Ministry-To-Children.com » VBS 2009 Themes

2009 VBS Trends & Reflection

Tony Kummer — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 15:53:47 +0000

I had some questions heading into this year’s Vacation Bible School. Our town has been hard hit by the economy and I know many who have lost at least one of their income sources. Plus, our church giving has been weaker than expected this summer. Thinking ahead, I wondered how these factors were affecting other churches and their summer outreach programs.

What follows is some observations based on the post VBS survey I ran here on the site. I hope to run a similar poll next year and track the differences over time.

VBS Attendance Was Up

This was the case at our church and seems to be the case elsewhere. According to my poll, 60% reported Bible School attendance was “up” or “way up.” While only 15% said it was “down” or “way down.”

Here’s my theory. With the economy down people stayed close to home this summer. I also know of some paid sports programs that were down. So, parents were looking for free activities for their kids. VBS was a winner.

VBS Spending Was Steady

We were a little more conservative at our church, but nothing drastic. Our budget was set for VBS long ago. Plus we had some designated money on hand if needed. The poll results were the same for our readers. The most common response was “same” and the other options were evenly divided.

Leading Publishers Still Strong

I was not surprised to see LifeWay and Group at the head of the pack. They keep improving their product and marketing. As denominational identity breaks down, more churches will simply choose which product seems to best fit their needs. That means harder times for smaller publishers that still depend on loyalty to sell their curriculum.

Alternative VBS Options Growing

Increasingly, churches have tired new ways to do VBS. Some are doing sports camp, art programs, and anything else they can dream up. This is a good development because it generates fresh ideas for everyone. But I am concerned that we might let “enrichment” replace “discipleship & evangelism.”

One upside to this is the Holy Land Adventure produced by Group Publishing. They seem a little more intensive to organize, but I’ve heard such good reports that I might consider it myself. Two of our writers wrote reviews about it. Read it here and here.

Share Your Thoughts

Please leave a comment below to share you opinion about 2009 VBS. What were your impressions? Does you experience line up with my conclusions? Use the form at the bottom of this page to post your thoughts.

Looking Ahead: Check out 2010 VBS themes and the latest news. Or get some practical ideas for planning Vacation Bible School.

2nd Review of Rome: Group’s Holy Land Adventure

Terry Delaney — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 10:13:21 +0000

My church just finished using Group’s Rome: Paul and the Underground Church Holy Land Adventure for our Vacation Bible School. I would like to share my thoughts both positive and negative about this particular program.

The Set-up

The children were divided into families–the curriculum was designed for family units of varying ages. We went with an age-graded approach because “we have always done it that way.” Turns out, we should have gone with the true family units.

We would meet for Extollo (Latin for “praise”) and then dismiss for family time where the kids would get dressed and get ready to go to Rome. The children would then visit Paul who was on house arrest and then the underground church (we built a tunnel for them to crawl underground). They would also visit apprenticeship games and the marketplace–various crafts and foods. Skits would take place in the marketplace except for the first night when the skit took place during the game time.

The evening was designed to last two hours, but we stretched that to two and a half. We had some trouble some of the evenings filling all of the time in the marketplace but was able to keep the kids on task. The night then ended with a return to family time (Rome to home) where the kids would review what they learned and then back to Extollo for more songs and dismissal.

Positive

First and foremost, the children were talking about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Where my church is situated, we had more inner-city kids than churched kids. I would hear conversations about “that Roman centurion” who was a jerk and how the underground church had to remain a secret so the Roman guards wouldn’t find it. The one night when the pastor of the church was caught (he was said to have escaped), you could see the look of concern on the children’s faces.

Second, the volunteers and workers really got into it. Usually, there is a gradual energy decrease. Not so this year. I heard numerous comments that while they were glad the busyness was going to end, they were going to miss the fun nights with the children. What is more, I lost count of how many times the teachers told me they had learned something new.

