RE: VBS in the evening?? (Full Version)

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StephK -> RE: VBS in the evening?? (6/1/2008 5:43:46 PM)

It's about half and half for morning and evening around here and a lot of the churches coordinate their schedules with other churches so that kids could feasibly do VBS all summer long. [8D] When teaching I like the evening better than the mornings since I'm not an early morning person at all.



buckifn -> RE: VBS in the evening?? (6/1/2008 8:49:32 PM)

quote:

Do you think that a sports theme gets more men & boys involved; or no real difference? This year, the only men involved in our VBS are in music/audio. Two years ago we had a young man do the games/outdoor activities and he became an instant hero to a flock of little boys!

_____________________________


Yes, the INCREDIBLE RACE is one good example. We had more men involved with that than any other vbs program.

We always have men doing the games too... I think it is ideal, esp. for children who may come from a home environment where the Dad is absent.

We usually include water games of some kind and never have a shortage of guys to volunteer.



3cappuccinosmom -> RE: VBS in the evening?? (6/2/2008 7:19:39 AM)

This has been very interesting. [:)]

I did find out our church was going to do a *full day* VBS, but then decided that was a little overambitious and pared it down to mornings, so we can go to that. I don't know who they're getting to run it, because there are very few SAHM's in our church. Since I will hang around anyway, I'm going to volunteer for something. Maybe Snack Lady.



kernsfamily -> RE: VBS in the evening?? (6/2/2008 9:17:15 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: SweetLittleErin

quote:

ORIGINAL: isaacsmom

quote:

we have 5,000 kids


5,000? Wow! That's great! We'd be super thrilled with 50! (even 30-40!) [:D]


Yup...thats us! We have a GREAT year if we have 50!![:D]



quote:

To me it's no different than sending them to a small one if your adult to child ratio is relatively the same. We have 300 kids but we usually have about 180 workers, not including the parents that stay, so it's very well supervised and controlled.


We'll have AT LEAST that ratio of adults/children, if not more.....it's extremely well-supervised and controlled....it's amazing just to stand back and watch it happen....the organization and execution of such a program, at the scale we do it is nothing short of phenomenal.

Our church is blessed with a fantastic children's ministry staff, that makes sure that, no matter what they do, ALL who come are welcome and are ministered to....whether 5 show up, or 5,000....they, along with an army of parent volunteers, are ready and willing to do what's needed.....

ALSO, for the first time this year, not only are we doing VBS for all the kids that come, but we are debuting VBS "SPECIAL EDITION"...a unique program designed specifically For Children & Students with "Special Needs".....ages 3 thru 21.

We do go to a "larger than average" church (26,000 members).....(But, we are situated in the middle of a metro area consisting of 6.5 million people)....so, it's simply proportional.....and, in our area, there are countless churches, with most doing a VBS...my wife and I say that we could send our kids to VBS continually ALL SUMMER LONG....just go from one church to the next.....



Consecrated2God -> RE: VBS in the evening?? (6/2/2008 12:19:45 PM)

We just finished our first day of VBS. We had about 45 kids and 22 workers. It was fun, but a lot of work! Some of the crafts were difficult to get done in the twenty minute slot we had, though.



buckifn -> RE: VBS in the evening?? (6/2/2008 12:28:20 PM)

I hope this isn't off topic, but I was wondering what others think of possibly having a "boys" and "girls" vbs. I know that some of the elementary and jr high schools are now dividing classes by gender, but should the church follow suit?

I wonder if participation in VBS would change?



Hismusicgal -> RE: VBS in the evening?? (6/2/2008 12:33:48 PM)

At my church as long as I remember (30 Yrs) even when I was little we had ours at 6 or 6:30 to 8 or 8:30PM . This year it is 6:30- 8:30PM even though there are others who have theres in the morning. But you also have to look at when you have the help, morning , afternoon, evening. Most helpers probably work till 5:30 or 6PM and till they get home change and eat it gets late.

Good luck. Pre-K and Kindergarten are usually our biggest classes.

[sm=angel.gif]



bluestone -> RE: VBS in the evening?? (6/2/2008 12:44:40 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: buckifn

I hope this isn't off topic, but I was wondering what others think of possibly having a "boys" and "girls" vbs. I know that some of the elementary and jr high schools are now dividing classes by gender, but should the church follow suit?

I wonder if participation in VBS would change?


Why? double money to be spent, double volunteers, etc. We divided Jr. Boys and girls simply because there were so many of them, one teacher could not handle the crowd, but I see no reason to divide by gender the entire program.



buckifn -> RE: VBS in the evening?? (6/2/2008 3:44:20 PM)

quote:

Why? double money to be spent, double volunteers, etc. We divided Jr. Boys and girls simply because there were so many of them, one teacher could not handle the crowd, but I see no reason to divide by gender the entire program.



Not necessarily. A lot of materials can be copied (copyright permitting) or in our case a lot of things we create ourselves which is much lower cost than the "official" stuff.

Some of the positives could be deeper bonding with children , more one on one time to help a child who needs extra assistance (smaller classes) and more follow-up.

Plus boys and girls learn at different rates so the entire method of teaching could change based on gender.



kernsfamily -> RE: VBS in the evening?? (6/2/2008 3:56:00 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: buckifn

I hope this isn't off topic, but I was wondering what others think of possibly having a "boys" and "girls" vbs. I know that some of the elementary and jr high schools are now dividing classes by gender, but should the church follow suit?

I wonder if participation in VBS would change?


another "related" but somewhat "off topic" question....

of the children that attend your VBS, what portion are the kids who go to your church? go to other area churches? don't go to church at all?

that's something i've always wondered....

at ours, i would say 60% are "our" kids. 20% go to other churches. 20% are "unchurched", and were brought there by neighbors/friends who do go to church there....

