have mailed them out to the kids who registered early. What I also like about GL is that you can do your own crafts, they have suggestions on the craft guide for many price ranges. Places like Guildcraft sell kits, some that match the theme adn some are similar to GL suggestions.

I am moving a little slower this year than normal, but at the same time somethings are easier to do each year. I am updating the clip art, wording and fonts used in materials, letters, etc. I am briefly talking to previous teachers and passing along the VBS dates. I will have a planning meeting after Easter, early April. That meeting will be to find new teachers and helpers and to pass out decorating assignments.

You will find that the GL directors guide has a wealth of information! A suggested schedule, ideas for a big or small VBS, publicity ideas, so much!!!

I hope you feel welcome at the web boards weather you use GL or another program. VBS would not be the same for me w/o the boards adn the friends here.

[KimR]

You have made a great first step! I always tell the directors to get on the forum and participate. I can tell which ones do and which ones don't. You will gain a lot of support here. You will receive tons of ideas!!
Our team has the top leaders on board and are working with them to get lists of supplies so that we can by April have those who can help cut and sort materials working on that. They have started recruiting. Set should be starting. I need to check on that with the leaders. We have figured out room arrangements. We are trying a few new things this year which means we need to adjust the classrooms.

The outline in the Director's Guide has always been a terrific help. I LOVE being able to cross it off and see it all in a couple pages.

The biggest thing would be to work on volunteers and take the time to formulate a plan. You want to know exactly what you need and where you are going before you talk to people.

God's Blessing!! HAVE FUN!!

[KimR]

I realized that my reply assumed you had made your decision of curriculum. Just in case that is not done as of yet, here are some ideas.

1. Take a look at your church and what kind of VBS they are use to. Are you keeping it the same? Do you think it is time for a change? Why did they go in that direction?

2. What are your areas of emphasis?
*For me music is harder to find things that all ages will enjoy. So, that is an important area to check out.
* The crafts are always close to equal in all curriculums that I have checked out through the years.
*When I evaluate VBS curriculum I place the biggest emphasis on whether or not the 4th - 6th graders are going to be attracted to it. There are many VBS programs that have wonderful themes and lots of fun stuff. But those with cutesy characters or cartoons don't attract those ages. Every church we have had the previlage to serve had been complaining that the upper elementary kids just will not come. At every church we (my husband is the senior pastor) have always increased numbers in those ages by double in the first year alone. The biggest issue was that they didn't want to do something that was for "babies". The other is that my husband expects that the pastors will be present and intimately involved. They don't just peek their heads in. They play, make fools of themselves and get dirty with the kids. It is fun to watch a 43 year old acting like a kid!
*The last thing in the evaluation process is what comes in the kit. Are we going to be paying out twice as much to have what you need in the end or does it have all of the components? Are they reproducable?

That gives you a better idea of what I think through when looking for a curriculum.

[jruckman]

Good answer, KimR ! I'll second that part about trying to select a curriculum which will attract and hold the 4th-6th graders. The littler kids will do anything and love it, but the enthusiasm with which the older kids participate will trickle down as the younger kids see that the older kids think it's cool. Last year's SonForce Kids was, as someone said earlier on these boards, "a grand slam". And my fourth-grader and sixth-grader are pretty excited about SonWorld Adventure Park already. Best wishes on your selection process.
Janet

[Josh1]

Welcome to the SonWorld Adventure Park Forums!:D

Are you still looking into different VBS curriculum? I'd be happy to help you with that. Feel free to e-mail me at josh1revolution (at) yahoo (dot) com.

If you've decided on SonWorld Adventure Park congradulations! I'm sure you'll have a blast. This board is full of ideas that you can use for your SonWorld Adventure Park VBS. If you have any other specific questions, feel free to post and someone would be glad to answer it.
God Bless,
Josh Trommer:rolleyes:

[newDirector]

Thank you all for your responses - it has been very useful. With much thought and prayer, the decision has been made to go with SonWorld Adventure Theme Park. Now I just have to figure which pack to purchase. It seems at first glance that the Super Pack is the way to go but will I actually need all the materials? Budget is a real concern. We are doing this as an outreach program once again and so there will be no money coming in from reg. fees.

What are your opinions?

[Josh1]

That's great to hear that you will be doing SonWorld Adventure Park as your VBS 2008! I'm sure you'll have a blast with it.:)

Since your church is on a limited budget, I would order the Starter Kit and then order anything else you would need for VBS. Here's a link to the SonWorld Adventure Park/SonHarvest County Fair VBS Catalog.
http://www.gospellight.com/wcsstore/Gospel%20Light/upload/catalogs/GL_VBS%2008%20Catalog.pdf
Look at pages 6 & 7 and see what you'll need for your VBS. If you don't need alot of the items in the Super Starter Pack then just order the Starter Kit. It's really your call though on how much you would like to do at SonWorld Adventure Park.
There's also Discount VBS websites that I can give you. If you're interested e-mail me at josh1revolution (at) yahoo (dot) com.
God Bless,
Josh Trommer:rolleyes:

[newDirector]

Thank you. I will look in the catalog and may well email for the discount information.

