I spent a few hours tonight looking over the new Answers In Genesis VBS 2008. I was very pleased with what I found and wanted to share some of the highlights with you. You can check it out for yourself on their Answers VBS website. You can find information on about twenty VBS 2008 themes on my Vacation Bible School preview page.
Content: In terms of content, the Answers In Genesis VBS is definately leading the pack this year. Their ambitious program attempts to lay the entire foundations of a biblical worldview in a 5 day program. If you’ve read my website for long, you know I love content that challenges kids. The Amazon Expedition VBS 2008 explores the “7 C’s of History” while teaching them that the Bible is the true history book of the universe. The 5-Day, 7 C’s Adventure Includes:
- Day 1: Creation—Destination Creation
- Day 2: Corruption—The Fall of All
- Day 3: Catastrophe—Water, Water Everywhere
- Day 4: Confusion—The Babel Rabble
- Day 5: Christ, Cross, Consummation—Sad Turns to Glad
Translation: Using the New King James should open some doors into Independent churches.
Music: You can listen to samples for each song on their website. It was better than I expected from a freshman publisher, but it several songs still sound young for the children at our church. It is definitely workable. One big drawback - no demonstration DVD is listed in the package. This could be a major hang up for smaller churches.
Testing: I like to see they tested their curriculum in a large church. But sometimes I wonder how much money they spent. Will my VBS look that great on a much, much smaller budget?
Room To Improve: The cross isn’t until the last day of their program. While I appreciate their emphasis on creation and apologetics, I still am concerned that the Gospel might get overlooked in a typical Bible school. Having an extra session to present the Gospel earlier in the week would go a long way.
I would like to see PDF downloads to preview their material. It is difficult for many churches to break with their traditional VBS publishers. If Answers In Genesis made some sample lesson plans available via PDF it would help their cause.
You can find out more about vacation bible school on my 2008 theme review page.
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Full Disclosure: I’ve never used Group’s VBS themes in my church. But every year I am more impressed with their packaging and content. I’ve even bought the outdated music DVD to use for our children’s church worship time.
