Email
Cokesbury has announced their new VBS theme for 2012. It’s called Operation Overboard and the tagline reads, “Dare to go deep with God.” The initial marketing artwork hints at an underwater scuba VBS theme.
Early feedback on their Facebook page is very positive about this theme. One frequent comment is about decorating possibilities. Many believe this will be an easy and fun theme to decorate.
We will have more information and a full review of this curriculum in the winter. For now you can visit the official website to learn more. You can also browse all our VBS theme coverage.
Related posts:
- Sky VBS 2012
- 2011 Cokesbury VBS Theme announced “Shake It Up Cafe”
- Babylon VBS 2012 “Daniel’s Courage in Captivity”
- Amazing Wonders Aviation VBS 2012 from LifeWay
- Answers In Genesis VBS 2009: Operation Space
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
I have been debating on VBS 2012 theme. I saw someone said that there are Old Testament bible verses. Our preacher has asked me to make sure that our VBS curriculum is the New Testament. How many days is the Old Testament? We are a Christian Church. I do not want to stray from what our church teachings are. Thanks so much!
Hi…thinking about doing this VBS for our conservative Baptist church? Also…can anyone tell me if this VBS uses teaching rotations where you have one or two main teachers that the kids rotate around to?
Thanks,
Lynn
The director of our Bible school makes a schedule for each class. The children go to different stations during the school. It is very well organized. We sing then one class goes to science, one to Bible stories, one to recreation, and one to crafts. At the end it is time for lunch. It works really well.
Thanks Crystal…that is how we have run our VBS is the past and it works well because we never know how many children might be coming or on any given day. The rotations work well for us. I will ask you too…would this curriculum work with any denomination? It is hard to know without having the materials to look at.
Lynn,
This material will work with any denomination. Operation Overboard will get any child or adult involved. We all need to “go deep with God”. This is such a fun program and very educational. I think you kids will really enjoy this. Hope you chose Operation Overboard it is great. It was such a joy testing the material and I feel it is great for all Christians not just Methodists.
Lynn,
We divide the children into classes with an adult teacher and a teen assistant. Typically our class group assistants are Girl Scouts who need community service hours and/or leadership hours. Our youth are station assistants because we do not offer VBS churchwide, only with the children.
We come together for music, prayer, and fun. We eat together, and then each group has a schedule of their time for each station. This format has worked well at the churches I have attended.
The same format can be used even if you conduct VBS church wide.
Thanks Chanda…that helps! Do you think the material is appropriate for all church denominations? It is hard to know without actually seeing the material.
Lynn,
This will work well with your conservative Baptist VBS. The kids do have motions with the music but nothing secular. Children will learn stories of the bible.
The decorations are useful in teaching that God made every wonderful thing in the sea- humpback whales, sea horses, water, coral reef, and he made us. Though it is vibrant it does not imply that humility has been forsaken.
I chose this VBS because it has a free online registration and website to utilize for planning, additional resources, a wish list to share with others (so they can purchase items that you want), and church locator. Church locator adds your VBS to a map of nearby VBS occurring in your area.
Just got our Sample kit but have not had the chance to really “dive deep” into it yet. Those that have done this test VBS, what do you think about day two’s Bible story? How do kids relate to it? There are so many Old Testament bible stories that deal with water (the Red Sea, Jonah, so many about wells) that I wonder why this Story was chosen. What would you advise about this day?
Also I been pinning on Pinterest on a board called “VBS Cokesbury ideas”
Hi, Rebecca:
We were a test church for ‘Operation Overboard’ last summer and I know you will enjoy it.
Cokesbury always tries to select some Bible stories that are not as well known. In the second day’s story, “A Servant Girl Dares to Care,” the servant girl in Naaman’s palace convinced him that if he believed and had faith, that he would be cured of his skin disease. He went out to the muddy waters of the Jordan river and dunked seven times and was cured! This story is also a great example of child leading somebody to greater belief in God and his awesome power.
I hope this answers your question. Please let me know if you need further clarification.
Regards,
Albert Simon
Bailey Memorial UMC
Rosemont, West Virginia
Hi everyone,
My church was a test church for Operation Overboard. We are the small church located in Rosemont, WV. This was our second test for Cokesbury. I was the snack leader and made the lunches for the kids. We have such a rewarding experience when we do the test. It is very exhausting but the looks and smiles we get from the children are well worth it. If you have any questions, I would be willing to answer and give any input. The music, science lab, bible stories and Ocho are great. I had fun with the snacks. Have fun making the “sushi”, it was a big hit.
I like that both the bible stories and the memory verses are sort of ‘back to basics’ this year.
That’s a big help when you’re trying to reach six year olds who’ve never been to church before!
(no relation to Tony)
I used Cokesbury last year and I really like their VBS. I checked out the website for this year and I love how much detail they gave. They listed the experiments and crafts, which are major factors when deciding on which VBS to go with. Other websites I checked out barely gave any information (although they might give more later on). My only complaint with last year’s VBS is that it is too wordy. I had to edit down a lot of the content so that I wasn’t talking for so long when presenting the Bible story. I find that less is more with the kids because they become antsy when you talk so much. So I hope they do a better job with that this year.
Kathy ~ you’re the first one to ever comment with my same last name. Nice to meet you!
Am excited to learn more. Will there be a DVD and hand motions to the songs?
Yes there is a Music DVD which includes motions and music to all the songs for Operation Overboard.
Thanks so much…we ordered it! Looks awesome!