Third, the set up was quite simple. We wound up purchasing some fold-up tents from our local sporting goods store and used plywood and concrete blocks for tables in the marketplace. We used black plastic sheeting (the stuff used for painting) to create a cave. The tunnel was our idea and the kids really enjoyed it.

As for the stage set up for Extollo, we only had three major pieces though there were more that could have been used. We made the Colosseum, the Parthenon (more on that in a moment), and I made some “pillars” by rolling cardboard around a concrete form.

Fourth, the flow and tempo of each night kept the children interested. They did not have time to get bored and start causing trouble–which is really good for the kids we had. The children had enough time at each “station” to catch the gist of the message and then move along to the next station where they would learn more about the message of the evening.

Negatives

First, for some reason, the Parthenon was the center piece for the Extollo time. I am not sure why this is the case because the Parthenon is in Greece. The Pantheon is in Rome. They look similar from the front, but the Pantheon is most noted for its domed top.

Second, the decorating, if done with the foam boarding (we used cardboard) can get real expensive, real fast. Although there is not as much decorating as there is with other VBS programs, the materials Group recommended would have been too pricey.

Third, we found the crafts to be somewhat difficult for the smaller children. The abacus had parts that we felt were too small for the littler kids. The double-sided tape for the wreath proved to be too difficult for the children to use and the bulla for the metal worker was too difficult to glue together. However, everyone adapted when they needed and did not miss a beat.

Recommendation

I am looking forward to next year’s Holy Land Adventure–Egypt. The negatives were nothing that would cause me to not want to do this again. Everything flowed well and everyone had a wonderful time. The director’s guide was a huge help. Everything was spelled out. This was my first VBS that I directed and it went amazingly smooth.

For me, as a minister and father, hearing the kids talking about the gospel each night–before, during and after, and the teachers learning something new themselves, I cannot recommend a VBS program more highly.

Post VBS Review of Group’s Rome

Charlie Wallace — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 10:07:17 +0000

This year the church were I serve decided to do something it had never done before by branching out and doing Group’s VBS, Rome: Paul and the Underground Church. For years my church has done Lifeway’s VBS. In fact, preparation became so predictable that at times we were just going through the motions. After looking at different formats I stumbled across Rome. I decided to go ahead and order the sample pack and as I read through the material I became more and more impressed. By January my team decided that we would gamble and try something different. Being that we are a 200-year old church, different does not always equal success. However, I am proud to announce that Rome was more than a success. For the remainder of this post I am going to critique the good and the bad of Rome.

What Went Right:

1. The Marketplace: The Marketplace was by far the kids’ favorite part. We located the Marketplace in our fellowship hall and it consisted of 8-9 tents of different crafts where shopkeepers helped the kids make various objects. The kids were given three gold coins each day to spend. Each craft cost one gold coin as did their snack. Throw in the fact that the shopkeepers were in character as well as a daily drama and the marketplace was a huge hit. It will be very tough to ever go back to a simple “crafts station” for a future VBS. The marketplace became the center of Rome and was a huge hit.

2. Interactive Drama: The children absolutely loved this. Every day the kids visited Paul while he was under house-arrest and chained to a Roman guard named Brutus. Each day they got to see the transformation that Brutus underwent as he was at first very anti-Christian but eventually decided to follow Jesus on Friday. One of the main reasons that he decided to do so was because the kids did not help Paul escape when Brutus fell asleep on Wednesday. This enabled the kids to feel like they made a difference in Brutus’ life.

When the children left Paul’s house they then went to the Underground Church. The kids had to get on their hands and knees and literally crawl through a tunnel that led to the “cave” where the church was meeting. Everyday they would give the church members a message from Paul. They loved being able to take part in this way.

In the marketplace each shopkeeper was in character and not all were Christians. Some were Jewish, atheists, curious about Jesus, polytheists, etc. We found that the children who were already Christians were zealously witnessing to the shopkeepers. In fact, many of them had to finally accept Christ during the week so that the kids would leave them alone. One girl prayed with her shopkeepers, “Dear Lord, please forgive these women for their sins…” What an amazing testimony!

