In most churches, Vacation Bible School is their largest summer. It typically takes the form of a day camp including games, crafts, bible lessons, and other activities. This page offers planning help for your church based VBS.
#1 Pick Your Curriculum
- Browse our coverage of VBS 2020 Themes
- Read our how-to article about choosing a VBS Theme
- Don’t miss our 100% Free Vacation Bible School curriculum
#2 Get Organized
- Set the dates and schedule. Them post them far and wide (SAVE THE DATE)
- Establish the budget, overall and for each rotation. Read our guide for doing VBS on a small budget
- Most curriculum programs come with a planning guide and even resources for director training. If you need a checklist, start with our basic 9 steps on how to plan a VBS.
- If you are a new director, make sure to read our 10 Tips for VBS Directors
#3 Build Your Team
Download my simple “Plan & Roster” sheet. Use the Word doc to edit or the PDF to preview
More advice for staffing your Vacation Bible School
- How to find volunteers for VBS
- Our post about training Teen VBS volunteers
- Don’t forget spiritual preparation
#4 Promote Your VBS
Kids love Vacation Bible School – but sometimes family calendars get crowded. Make sure you get the message out early and often so parents have lots of chances to save the date.
#5 Lead & Train Your Team
- Vacation Bible School Pledges for Opening Assembly
- VBS Games – 29 Awesome ideas to make recreation fun
- 8 VBS Game Ideas for Preschoolers
- Tips for Bible School Crafts
- Remind them the 10 reasons why VBS still matters
#6 VBS Follow Up
- sample VBS follow-up letter
- 4 essential tasks for after VBS
- more follow-up advice
- Printable forms for VBS evaluation
Bonus Ideas for Planning VBS
- For a brief history of Vacation Bible School, check out this page on Wikipedia.
- See our 2019 Children’s Ministry Statistics about the importance of kids evangelism