by Abbey Carr
In just a few days, we’ll be staring down the face of Memorial Day weekend. While this is a great opportunity to reflect on the lives of men and women who have served our country, it also signals something else for children’s ministry leaders around the world.
The imminent countdown to VBS.
The to-do lists grow at an unprecedented pace.
The volunteer list continues to grow and shrink . . . morphing into the final listing of the finest people who will serve arm-in-arm with you and your team.
And the list of participants seems to keep expanding!
Here are a few tips that can help you get your arms around the task at hand—getting organized for a GREAT week of fun, memories, teamwork, and pouring into the lives of A LOT of kids and families!
- DON’T BE SURPRISED. Be sure to read through ALL of the content of your VBS program. Don’t end up at your desk on Sunday night wondering where in the world you’re going to find 200 purple glitter markers. Schedule time to read through EVERYTHING early in your planning.
- CONFIRM YOUR KEY LEADERS AND TALENT IMMEDIATELY. Once you’ve read through your material, make a list of the key roles you have to fill. Put names beside those roles and confirm that those people will be a part of your team. Do the same exercise for your talent—worship leaders, actors, production team, etc. When booking everyone, be as detailed with time commitments as possible. Continue to communicate with everyone regularly between now and the kick-off of VBS.
- PUT DATES ON THE CALENDAR EARLY. Once you’ve determined who your key leaders are, make sure that everyone has key dates booked on their calendars. These include planning days, shopping days, set up days and rehearsal days. And it’s a really good idea to go ahead and put two dates on the calendar AFTER your VBS is completed—one to celebrate as a team, and another date to have a debrief meeting.
- WORK THROUGH EACH DAY. Gather your key leaders around a table and talk through the flow of each day in detail—noting the time required and supplies needed for each segment. Make sure that you have enough time for each activity (include travel time if you are moving the masses from one location to another location) and enough activity for each time. If you need to bulk up some of the activities, work as a group to brainstorm ideas. Make shopping lists by day for supplies, snacks, props, etc.
Planning your VBS is no small undertaking—but it should be fun! Having a good plan ahead of time will help you tackle bite-size pieces along the way instead of trying to scale a mountain the week before your program.
YOU’VE GOT THIS!