Also, the daily drama with various characters was highly effective.

3. Age-integrated – Group suggested putting preschoolers in “family groups” right along with older kids. I knew this would not work at our church. So, preschoolers were put in their own individual classes and they saw Paul every day (but not the Underground Church) and they went up to the marketplace for half the normal time. For the most part having grades 1-5 in the same family groups helped because we were able to keep families and friends/guests together.

4. Evangelistic Effectiveness: Let’s not forget the real reason we do VBS: so that kids will be saved. We had 25 preschoolers make a decision to follow Jesus as I gave a talk during our morning worship service. I feel that the curriculum was wonderful in setting up a time for decisions. It was amazing to see older kids speaking with their teachers and literally crying tears of joy over their new life. One girl said as she wept, “I am so happy over what Jesus has done for me.” That’s what it’s all about.

What Went Wrong:

1. The Marketplace: We realized that by Tuesday we were going to run out of crafts. Because Rome is designed to work on a 2-hour schedule (we had extrapolated to 3-hours) 50 minutes in the Marketplace became too long of a time slot for the curriculum provided. A kid could easily spend two gold coins on two crafts and the other on a snack and still have 10-15 minutes to kill. We started introducing new crafts every day so that there would always be something fresh and different and so that we would not run out of things to do. Fortunately I had a great craft leader and great helpers who were able to think on the fly.

2. Interactive Drama – When in character it is sometimes hard to effectively discipline children. For instance, the kids really didn’t like the Roman guards. Some even tried to hit them. One of our guards had to really use his shield! Also, as Paul, sometimes it was awkward for me to call a kid down who was misbehaving as I was trying to do my lines, etc.

During the daily drama scenes in the marketplace that use Roman guards we found that the children really didn’t like the guards. On Friday when the guards shut the Christian woman’s marketplace down some kids cried and others yelled and literally chased the guards out of the room. It’s a fine line between reality and make-believe and some kids are still trying to figure out where that line is.

3. Age-integrated – Because this is an age-integrated program there is virtually no preschool curriculum. This is a huge area of weakness with this VBS. I understand partly why Group does it but I imagine that the main reason is to save money on publishing guides, etc. If we do this style of VBS again I will personally use old VBS preschool curriculum as a guide and tailor the current year’s VBS to that. We tried to do this a little bit this year, which helped, but there was a lot of downtime for preschoolers. One thing about Lifeway – there is never downtime. They pack their curriculum so tight on purpose for that reason.

4. Evangelistic Effectiveness: Group does not really build in a spot to bring “the talk.” Therefore, I chose Thursday to speak since that day’s point was “God’s love saves us.” Therefore, we had to bypass most of the scripted Worship time for that morning.

Overall, this VBS was wonderful. Many people who have been at this church for many many years said that this year’s VBS was the best that they’d ever seen. What a compliment! I think most of our people are already geared up to do Egypt: Joseph’s Journey from Prison to Palace next year. It looks like I may have no choice in what we do. Our crafts leader said she’s already thinking of ideas for decorating. On a scale of 1-10 I would give this entire VBS an 8.5. There are a few kinks that can be worked out and if that happens next year I believe we will have close to a 10.

Children Desiring God VBS Curriculum

Jeri Tanner — Wed, 27 May 2009 10:48:31 +0000

Here is one more VBS option for you to think about. It’s the Children Desiring God VBS Curriculum, published by John Piper’s church. If you have used their material, please share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Vacation Bible School has sure changed a lot since I was a child; that’s right, I attended VBS in the days when we had simple snacks of juice and cookies, listened to Bible stories, memorized substantial Scripture passages and used gold spray paint to finish out our macaroni shell and dried-bean-covered paper plates. And we loved it!

But congregations still exist out there who welcome a more simple approach to VBS. I don’t think it’s impossible to attract children to a well-run and managed VBS that is put on in a low-key and undramatic fashion. Children respond to love, good stories and games and crafts just as they always have. And I love the idea of being able to focus more on, well, on the Bible in a less distracted setting.

