EmailSome churches budget thousands of dollars for their annual Vacation Bible School program. But many smaller churches struggle to find the resources to support VBS. Here are some ideas for doing your Vacation Bible School without a lot of money. You should also check out our free curriculum for VBS.
Partner With Another Church’s VBS
Sometimes the best use of VBS money is to partner with another church (or churches) in your town to do a “Community Vacation Bible School.” There are some downsides to this in terms of safety and specific evangelistic outreach, but good planning can overcome those issues. The added challenges in planning will require a good director who can work with a team to pull it off.
Reuse Curriculum From Another Church’s VBS
Why not ask a church if you can use their materials after Bible school is over? This can work very well if you plan your VBS in July, while their’s is in June. If you have time, go and volunteer at their Bible school to see hands on how the program works. Our church makes plans to pass on our materials every year. It’s become a tradition to count how many churches get to use our props and curriculum.
Plan Easy Crafts
Aside from curriculum, craft supplies can be a major expense. If you keep the crafts minimal there is a potential to save. Don’t be too cheap, but skip the expensive craft kits that some of the publishers sell.
Ask For Simple Snack Donations
In most cases, you shouldn’t have to budget for snacks. Ask volunteers or church members to donate paper goods, cookies and other durable snacks. Even drink mixed can be donated by VBS supporters or local businesses. Kids love snacks, and usually are just happy with simple and inexpensive options.
Find A Donor To Underwrite VBS
If the church budget can’t cover the expenses, look for individual donors or business to sponsor your vacation Bible school. A few hundred dollars can make a huge difference to make your Bible school a success. Make sure you thank them publicly (if they don’t mind) and send a thank you card signed by the kids.
Another option would be to have the church take a special offering for Vacation Bible school. This may be effective in smaller churches that don’t have an annual budget. Pastoral support is essential to make this happen, so be sure your minister understands how important proper funding is for running Bible school.
Only Buy The Minimum VBS Elements
Most VBS programs allow you to buy a starter kit and then optional components separately. Often you can get by without all the fancy extras. This is something to look for when you choose a curriculum. Some require materials for every learner, while others let you make do with only the teacher’s guides. I still struggle to spend money on buying the themed t-shirts. Fortunately, our craft people have the children make custom shirts. These are about 1/3 the price and have more keepsake value for the families.
Ask For More Budget Next Year
It may be too late for this year, but why not ask for a budget increase next year? Even in small churches, the people will recognize VBS as the flagship program for children’s outreach. As soon as Bible school is over, draft a budget for the next year and take it to the pastor and finance people. The timing is important because VBS is often just a memory by the Fall when the budget committee crunches their numbers. If you can get them to agree in theory that more money would help, then it should make budget process easier when the time actually comes.
How does your church save money?
Our church is very generous toward the children’s ministry and give above what we need. So if you have more ideas to share I would love to hear them. If you have experience running VBS on a small budget, leave a comment below.
Related Posts
- My Vacation Bible School Curriculum Reviews (you might also consider one of the smaller publishers linked from the bottom of that page they typically are less expensive and geared toward smaller churches)
- How To Choose A Vacation Bible School Curriculum
- Off site link: Compare VBS Prices at Family Christian Stores
Related posts:
- How To Choose The Right Vacation Bible School Curriculum
- Example Vacation Bible School Report
- Spanish Vacation Bible School Curriculum – Escuela Bíblica de Vacaciones En Español
- VBS Crafts: Vacation Bible School Crafts
- Vacation Bible School in King James (KJV)
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Hello! This is our first year our church is staring with the VBS and I have been chosen as the Director. I don’t any clue where to begin…. I beleive that has a plan and he will show me the way. Can anyone provides me with some ideas please. I need help please.
These comments are incredibly valuable. We have been holding an ecumenical VBS for over 20 years now, and we have new leadership which presents its own challenges. I have found the typical “kits” which can be purchased to be too restrictive and detail oriented for our leaders and students. I feel that I can glean bits and pieces from each of these comments and create a great program with a specific theme and work from there. Our problem is recruiting volunteers. Asking for volunteers in the Sunday bulletins, and even face-to-face does not garner results. How have you had success in recruiting volunteers?
We are a small church and this year we are using 5 lessons from our children church program from Young Explorers. We are going to run it like a children’s church at night but have the whole family stay and not break it up into different age groups. We will have songs, object lesson, skit (live or puppet), game, Bible lesson, game, object lesson to recap Bible lesson and closing announcements and pray.
This way we will not have to worry about crafts. We will have a vbs store for the kids to shop with their Bible bucks which they can get by coming, bringing friends, memorizing verses, and other times through the time of the lesson. Our theme is “Being on God’s Team”. This is the first time I am having the whole family stay and not just the kids. Any suggestion?
great comments! this is my 3rd year w/VBS. its exciting to know that these children never forget you. any time you work for God, He is already working for you. He’s awsome. VBS for our small church will begin in two weeks. Our theme is “Jesus to the Rescue”. If there is anyone who has ideas or decor’s for this theme, I’d greatly appreciate it. God Bless each of you.
I think you should have a ship theme. Use life preservers and ship decorations. Have a ship made out of a refrigerator box. Use paper towel tubes as a spy glass to seek where God is working. Use plastic jewels, beads, coins to tell how God’s love is more valuable then any treasure. Make Bible verses to put into a index card storage box made to look like a treasure box. Use Jesus’ stories of calming the sea when He was in the boat with his disciples. You can make alumumin boats out of Reynolds wrap. I hope that helps.
Tony,
Sometimes within your denomination there are grants available to help with a VBS program. They can be time consuming to fill out but I have found it very helpful for our church.
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