In the midst of preparations for Vacation Bible School (VBS), it is important to remember that recruiting and publicity are musts in making it a complete success.
“Your publicity should be something that reflects the love you have for children,” said Bill Barnett, pastor of Union Hill Baptist Church, Oneonta, and promoting VBS session leader for the Alabama Baptist State VBS Clinic at NorthPark Baptist Church, Trussville, on Feb. 17. “Your promotional piece is the first impression of your VBS’s quality.”
In addition to conveying quality, Barnett said starting early, knowing your target audience and being creative are important aspects of creating enthusiasm for the event.
For Pine Grove Baptist Church, Centre, the challenge is to reach a little farther into its community each year. And the church, which has around 350 in worship, has seen success with this publicity strategy, enrolling nearly 700 in last year’s Bible school.
“We publicize our VBS in lots of ways,” said Joan Pollard, VBS director for Pine Grove Baptist, listing ads in the two local newspapers, a flier given to every student at Centre Elementary School and a “mass mailout” to every home in town as examples.
But publicity isn’t just targeted to those outside the church.
“Within our own church, my daughter Jordyn and I often do little skits about VBS to get our church excited about VBS,” Pollard said.
Although she added, “Word-of-mouth is our best form of publicizing.”
Marsha Roach, co-director of VBS for Westwood Baptist Church, Alabaster, has found that getting the “church children” excited is the best way to reach out to other children in the community.
“They’re excited and they start talking about it,” Roach said. “They start telling their friends, and they want to know what the theme is going to be.”
Westwood Baptist provides postcards for the church children to give to their friends, advertising the Bible school dates and theme, so it is a personal invitation for community children to come, she added.
Other publicity ideas include public service announcements on local radio stations, press releases sent to local television stations, large banners hung outside the church and in key locations throughout the community and pre-VBS events.
But while recruiting children for VBS, don’t forget to recruit volunteers from both inside and outside the church, because without their help, Bible school would not be possible.
“Ask who you know, starting with your closest friends,” Roach said. “Don’t try to do everything yourself. You need friends, whatever size (church) you are.”
And don’t neglect the help of other churches and the associational VBS team, said Bama Farr, VBS director for Moores Bridge Baptist Church, Elrod, and associational VBS director for Sipsey Baptist Association.
Three years ago, Moores Bridge Baptist decided to host Bible school for the first time in nearly 20 years. Because it was a “small church” starting from scratch, Farr said the help of other churches was priceless.
“It is important to have the support of all different churches,” she said. “Go to your association. Everyone is so anxious to share and help out, and we share our materials as well. … After all, it all ‘comes back to Jesus.’”
Some key things to remember in recruiting are to inquire about help from previous years’ workers, invite new workers personally, publish specific needs in the church bulletin, take advantage of youth volunteers and make your needs known to your local association and fellow churches.
“Don’t be afraid to ask for help, because there are people who would work in their church’s VBS plus in yours to help get you started,” Pollard noted.
Roach added, “It’s not what we do; it’s what God does in that room every day. When you get hundreds of kids in there every day, volunteers are moved by that. They want to be a part. … Volunteers get so much out of it — so much more than some kids do.”
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Make Bible school a success
– Pray and seek God for every step of Vacation Bible School (VBS). No matter how long you have been involved with VBS, there are always new things to learn.
– Wisely choose directors and staff members who are good with each specific area (music, crafts, Bible teaching, etc.). Remember it is about finding fit, not forcing fit.
– Set a budget and stick to it.
– Create a plan for resources. Consider choosing one person to be in charge of organizing resources for each leader. This helps alleviate pressure for leaders and provides someone gifted in that area to exercise his or her talents.
– Create a plan for child safety (dropping children off, children leaving early, dismissing children, etc.).
– Establish a bus ministry to pick up children from around the community. This way, more children can have the opportunity to come to VBS who may not otherwise have the chance.
– Maintain a servant’s heart toward workers and the children. Everyone has something to gain from participation in Bible school.
– Find ways to reach out to parents. Consider holding a midweek or end-of-week program to which they can come or creating a blog they can read to keep up with what their children are learning and experiencing.
– Remember that the ultimate goal for VBS is to reach others for Christ. (TAB)
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