Is Children Desiring God VBS Right For You?

It won’t be for everyone, but the VBS curriculum from Children Desiring God offers a great alternative to some of the other programs being used. The CDG VBS is also perfect for doing backyard Bible club in the neighborhoods of your city. Here are some ways to tell if this approach and this curriculum could work for you.

1. You’re looking for a VBS start-up that is relatively inexpensive.

A teacher’s kit is $60.00, and includes 5 duplicate sets of lessons, one student project book (additional ones are 5 for $9.75), a CD with PDF’s of color visuals and activity pages, and other resources. A 35-page color resource packet printed on cardstock is $20.00. In all, the total start-up cost for teaching materials for a VBS of 60 children would be around $197.00.

2. You’re looking to go a little deeper at VBS.

The folks at Children Desiring God are known for their solid and engaging children’s curriculum. Serious does not equal boring, of course, and their material is anything but that! I’ve always found children, both my own and the ones I teach at church, to be very responsive to their approach.

3. You’re willing and able to come up with your own craft ideas, games, puppet shows/skits, etc.

Those elements are left up to each church in their VBS curriculum. For some churches this wouldn’t pose a big problem; some may have to dig a bit deeper into their creative sides! You know, kids really don’t have to have the big productions we sometimes think they do. And some kids appreciate a more laid-back atmosphere. Another option: call what you’re offering a “Backyard Bible Club.” That may deflect expectations of a more slick production.

4. You want a solidly evangelistic opportunity from your VBS.

Not that other programs don’t provide that, but CDG, you’ll find, is quite intentional and winsome in their evangelical approach, both to the children in your VBS and to their parents. Lesson plans include helpful suggestions on reaching and teaching unchurched children and their parents.

If you’re interested, you can check out all four Children Desiring God’s VBS programs here. And remember, you can also use this curriculum as a Backyard Bible Study in the Fall, or even in your neighborhood. I’m happy to recommend it as a relatively low-key but very effective resource for reaching children’s and parents’ hearts for with the love and truth of Jesus.

Vacation Bible School Forums

Tony Kummer — Wed, 06 May 2009 14:11:15 +0000

It’s getting close to VBS time for most churches. One great place to find specific ideas for your theme is on forums dedicated to Vacation Bible School. Most Christian publishers maintain these discussion based websites. This page links to the several of these forums.

LifeWay VBS Forum is a great place to get practical help if you are using Lifeway’s curriculum for Bible school. Their site is very active with over 50,000 registered users. Topics include decorating ideas and help for VBS directors. They also have a “swap shop” where you can connect and exchange leftover materials with other churches using LifeWay vacation bible school. If you are using Outrigger Island or Cactus Canyon, you should definitely check out this forum.

Group Publishing VBS Forum is just as helpful, but the discussions are specific to their Bible school themes. So, if your church is using Crocodile Dock, Rome, or Avalanche Ranch this is one website you won’t want miss. Topics cover just about every angle of VBS, like decorating and craft ideas. Last year they had 16,000 messages on the forum. They also have a section to buy, sell, or trade leftover VBS material.

Gospel Light Forums are just as helpful but a little less active. You will want to go there if you church has chosen Kingdom of the Son VBS for your theme. They have some great decorating ideas, and pracitcal help for leading Bible school at your church.

Standard Publish VBS forum is a no longer online.

It is much less active than the other forums, but it has specific information about Standard’s VBS themes including Studio Go!. This may be a newer forum, so the user activity should increase over time. Check it out if you’re using Standard’s curriculum.

Do you know of another VBS forum? Then leave a comment below.

I also want to hear from anyone who has been using these forums. Were they helpful? Did you find good ideas for Vacation Bible School? Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Need More Help? You can find even more practical ideas on my Vacation Bible School resource page and my Vacation Bible School crafts page.

Vacation Bible School Decorations?

