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Vacation Bible School is one of the largest outreach events for ministries. Roughly 68% of churches offer VBS to their local community and millions of children participate across the United States. Both the churched and unchurched look forward to this fun summer event. While the primary goal is to teach our youth about the Bible, VBS takes a unique approach to a typical Sunday service.
During VBS, churches create kid-friendly lessons to ensure the messages taught are engaging for the young age group. There’s no shortage of fun and educational activities for children and teens to participate in throughout the week. The hard part is deciding what you want to include and how to promote the event. To help you plan a memorable VBS this year, here are a few tips that increase engagement and fun!
1. Get active online to promote VBS
Once the date is set for VBS, it’s time to get active online! Creating an online buzz in the community increases VBS sign-ups. Utilize your church’s blog, social media feed, and email to share the dates, times, calendar of activities and lessons, and pictures of VBS from last year.
Use giving kiosks so that people can conveniently sign up for (and donate to) Vacation Bible School during services and outreach events. Also, add contact forms to your website allowing people to sign up digitally.
2. Access a church management platform to stay organized
When you’re organized, the entire experience of planning and participating in VBS is more fun! A church management platform keeps you organized from beginning-to-end of every generosity campaign, Sunday service, and a special event.
Below are the key features from easyTithe Plus designed to enhance efficiency and organization.
• A streamlined process for child check-in
• Registration, attendance tracking, and event management resources and tools
• Customizable reporting features
• Easy to manage background checks
• A convenient calendar to keep track of all church events
Beyond what’s listed above, you gain access to our mobile app that enables you to get everything done on-the-go. From tracking interactions to adding new members, you won’t skip a beat with easyTithe Plus while planning this year’s VBS for your church. Instead of feeling scattered, you’ll be ready to focus on spreading the word, planning the curriculum, leading activities, and following up.
3. Make a video for the church’s website
Kids these days love getting hands-on with technology. For a fun VBS activity, have the kids get together to create a video for the church’s website. Use this video to increase engagement for VBS every year, as well as share it with new visitors and first-time givers to show how the church impacts the community.
You don’t need a lot of expensive equipment to create a video. Smartphones have excellent cameras, and by working together as a group, kids can write, film and act in the video. Encourage kids to share what they’ve learned and what they enjoy most about Vacation Bible School.
4. Create a dedicated Facebook page for VBS
Dedicate an entire Facebook page to VBS to promote it beforehand and to post live when the fun activities are in full swing! Seeing kids engaged and having fun while learning the importance of worship will inspire giving and participation throughout the community. Incorporate a Facebook giving app on your page so that people can donate straight from their Facebook page to the church.
5. Provide a variety of activities for teens
Don’t think that teenagers don’t want to participate in VBS. They do! Teens are more of a challenge at times because they don’t all like the same activities. Younger children are okay participating as a single group in the same educational game, but older kids search for a learning experience that speaks to their personality.
Have a variety of VBS activities tailored just for teens to choose from. Go offsite to a local park for a day, make tie-dye shirts, or host a weekend retreat. If you’re at a loss for ideas, get the teenagers in your church family to give you input about the activities they would enjoy most.
Apply one (or all!) of the tips above to enhance your VBS this year! Contact sales@easytithe.com or call 1-888-778-4843 to access easyTithe Plus or our other affordable plans.
