Make prayer a part of your planning. I didn’t include praying as one of the steps below because it should be a part of every step. You’ll need God’s help at every point to make this year’s vacation Bible school an eternal success.

1. Determine your support level
It takes more than money to put together a great Bible school week. You’ll also need volunteers, donations, pastoral backing, facilities, and prayer partners. Before your launch into planning, take time to consider how much support is available. The approach you take will depend on how much backing is available. If you find low support, you might need to opt for a shortened schedule (3-days) or find another church to work with. If support level is high, you might be able to do something extra like an extended schedule (all-day or 2-weeks) or host a community wide VBS for several smaller churches to join.

2. Choose dates for your VBS
Several factors affect scheduling. In our town, we work around several major summer events like the county fair, the boat races and Relay for Life. It is also smart to check with other churches in town to see which weeks they have planned for VBS. Work together with church leaders to pick the best available week. (But there will always be someone on vacation.)

3. Choose & order curriculum for your VBS
This is an important step, because not all VBS themes will fit every church situation. Like everything, it’s better to start early and get the materials in hand ASAP. Most publishers include a very helpful guide to planning Bible school at your church.

4. Create a rotation schedule and room assignment chart
There are many right ways to do this. I tend to be as simple as possible. Your plan will be determined by your support level and facility setup. We have several large meeting rooms, so I prefer large group stations for crafts, music, learning and snack.

5. Recruit volunteers for Vacation Bible School
The next step is to create your roster. To keep things simple, I put mine on the same document as the rotation schedule. The key to finding volunteers is relationships and helping volunteers find the right spot. Our church has many volunteers who work VBS every summer. Also, consider using teenage VBS workers, but only with the proper training.

6. Publicize and pre-register children for Bible school
Once all the pieces are in place (or at least you’re trying), it’s time to start promotion. Most churches will ask members to speak with their neighbors about coming to Bible school. I prefer a half-sheer registration flyer that also works for a promotion piece. Depending on your budget, advertising can be a major expense. We use a large sign on the road in front of our church to increase awareness. Some publishers offer online registration tools that can simplify the process.

7. Communicate the plan
Make sure all your volunteers know their roles before VBS starts. Some churches have multiple meetings to walk through the plan. For our church, I typically spare them the meeting but call everyone to make sure they are on the same page. If you do have a meeting, use it to encourage the workers and pray for God’s help.

6. Adjust as needed during VBS week
Even the best plans will need adjustments during Bible school week. For this reason, I try to delegate all the teaching responsibilities so I am free to make decisions during the week. If you’ve communicated your plan well, then adjustments should be minimal.

7. Follow up any new contacts made during Bible school
The missing step for most churches is to follow up after VBS. I suggest a letter from the pastor for all un-churched guests and possibly home visitations. If you have children who come to Christ, make these priorities. The most effective form of follow-up is to get prospects enrolled in Sunday school. If you struggle to make that happen, write a follow-up letter for the children who attended VBS. You can send it home with them on the last day or mail it to them a week later.

8. Evaluate and make detailed notes
I keep a notebook open all week to record my observations from VBS. This has been my best teacher. During Bible school, you can see first hand things you may wish to do differently next year. So, write it down and file it away. If you’re brave, ask several key leaders to keep their own list. Have lunch together the week after Bible school and compare notes.

9. Say thank you to every volunteer
I’ve saved this one for last, but it is very important. We try to recognize volunteers at VBS graduation, in church the following Sunday, with personal thank you notes. Go the extra mile for key leaders and phone them to say thanks. Practically, you can’t do Bible school without the workers. Pray that God will bless them for all their hard work.

http://ministry-to-children.com/how-to-plan-vacation-bible-school/

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Did you know that for only about $1 per household, you can purchase a New Mover mailing list AND mail a personalized postcard?  Let Prospect Services help you reach your community for your church and for Christ!

Lists for both one time use and monthly subscriptions are available.

Outreach is a vital part of the growth of any church today.  LifeWay Prospect Services is committed to providing you with the best tools to help you easily and effectively reach out to those in your community and invite them to be a part of your congregation.  Whether you are looking for a one-time mailing list for a special event or want to subscribe to a New Mover program that includes mailing services, these tools can help you reach your outreach goals.  Here is the third of our top 5 tools to amplify your outreach.

3 - Holidays

LifeWay Prospect Services' outreach tools provide you with easy and effective ways to share what God is doing in your church.  The holidays - Easter, Mother's Day and Father's Day - are a great time to share with those looking to feel a greater connection with God through a church home.  Our designers have created greeting cards and note cards that are beautiful and elegant invitations to holiday services.  By selecting a mailing list that includes families in the area of your church, you can choose to have the greeting cards or note cards mailed for you.

Check back for the next tip to amplify your outreach.

Outreach is a vital part of the growth of any church today.  LifeWay Prospect Services is committed to providing you with the best tools to help you easily and effectively reach out to those in your community and invite them to be a part of your congregation.  Whether you are looking for a one-time mailing list for a special event or want to subscribe to a New Mover program that includes mailing services, these tools can help you reach your outreach goals.  Here is the second of our top 5 tools to amplify your outreach.

2 - Vacation Bible School

It's time to start planning!  Vacation Bible School will be here before we know it.  So what is the best way to let everyone know about your upcoming Big Apple Adventure?  LifeWay Prospect Services offers a simple way to find families with children in your area to invite to your VBS.  Select the neighborhoods that you would like to include near your church and even the ages of the children you would like to include.  You will receive a mailing list of families that match your selection criteria.