Tony Kummer — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 14:43:45 +0000

I’ve been looking for VBS decorating ideas and wanted to share what I’ve found so far. I wanted to get maximum wow, but not make the decorations a big hassle. Plus our church didn’t have too much money for Bible school theme decoration this summer.

The best place to get fresh ideas is on popular Vacation Bible School forums. Each of the following websites have many thousands of active users who share ideas about VBS. These links will take you directly to the decorating sections. Some forums may require free registration, but it is well worth the time.

Outrigger Island and Cactus Canyon can be found on the LifeWay VBS forum site.
Crocodile Dock and Avalanche Ranch and Rome VBS Decorating ideas can be found on the very active Vacation Bible School forums from Group Publishing.
Son Rock decoration ideas are available on the Gospel Light VBS forum site.
Studio Go decorating tips can be found on the Standard Publishing forum site for VBS.

Do you know about another place to find vacation bible school decorating ideas? Then leave a comment blow, we would love to add more ideas to this list.

Need More Help? You can find even more practical ideas on my Vacation Bible School resource page and my Vacation Bible School crafts page.

Comparison Chart Of Vacation Bible School Programs

Tony Kummer — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 12:31:36 +0000

Most readers know that I’m a big fan of Kidology.org. I want to recommend a specific post in their forums with a 2009 Vacation Bible School theme comparison chart. There is also a helpful discussion of the pros and cons of a few of the publishers. Click here to read the post or click here to download the chart.

You can also read my articles about Vacation Bible School or check out my VBS 2009 reviews.

Answers In Genesis VBS 2009: Operation Space

Tony Kummer — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:39:44 +0000

Last summer our church took a chance on the first Vacation Bible School from Answers In Genesis. Overall, I was very impressed with the quality. That’s why I am excited about their 2009 VBS theme, “Operation Space: A Close Encounter With God’s Word.”

Here is my preview of the Operation Space VBS for 2009. Be sure to visit my Vacation Bible school resource page and my theme reviews for VBS 2009.

Please leave a comment below if you are using this theme. Everyone will benefit from your feedback.

2009 Operation Space Vacation Bible School

Here are my first impressions of the Operation Space VBS theme.

Bible Content: AIG is setting the standard.
Theme Appeal: Excellent, I’m already excited.
Supporting Materials: Improving each year.
VBS Music: Samples on their website, good quality but nothing remarkable.
Overall grade:A-

Operation Space Theme

I can’t imagine a better direction than a space themed VBS. Disney’s movie WALL-E has really brought back science fiction, space and robots back into the popular imagination of children. The WALL-E DVD will be out by Christmas 2008, so many kids will have it memorized before Vacation Bible School time.

Operation Space Bible Lessons

These Vacation Bible School lessons present a basic introduction to Evangelical Christian teaching. The focus is on the Bible and its superiority for knowing truth. The lessons follow a traditional 5 day VBS with each day having its own mini-theme.

Last year the Answers In Genesis teaching was a mix of apologetic and Bible teaching. I expect this year will be similar. At times the transitions seemed a little forced to our teachers, but the variety made for a strong learning experience. Here are the 5 daily VBS themes.

The Uniqueness of the Bible
The Authority of the Bible
The Gospel
The Impact of the Bible
Learn, Love, Live the Bible

Concerns About Operation Space

Very Focused On Young Earth Creationism:This may not be an issue for your church, but many protestant churches do not insist on a particular explanation of the creation beyond the fact that God make all things from nothing. Answers In Genesis works very hard to defend traditional Christian interpretations of the Bible by offering a form of Creation Science. Because their approach is apologetic, they do not leave much room for disagreements that exist in many churches over issues such as the age of the earth, the role of faith in science, and particular extra-biblical theories about the effects of Noah’s Flood.