I have another question for everyone. I note that a preview event and closing program is mentioned in some of the materials. How many of you have done these and what is your take on these events?

Thanks again for all your help. This forum really is invaluable.

[KimR]

We do not do either as written. We don't have a preview event but I think it would be great. I can see how if it was done outside so that the neighborhood can be attracted that would be a way to expand to outreach. Our "closing" is worship on Sunday. One worship service is devoted to the kids singing different songs, the characters doing part, the 6th graders reading scripture and giving "testimony" plus the sermon revolves around the theme. It gets some who may not ever walk into a worship service there once. It shows that kids that they can be a part of worship and that it all truly revolves around God. That is why we take it to worship so that we can give back to God what he gave to us. We have only used the skit as written for service once. Most of the time
we adapt it to fit worship.

[flutist14_99]

As far as the preview event goes, we alter the program a little and have it a couple weeks before to get the kids excited and then alter a little more and have one the Sunday before VBS to really move the momentum forward. For outreach, if you really wanted to get out into the community, you might try getting a little acting troupe together and randomly stopping on streets or at parks doing skit or bring a boombox and just start singing and motion to get everyone excited. If you were doing that I would also take some flyers along. (You know I might use that idea myself now that I think of it. :rolleyes:)

For the closing program, we do basically go by the book with a few alterations to meet the needs of our church. In the past, this was done on a Sunday night because many of the kids we get at our church attend church elsewhere. However, I do like KimR's idea of doing it in a worship service. We like the closing program because it is so convienent to really show the parents what we have been doing. Also, we close each year with a carnival after the closing program. This gives the parents a chance to even visit the rooms the kids had classes in and is just a lot of fun. This year we are trying to really make the carnival an integral part because of the theme.

I'd say whatever you do just adjust to meet your churches dreams.

[sbf]

Here is what we do. Our VBS is an outreach too, We let everyone know about it by handing out invitations in a parade the city holds at the beginning of the summer. Our VBS is at night and our closing program is on Friday. We shorten each class in our rotation by 5 miniutes on Friday which gives us 30 extra minutes. During this time we invite the parents to join us and we sing all the songs with motions, have a closing skit to wrap up the week, show a wrap-up movie of the kids and what they did doing the week and Share with the parents what our mission project was and how much we raised. After the program which lasts about 40 minutes we invite everyone to join us for cake and fellowship. The kids can then show the parents around and share thier experiences. This works really well for us.

[Sherri in GA]

We do not do a preview event, simply because when we have done one in the past it took up so much time that we would rather spend on VBS. I will use some of the ideas in the preview information to promote VBS at other times, however, such as play one game or have one snack during our Awana club time. For our closing program, we have that on Friday night (ours is a morning VBS). It keeps momentum going not to wait until Sunday morning. Following the program with the songs, skits and a video we make, we have an ice cream party with churn after churn of homemade ice cream. We have found that having it on Friday nights can be less intimidating for parents who are not involved in the church to come. It's always a fun time, and gives us the opportunity to fellowship with guests. Then we clean up, go home and collapse and try to recover on Saturday!

[TrinityJen]

We do not have a preview event either. Like Sherri in GA (Hi ya!). Our church has a Wednesday night dinner, so we now have a Family Fun Night the Wednesday of VBS. We do some of the activities suggested for the preview event then.

[MissElle]

We do a preview/kickoff event every year, and it is basically the same idea but with a different theme. On the Sunday before VBS starts, we have a two-hour block in the afternoon with different games and activities.

This year, with the Theme Park idea, we decided to do a carnival-style event. We are setting up different games they might find at a theme park, such as ring toss, balloon pop, etc. People from the church donated stuffed animals that they can win if they do really well at the game (we have smaller prizes they get "just for playing"). Here's the cool part - it's absolutely free, but they have to register for VBS at the ticket booth to get the tickets to play. Even if they don't attend, we now have their information so that we can send them advertising for other events and programming. I know it sounds sneaky, but we've doubled our children's ministry in the last year due to this practice at last year's kickoff event. And, the parents of the kids have started to come too!

We are giving out popcorn, freeze pops, and lemonade or Koolaid as snacks. We'll also have a Slip n Slide set up (from our water park theme last year) to give kids something to do when they aren't playing the games.

Last year's went really well. I'm hoping this year's will yield the same result.