JesustheKingdomBuilder:StrongFamilies,Churches,& Communities

Vacation Bible School. It’s the most exciting, exhilarating, and yes, exhausting week ever! It’s also the most rewarding and life-changing experience for everyone involved. This quick How-To Guide is designed for the best VBS ever. Let’s get started.

The Right CurriculumYou’ve made the right decision—the most important one—by selecting this curriculum. Whether or not you’ve directed or taught VBS before or are using UMI for the first time, you’ll agree that this easy-to-follow format and culturally sensitive design simplifies your task. And that’s our goal!

This year’s practical theme flows from a solid biblical presupposition, which means that the Bible is applied to us today in our cultural setting based on its intended purpose when the Scriptures were first penned. God’s Word as explained in this curriculum provides the right foundation for VBS. These theologically sound lessons are developmentally or age-appropriate for preschool, primaries, preteens, teens, and adults.

To make lessons fun and educational, they are laced with STREAM activities (science, technology, reading, engineering, arts, and math). Plus, there are digital exercises, take-home pages, and downloadable PowerPoints. Teachers are encouraged to take advantage of the additional resources available in the Teaching Resource Kit (TRK), which has more ideas and activities. This supplement is essential for the director or teacher who wants to maximize the VBS experience.

Build The TEAM The team, the women and men who help make VBS happen, support the director’s vision to impact families with God’s life-changing truths during VBS. To accomplish this, staff and volunteers must be people with good Christian character. Their lifestyles should mirror the character of Christ so that children, teens, and adults are drawn to Jesus.

Building your team means that you begin with a process that is laced in prayer. Before you select anyone, pray! Spend time talking with the Father about your vision for VBS and invite the Holy Spirit to give you discernment about selecting leaders and teachers. Then, pray some more!

VBS How To Guide

This is an excellent time to recruit new teachers and volunteers who are totally dedicated to VBS. Your regular teaching staff may provide leadership, but those who teach Sunday after Sunday may welcome this time off to be refreshed by attending sessions rather than teaching. Be on the lookout for new volunteers in the congregation who may have the gifts of teaching and helps. Talk one-on-one and invite potential candidates to coffee or to visit you in your office if you are blessed to have one. Thoroughly Vet Volunteers Ask everyone to complete an application and submit a photo (see Volunteer Application on pg. 219 in Teaching Like Jesus). The application should request three to five personal and professional references. Whatever you do, don’t neglect to call each reference and ask pertinent questions about: Character—What impresses you most about _______? Personal history—How long have you known _______ and in what capacity? What do you know about _______’s family life and relationship with parents/spouse? Response to pressure situations—How does _______ respond in tough situations? Past conflicts—Does ____ get along well with others? Don’t overlook any flags that may signal trouble. Check the other ministries in which this potential volunteer may have served. Most of all, beware of newcomers who enter the congregation with no track record, history, or references. A lone wolf may be just that . . . a wolf! Live-scan! Fingerprint! Thoroughly vet all VBS volunteers, teachers and staff, including cooks and custodians. Send them to the nearest police station to be live-scanned or fingerprinted. The purpose of live-scanning is to verify the applicant’s identification and check for any criminal record that indicates child endangerment or child abuse. This means that recruiting for VBS should take place at least six to eight months in advance so there’s time for the FBI to send a report back to the requesting agency. Some churches prefer to do their own live scan in house since there’s a nominal cost at outside agencies. However, sending potential volunteers, teachers, cooks and custodial staff to the police station may, of itself, be a preventative measure. The person who hesitates to walk into the police station may signal that something is amiss.

The Personal Interview Once the application is completed, photo submitted, references called and responses documented, and the live-scan returned with an acceptable result, schedule a personal interview. Invite the interviewee to share his or her salvation testimony and spiritual journey (this may be on the application but it’s beneficial to hear in person). Then, ask, “How long have you been at this church? In what other ministries have you served? Do you know your spiritual gifts? What is your passion? Why do you want to volunteer?” and anything else that comes to mind during the interview. If you are able to administer a gifts test, this would be a bonus. Train and Certify Teachers Once your team is in place, schedule teacher training* at least once-a-month leading up to VBS. Invite the entire team to participate, even those who are specializing in crafts and classroom decoration. Review the basics such as teaching to address learning styles, classroom management, how to use puppets, lesson planning and more! Review the VBS lessons and decide in advance which activities and crafts will be best for your learners. The Evangelical Training Association is an excellent resource for training teachers. Recommended is the text, Understanding Teaching, which has a companion PowerPoint for teaching this book. Once training is complete, award certificates and celebrate! Your team is now better equipped to teach with excellence. Organize for Success Organize your VBS team so that everyone will be successful, including you. Remember the 3-D rule: Delegate! Delegate! Delegate! Don’t try to do everything yourself. That’s a recipe for burnout and menu of frustration. Remember the Jethro Model? Moses was busy trying to solve every problem personally, and his father-in-law, Jethro, told him to select key leaders and delegate. This organizational model is easily replicable for any ministry team. Assign a leader over the Preschool and Primaries; assign a leader over the elementary children; assign a leader over the juniors and teens; assign a leader over the adults. Empower this lead teacher to communicate with you as he or she addresses and resolves the needs and challenges in their respective group. Meet regularly with your leadership team to guide them in decision-making. The org chart may look something like this: Put a picture on each circle so that leadership is easily identifiable.