Want to make it even easier?  Select one of our Vacation Bible School designs in a variety of formats from postcards to greeting cards.  We will then mail your VBS announcements for you to the families on your selected list.

Check back for the next tip to amplify your outreach.

Outreach is a vital part of the growth of any church today.  LifeWay Prospect Services is committed to providing you with the best tools to help you easily and effectively reach out to those in your community and invite them to be a part of your congregation.  Whether you are looking for a one-time mailing list for a special event or want to subscribe to a New Mover program that includes mailing services, these tools can help you reach your outreach goals.  Here is the first of our top 5 tools to amplify your outreach.

1 - New Mover and New Homeowner Programs

Our New Mover and New Homeowner programs allow you to connect with people who are new to your community and are looking for a church home.  In addition to receiving a monthly mailing list by e-mail, we also offer mailing service to make it easy for you to connect with those New Movers or New Homeowners each month.  You simply choose the neighborhoods that you would like to include, design the postcard online that you would like to send with all of the details about your church services and a welcome message, and we take care of the rest.  No need to purchase postcards separately, affix postage stamps and labels and worry about the postcards getting in the mail.  We will mail your postcard for you to the newest residents of your selected neighborhoods each month.  You will receive a report of the addresses that were mailed so you can follow up with a visit.

Check back for the next tip to amplify your outreach.

It's a brand new year.  It's the time of year that we think about hope, renewing our faith and new opportunities.  LifeWay Prospect Services' New Mover Program provides you with a great opportunity to connect with people who are new to your community and looking for a new church home. 

Our New Mover program is available by subscription or as a one time order.  You choose the area which you would like to include by selecting zip codes, streets or even selecting from a map.  By subscription, we will pull from our nationwide database each month to find those new movers in the area you have selected. 

The new movers can be provided to you in a report delivered via e-mail or we can make it even easier and mail to those new movers for you.  Simply select your postcard, note card or greeting card design and customize for your church.  Each month, your custom direct mail piece will be mailed to the newest members of your community without you having to lift a finger.  There are no set up fees and no minimum quantities.

If you would like to specifically select New Homeowners, we can provide those lists too.  Just select New Homeowners from our options menu and only those that own the homes that they have recently moved in to will be selected.  (Renters will be excluded.) 

If you have any questions about the program, please give us a call at 800-464-2799.  Have you used the LifeWay Prospect Services New Mover Program?  If so, please share your successes below.

Posted on Jan 4, 2011 | by Tim Ellsworth - Baptist Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Texas Christian University quarterback Andy Dalton was quick to talk about the Lord in a post-game interview following TCU's 21-19 win over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl Jan. 1.

Dalton, the offensive player of the game, was interviewed by ESPN's Erin Andrews, who asked him if TCU, as a non-automatic qualifier for the Rose Bowl, were playing "for the little guys out there."

"That's what we were doing," Dalton said. "We weren't just playing for TCU. We were playing for all the non-AQ schools out there. It's an attitude that we have. There's a verse in the Bible, in 1 Peter 5:6, that says, 'Humble yourself, and under God's mighty hand He will exalt you in due time.' And that's what happened today."

The Horned Frogs, ranked third in the Bowl Championship Series standings prior to the game, finished the season 13-0. Dalton completed 15-of-23 passes for 219 yards and one touchdown against the Badgers. He also added a rushing touchdown.

A Dec. 24 article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram explored not only the on-field legacy that Dalton, a senior, will leave at TCU after setting school records for wins, passing yards and touchdowns, but the spiritual legacy he'll leave behind as well.

Dalton was one of 11 TCU students who created a weekly nondenominational gathering called Ignite, according to the Star-Telegram. The group's first meeting came April 5, the same night as the NCAA men's basketball championship. Leaders weren't sure how many to expect.

"He placed it on our hearts to do something like this," Dalton said in the article. "And we walked in there and the place was packed. We had around 400 people the first night."

This year's average attendance at the meeting has been more than 700.

"College is a time where a lot of people try to find themselves," Dalton said in the Star-Telegram. "If you've grown up in a church, college is a time you may branch away from that. We felt TCU had been a little complacent in its faith and having something like this would kind of spark up the campus."

In the Dec. 2010 edition of Sharing the Victory, the magazine of Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Dalton discussed how his faith in the Lord affects the way he plays on the field.

"Like 1 Chronicles 29:11-12 says, everything belongs to God and God alone," Dalton said. "My talents and abilities are all from Him. So, when I take the field to play and use those abilities, it is my way of giving thanks to Him for all He has given me."

At BeyondTheUltimate.org, a website for Christian athletes and coaches, Dalton describes how he was saved as a third grader when the pastor at First Baptist Church in Katy, Texas, was visiting his home. He grew up in a Christian household, he said.

"One thing I have realized when growing in my faith is that I can't be passive in my relationship with God," he wrote. "It is truly a relationship and I need to keep up with it. God has given us prayer. I can talk to God at any time. That is a special thing to be able to talk to the Creator of the universe whenever I want. He wants me to tell Him my feelings, goals, wants, and more. All He wants is just to spend some time with me. He has also given us the Bible to help teach us. There are so many stories and lessons to be learned from just picking up the Bible and taking some time to read it."

He added, "I feel truly blessed to be in the position I am in today. I know I wouldn't be where I am without God's help. He has provided me with so much and I am so thankful. To see what He has done -- not only for me but for my team and others around us -- has been unbelievable. There has been hard work involved, but nothing would have happened without Christ." 

Tim Ellsworth is editor of BPSports.net and also works as director of news and media relations at Union University in Jackson, Tenn.