Bible or Jesus – Where Should We Focus: You can guess from the Bible lessons above that AIG is very committed to teaching the Bible as God’s Word. While I agree with their theology, I sometimes wonder if overly focusing on the doctrine of scripture actually de-emphasizes the doctrine of Christ. Of course, we don’t know much about Jesus without the Bible, but we should never forget that Jesus is the focus of the Bible, not the Bible itself. This is even more of an issue if your church considers VBS an evangelistic event. The Gospel is about Jesus dying for our sins, rising again as the Lord, and reigning over God’s explanding Kingdom. We must remember that Jesus Christ is the Gospel, not the book.

What Do You Think?

Please share your opinions about Operation Space VBS in the comment selection below. My comments are just one opinion, so let me know what you think.

Need More Help? You can find even more practical ideas on my Vacation Bible School resource page and my Vacation Bible School crafts page.

Studio GO: Standard Publishing’s 2009 VBS

Tony Kummer — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 17:13:48 +0000

[ad#kids-links]I never got around to reviewing Standard’s VBS theme last year. But prompted by their mailings to my church, I decided to take a look for my VBS 2009 curriculum reviews. Here is my first look review of Studio GO VBS by Standard Publishing. My opinions in this review are based off their marketing materials, forums, friends who have used Standard, and their website.

If you’ve used Standard’s VBS materials, please leave a comment below this article.

First Impressions Of 2009 Studio GO Vacation Bible School

Bible Content: I’m a little cautious from what I’ve seen.
Theme Appeal: Most kids love game shows.
Supporting Materials: Looks good.
Music: Limited samples on their website (8/22/08), but the theme song seems in line with previous years quality.
Overall grade: B-

Studio GO Theme

This Vacation Bible School has a game-show theme. They even have slick game-show host graphic on the starter kit box. Studio GO will appeal to churches who want a high energy theme. The concept is heavy on fun, but I normally prefer the VBS themes that are set in different world locations.

The theme verse is Joshua 1:9, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” I’d be interested to see how they use this verse, because it seemed a little out of place on a Game Show set.

You can learn more about Standard’s Studio Go them from their website and forums. If you are considering this theme, I suggest you read the VBS forums from their 2008 VBS God’s Big Backyard. This will give you some feedback from churches that actually used Standard’s vacation Bible school.

Standard’s Studio GO Bible Lessons

Standard is taking the typical approach to VBS curriculum. Each day’s Bible teaching is based on an application statement that is illustrated by a Bible character. Many publishers stick with this format, but I would like to see more focus on God’s character.

GO Lead: Gideon from Judge, 7:1-22
GO Risk: Esther from Esther 4-7
GO Tell: Women witness to Jesus from Matthew 27
GO Obey: Peter preaches under threat of prison Acts 5:17-32
GO Serve: Ananias helps Paul Acts 9:1-19

Service Showcase

This is a special feature of Studio GO that continues Standard’s emphasis on volunteerism. The idea is to give kids real life examples and opportunities for serving others. This replaces the lesson time about missionaries that many traditional VBS curricula include.

Concerns About Studio GO

Application Driven Lessons: My concern is that building the whole lesson around a themed application point will distract kids from the real point of these stories – God’s Glory. (See my review of Group’s Crocodile Dock for examples of God-centered lesson titles.) This is not a issue unique to Standard, many Christian publishers default to this approach. However, churches should guard against using the Bible for moral teaching while missing the Glory of God and his loving plan to save sinners.

Volunteerism Over Gospel: Of all people, Christians should be the most dedicated to loving their neighbors. But as our culture adds volunteerism as a key feature of its social religion, we should be careful not to confuse doing good things with following Jesus. The message of Christianity is God’s plan to save sinners and remake the world through Jesus Christ. We should remember that good works are the outcome of changing lives, and changing lives are the outcome of God changing people when they hear about Jesus.
[ad#bottom-post]

What Do You Think?

Please share your opinions about Studio GO VBS in the comment selection below. My comments are just one opinion, so let me know what you think.

Need More Help? You can find even more practical ideas on my Vacation Bible School resource page and my Vacation Bible School crafts page.

