Vacation Bible School 2012 Curriculum Themes
Welcome to our guide for all the new VBS 2012 themes. Our website does not sell any curriculum, but we work with all the publishers to provide accurate information to help your research.
On this page you’ll find our VBS reviews and links to all the music samples, decorating ideas, and product support from their respective publishers. For more help you should also browse our tips for planning Vacation Bible School. For churches on a tiny budget, you might consider our free Fruit of the Spirit VBS and an Armor of God VBS materials.
We’ll be right here, updating you with all the latest product news as the VBS curriculum is released. This is a big job, so leave a comment if you know of a theme that we’ve missed.
VBS 2012 Themes & Curriculum
LifeWay “Amazing Wonders Aviation” VBS 2012: This theme is based on several famous natural landmarks around the world. It incorporates an air travel theme and the biblical content is focused on the power of God.
- read our first impression of this Aviation VBS theme
- visit their official website from LifeWay
- look inside the starter kit with our unboxing video
- see “airplane & flight” decorating ideas on Pinterest
Group “Sky VBS” 2012: This is a curriculum built around the concept of trusting God and takes kids into the sky as its setting. Decoration ideas include clouds, kites, airplanes, and more. You can listen to music clips and watch a special video promotion on their website.
- read our coverage of the SKY VBS theme
- visit the official website from Group
- there is also a “Catholic” version of SKY VBS
- look inside the Sky starter kit with our unboxing video
- see “airplane & flight” decorating ideas on Pinterest
Go Fish “Praise” VBS 2012: Who’s ready to put the Bible back into Vacation Bible School? The Go Fish Guys have announced their third year of VBS materials. It offers a strong evangelistic message and some of the most relevant kids worship music.
- read our coverage of Praise VBS 2012
- visit their official webpage
- see what’s inside the Praise curriculum in our video
- see related theme decorating ideas on Pinterest
Group “Babylon VBS” 2012: This theme takes children through the story of Daniel’s captivity int he city of Babylon. Group intends this second offering to be more family inclusive and many churches use it as a family ministry event. Follow the links below for more information about the theme and its biblical content.
- read our first impressions of the Babylon VBS theme
- visit the official website from Group
- look inside the Babylon material with our video
“SonRise National Park” from Gospel Light has announced their new 2012 VBS theme. This outdoor theme ties together their biblical stories about Jesus with an exploration of the natural world. ”Jesus provides what I truly need in every challenge of life.”
- read our first impression of this National Park VBS theme
- here is the link to their official website from Gospel Light
- read an independent review from Lynda Freeeman
“Adventures on Promise Island” from Standard Publishing: This theme is all about trusting in the promises of God. The tagline reads, “Where kids discover God’s lifesaving love.” As a bonus, all their music is being recorded by children’s worship artist Yancy.
- read our coverage of this theme announcement
- visit their official website for more details
- see ocean & beach theme ideas on Pinterest
- read an independent review from Lynda Freeeman
“Operation Overboard” from Cokesbury: This ocean scuba theme should be easy to decorate and please this publisher’s regular customers. The tagline reads, “Dare to go deep with God.” This program encouraged kids to take bold action for God.
- read our first impression post
- browse their official website for more information
- watch our unboxing and video review
- see ocean & beach theme ideas on Pinterest
- read an independent review from Lynda Freeeman
“Get Connected” VBS from Abington Press: This Vacation Bible School 2012 theme will have wide appeal with the way it incorporates social networking and digital communications. The tagline reads, “No friend like Jesus.” Abington is the first choice for churches looking for more diversity in their VBS.
- read our post about the theme announcement
- check out their official website for more details
- watch for our video review
“Bug Zone” VBS from Regular Baptist Press: The theme from RBP has been announced and is getting positive feedback from their readers on Facebook. The tagline says, “Transformed by our big God. Ideal for conservative churches who want strong biblical content.
- read our first impression of this theme
- Visit their official website to learn more
- look inside their starter kit with our unboxing video
- see some related theme inspiration on Pinterest
“IncrediWorld Amazement Park” VBS from Answers in Geneis: This amusement park theme brings together apologetics and an evangelistic focus. Each day shows how specific animals display the glory of their Creator. Watch for our full review coming this winter.
- read our first impression of this theme announcement
- visit their official website for more information
- still waiting on a review kit …
Concordia House has announced their theme for next summer as “Amazing Desert Journey.” The key theme of this curriculum is “Where Jesus leads us home.” The artwork includes camels, tents, and desert sand. It reminds me a little of an Egyptian theme.
- read our first impressions of this Desert VBS Theme
- visit the official website from Concordia
- still waiting on a review kit …
NextGen4Chirst has announced a new 2012 Vacation Bible School curriculum called “Rock the World.” The tagline reads “Be a Rock Star ~ Shine God’s Light.” The concept is built around a rock band’s road trip tour. Here is a brief introduction they sent me about the program.