Rules for Safety It can’t be stressed enough how important it is to plan for the safety of children, teens, and adults. During VBS, there may be first-time visitors, and with all of the excitement, it’s difficult to know who’s who. Every team leader, teacher, and volunteer should wear the VBS tee-shirt each day or night. This sends a strong message that your team is organized and unified. Most of all, it’s easy to spot anyone who is out of uniform and out of place. Just presenting the aura of organization may be enough of a deterrent that forces the person with ill intent to go elsewhere. Posting security at every exit and entrance is mandatory. Ask for identification and monitor the halls. Have an emergency plan in place and practice with all teachers, staff and volunteers prior to the start of VBS. An armed security guard or policeman at the entrance is, unfortunately, a preventive measure that’s becoming increasingly necessary. Additional steps are: Search all bags and knapsacks. Emphasize the rule: “See something? Say something!” Sign-in all children under age 18 with a computer program or use sign-in sheets (see page 221, Teaching Like Jesus). Only permit the person who signed-in the child to pick up the child. Provide children with labels with their names (for Preschool/Primary, place the label on the child’s upper back). Monitor hall closets and bathrooms; open stalls. Employ the two-by-two rule so that no adult is ever alone with a child. Equip classrooms with easily accessible emergency kits and water. Post emergency phone numbers in every classroom and in the dining area. Encourage staff and volunteers to contact security or call the police when necessary. Limit cell-phone use so that everyone is alert and attentive. As a final note, make sure each classroom has a minimum of two adults—a teacher and the teacher’s helper. Don’t hesitate to allow teenagers to volunteer during VBS. Teens may serve as runners to get supplies or individuals, help children with crafts, reading and digital games, or provide that extra pair of hands just when you need them. And, working with teens is an excellent way to mentor and instill the love of teaching! Make sure teens wear, VBS tee-shirts, too! They will feel that they are a valuable part of the team.

Rules and Discipline Knowing how and when to discipline is key. Children and teens want to comply, so post and review rules. Frame directives in positive language: Always ask permission to leave the classroom. Use your inside voice. Be kind to others. Wait until class ends to use cell-phones. Once rules are clearly established, it’s important to encourage everyone to obey the rules from the outset. If discipline is necessary, summon the lead teacher. Don’t snatch items from or touch children. Removing children or teens from the classroom is the last resort, but sometimes it’s necessary so that the rest of the class is not penalized by one student’s persistent disruptive behavior. More do’s and don’ts are: Never hit or allow anyone to hit or touch another child in anger. Always ask parents if children require special attention. Never, never leave children, juniors, or teens in the classroom alone . . . never! Always use positive words of affirmation to reinforce good behavior. Parting Pointers Here are some additional pointers to help your VBS be the best ever. Launch the first session of VBS with an upbeat opening program that highlights the theme. Play the theme music and video at every opportunity. Use the closing program to reinforce what everyone has learned. Remember that as the director, you are the cheerleader, the encourager! Be sure to get enough rest so that you’ll have the energy and enthusiasm to motivate your team. Remember, they are taking their cues from you. And, nothing draws a crowd like food! Serving a simple but healthy meal at the start of VBS (if VBS is in the evening) or for lunch (if VBS is during the day) encourages families to make every effort to arrive on time. As they fellowship around the table, mingle and meet parents and their children. Name-tags make it easier for you to address everyone by name. Be aware of food allergies! Invite parents to write down on a form or enter into the computer sign-in system whether or not their child takes medication, has food allergies, epilepsy, learning disorders such as ADHD, etc. A checklist is an efficient way to document this information.

Parents and grandparents should be invited to join the adult classes. Since everyone studies the same Bible passage, adults will be able to discuss the lesson with their children and grandchildren. Even though they are older, extend the invitation to salvation. During my first VBS, I was surprised when a gray-haired grandmother accepted Jesus as her Savior! Now, pray, plan, prepare and most of all, have fun!

Blessings,