Crocodile Dock: Group’s 2009 VBS Theme

Tony Kummer — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 12:13:02 +0000

I’ve almost chosen Group’s VBS several times over the last few years, and why not? They have built a strong reputation for producing excellent Vacation Bible School curriculum. But each time other VBS themes seemed to fit our church just a little better.

This year Group has done something that might finally earn them my business. Here is my preview of the Crocodile Dock VBS for 2009. Be sure to visit my Vacation Bible school resource page and my theme reviews for VBS 2009.

Be sure to check out our new VBS forums. That is a great place to share ideas or your opinion about this year’s Vacation Bible School themes. Stop by and leave me some feedback about this theme.

First Impressions Of 2009 Crocodile Dock VBS

Bible Content: Very promising focus on God and the Gospel.
Theme Appeal: Not a great first impression, but it works.
Supporting Materials: Excellent, Group makes VBS easy.
Music: Limited samples available (as of 8/2008), but what I’ve heard so far is good.
Overall grade: A -

Crocodile Dock Theme

The setting for Group’s 2009 Bible school is the bayou (aka the swamp). This location shows some original thinking and will capture kids attention. Don’t confuse it with Crocodile ROCK vbs – which doesn’t exist and reminds me of Elton John a little too much.

The reaction on the Group VBS forum was a little mixed. The theme is outside the box with its location, but the field test videos helped people picture the theme in action. They do admit the inaccuracy of having crocodiles instead of alligators in the bayou. But when animal characters talk, it’s easy to overlook.

Crocodile Dock Bible Teaching

[ad#kids-links]I was really excited and pleasantly surprised with the daily Bible points listed on Group’s website. Everyday offers a rock solid God-centered lesson. This is something that few major VBS curriculum publishers have been able to do. Four of the five lessons are from the book of Exodus and directly speak to God’s character. Plus on day four they jump to the New Testament to cover Jesus’ death and resurrection. Here is the day-by-day breakdown of Crocodile Dock.

“God is with us” is based on Moses and the burning bush.
“God is powerful” is taken from the God’s judgment plagues upon the Egyptians.
“God does what he says he’ll do” is based on the first Passover.
“God gives new life” recounts the death and resurrection of Jesus.
“God cares for us” is based on the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea.

The Easy Vacation Bible School

Group has marketed their VBS materials as “the easy VBS” for several years. This is something I’ve grown to appreciate. It’s not that I want to promote low commitment ministry, rather less stress for VBS volunteers means more energy to actually minister to the children.

The Crocodile Dock VBS forum at Group is filled with practical advice and help to make Crocodile Dock even easier to use in your church. I’m always amazed at the fan base Group’s VBS has earned. You can visit Group’s Crocodile Dock VBS website here.

Music and Video From Crocodile Dock

I’ve always thought Group was ahead of the other curriculum publishers when it came to media. I really like the way they mix original VBS music with kid friendly praise songs. These repackaged songs can become a part of your ongoing mix in children’s church.

The DVD led worship rally is also appealing to smaller churches. Having the video playing, even behind your music leaders, is a great idea.

Concerns About Crocodile Dock

Too many churches doing Group VBS. This is a constant concern for churches that choose Group VBS. They are almost too popular in some towns. Since many kids make the rounds for Bible school, doing the same theme more than twice is generally a let down.

Some churches might not go for so much Old Testament. In the past I’ve been critical of curriculum publishers who seem to avoid the Old Testament. This year Group has gone the other way, which I think is wonderful. However, many theologically liberal churches avoid the hard parts of the Old Testament. The plagues, passover, exodus, and the crossing of the Red Sea are all stories that offend theologically liberal Christians. I applaud Group for their bold use of the whole Bible and am praying that Crocodile Dock VBS will help many children come to know God.

What do you think?

Please share your opinions about Group’s Crocidile Dock VBS Theme in the comment selection below. My comments are just one opinion, so let me know what you think.

Need More Help? You can find even more practical ideas on my Vacation Bible School ideas page and my Vacation Bible School crafts page.