- read our first impression of this rock band theme
- visit their official website to learn more
LifeWay’s “Space Quest VBS” 2012: This is the smaller of LifeWay’s two themes for Vacation Bible School. It’s typically meant for smaller churches or those doing backyard Bible clubs. We do not offer full coverage of this theme, but you can learn more from the links below. Visit the official website to learn more
Take Our 2012 VBS Survey
Other VBS Options: There are several companies that produce non-dated themes for Vacation Bible School. Here are some of those options you might consider. These are often useful in smaller settings like Backyard Bible Clubs.
- Don’t miss our free curriculum for Armor of God VBS and Fruit of the Spirit VBS
- Kids of Courage VBS from Voice of the Martyrs
- Children Desiring God VBS is a good option if theology is more important that supporting materials and high-gloss themes.
- City Light Ministries has several VBS programs under $50 and delivered electronically for download.
- Truth Quest also offers some VBS programs including a new Fire Fighters VBS for 2010
- The 1040 Expedition is a VBS program focused on missions education.
- Christian Olympics Vacation Bible School theme – free VBS curriculum
Specialty VBS Options: Here are some additional links if you have other VBS needs.
- Here is a list of Cathloic VBS materials
- How to find Spanish Language and KJV curriculum for VBS
Related posts:
- Catholic Vacation Bible School Curriculum
- How To Choose The Right Vacation Bible School Curriculum
- Spanish Vacation Bible School Curriculum – Escuela Bíblica de Vacaciones En Español
- What’s in the Bible Curriculum for Churches
- Vacation Bible School Forums
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We’re doing Sparkhouse’s ReNew: The Green VBS this week and it’s great! Very low-budget and a great message about taking care of God’s creation.
Our church did ReNew this summer and everyone absolutely loved it! It was so relevant to everyone’s lives today and the kids all had a lot of fun.
I cannot speak highly enough of AIG (Answers in Genesis) VBS program. Very well organized, free online VBS Manager with purchase of super size kit, great dramas etc.. Most importantly the lessons have more purpose. Your not just telling a “Bible Story” with a cute craft but you are really planting the seed that God is real & dispelling the lies that kids are learning in the world today. AIG VBS has brought revival to our entire Church!
Wondering if you ever take a look at what Mennonite Publishing Company has to offer with regard to VBS, Sunday school, etc. Would love to see your input and comparisons with some of these others. Thanks.
I am liking the idea of operation overboard, but we did SonSurf this year so I am worried they are too similar. There were so many good choices it was hard to choose for 2011, but for 2012, it is hard for the opposite reason, nothing is really grabbing my attention. Has anyone done similar themes back to back, problems?
In my experience it’s harder to do two similar themes back to back, just because you might have a lot of kids who have been to both camps and then you run the chance of them getting very bored, very easily.
So I’d say if you can, do something else. For myself, I have a “rule of 5″, where we don’t do similarly themed camps for five years, that way you have a gap in the kids that attend both, that make sense? Good luck on your camp!
LifeWay is always too expensive! We did Big Apple this year and it was a pain. I liked the stories and the videos, though. I’ve already decided on Bogard for next year….trains are awesome!
For 2011 We did GoFish’s VBS Backstage with the Bible. It was a lot of fun and very simple to organize. Our kids and helpers enjoyed doing. Looking for something new for 2012 before going back and doing GoFish’s Kickin it old school VBS. We have not had a lot of sucess with Lifeway’s VBS but the aviation theam is right up my alley.
We also did Go Fish’s VBS Backstage with the Bible. It was a big hit and very fun and simple to organize. The songs and music were awesome. Of course the adults all got a kick out of the “10 Commandments” song ;)
Am very interested in the 2012 Vacation Bible School themes for next year. Please alert me to when they announce their themes.
Babylon looks cool. I am interested to see how many volunteers it will take to make it happen though.
Not sure about Sky. I usually love Group Publishing but Pandamania didn’t sell me and while sky looks cool I see Lifeway has announced their’s and it is an Aviation Theme. I just usually expect more from Group and the last couple years their themes have not been super exciting as in past years.
We did the Group’s family VBS this year (Hometown Nazareth) and it does take a lot of volunteers, but both the church and kids loved it. It is totally different than any other VBS set up that I’ve seen. It really puts the kids back in that time period and they get into it.
I saw where Bogard is doing Sonlight Express for 2012. Group’s Holyland is Babylon and the Easy VBS is Sky: Everything is possible with God.
Bogard Press has a VBS for 2012: Sonlight Express: Jesus and Me. It a train theme and uses the KJV.
http://bogardpress.org/vbs2012/
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