For instance, my wife and kids go "on vacation" for about a month or two up to her parents house in rural northern arkansas in the summer (I fly in and out on weekends when I can).....so, if the kids want, they go to VBS up there (they are usually up there when our church's VBS goes on here in Dallas).....they have a VERY small church, so several churches "get together", and "rotate" the location of the VBS each year.....as a result of "pooling" all area kids together from the 5-6 churches, they have about 50-60 or so. There, though, 90% are probably kids that belong to one of the "participating" churches...with a few, like mine, who simply go to church "elsewhere", and a few that don't go to church....



SweetLittleErin -> RE: VBS in the evening?? (6/2/2008 4:00:03 PM)

quote:

rural northern arkansas


Good place to go in my opinion...[;)]


Our church is small so we really dont have many kids, so I'd say 3/4 of the kids that come are ones from outside the church. Alot from other churches in the community, alot unchurched. We have several families who will pick up their kids' friends and bring them. Alot of grandparents in the area help out and let the grandkids spend all week with them. We have a wide range.



ladyingrace1979 -> RE: VBS in the evening?? (6/3/2008 1:39:42 AM)

We've always had ours in the evening. It usually runs from 6-9. Part of the goal is to get more dad's involved. Since the traditional arrangement of families is mom at home and dad working it just didn't work for the dad's to be involved. Kids need both male and female role models. So if you have little kids try to get them to take an extra nap or adjust the time they get up, if you can. It's only one week.
Kim Q



kernsfamily -> RE: VBS in the evening?? (6/3/2008 10:46:37 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: ladyingrace1979

We've always had ours in the evening. It usually runs from 6-9. Part of the goal is to get more dad's involved. Since the traditional arrangement of families is mom at home and dad working it just didn't work for the dad's to be involved. Kids need both male and female role models. So if you have little kids try to get them to take an extra nap or adjust the time they get up, if you can. It's only one week.
Kim Q


Each individual church has it's "characteristics"......and, whatever works for one church, it certainly doesn't mean it'll work at another.....just glad to see that most churches out there are "flexible" with stuff like this, so they can get "maximum optimization" from the program, and others....if daytime works best, then it's daytime....if evening works best, then it's evenings....there's hardly ever a "wrong" answer when it comes to the "little details" such as this.....

the ONLY "wrong answer" I can think of is: "Because we've ALWAYS done it that way", as a reason for having it at a particular time of day, or whatever, instead of another.....



Hismusicgal -> RE: VBS in the evening?? (6/3/2008 10:47:40 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: buckifn

I hope this isn't off topic, but I was wondering what others think of possibly having a "boys" and "girls" vbs. I know that some of the elementary and jr high schools are now dividing classes by gender, but should the church follow suit?

I wonder if participation in VBS would change?



My one friend when I was HS age invited me to VBS at a Mennonite church and usually even in church they are split (men&boys)(women&girls) but to my surprise the boys and girls at VBS were all together.

Imagine that.

I think boys and girls need to be together what better place if a child has no siblings to learn how to relate to one another for a week at church.

Our VBS is Pre-K thru 6th grade. anyone 7th grade and beyond can help most of the youth do end up helping. That could be a suggestion to get more helpers. We also have dads that help and they love it.

May God bless every church that has a VBS this summer (especially for those children who only hear His word at VBS that it would spark a light in them).

[sm=angel.gif]



buckifn -> RE: VBS in the evening?? (6/3/2008 11:09:01 AM)

Most of ours usually are "unchurched" and the number one reason for that being the parent's won't bring them. They are allowed to come to vbs when someone else picks them up.

I once worked with a church that was based in a military community and we had very few repeaters, most were new every year or two.



Georgia-Peach -> RE: VBS in the evening?? (6/4/2008 11:17:13 AM)

Jumping in blindly...

Growing up our VBS were at night time so for me its nothing new. I do remember though my hubby and I had a discussion about this when we started going to our current church as they do theirs at night too. He grew up going to morning VBS, so night ones seem weird to him. I think now a days so many people work during the day, that in order to have enough help they do it at night after everyone is off of work.



bzirk -> RE: VBS in the evening?? (6/4/2008 11:19:50 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: 3cappuccinosmom

Ten years ago when I was a teen helper for vacation Bible school, all the ones I knew of were in the morning, and usually ended at noon.

I have noticed in our town that *all* the churches are advertising VBS for 7-9 pm. Is this a new trend? What would the reasoning be (to avoid the heat? To avoid VBS being free daycare? to make sure parents are involved?)?

I was hoping to let my kids attend several different ones over the summer, thought they would enjoy it, but those hours just wouldn't work for a 3 and 5 year old in our house! [&:]


It is a trend, but 7-9 sounds kind of late.

On a side note: I CANNOT believe that your oldest is five. Wow! that was a quick five years. [:D]



Roberta_ -> RE: VBS in the evening?? (6/4/2008 12:45:55 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: bzirk


On a side note: I CANNOT believe that your oldest is five. Wow! that was a quick five years. [:D]


I was thinking the same thing. It's seems like just yesterday she was announcing his arrival.



creationtalk -> RE: VBS in the evening?? (6/5/2008 6:07:53 PM)

VBS at one of our churches is in the evening (5:30-8:30). I was involved in the decision to switch from morning to evening at the church.

I'm a single mom. My son is in daycare or with a babysitter. He could not attend a VBS during the day unless I took the week off. Since summers are the busiest time at work, it's almost impossible to get time off (and even w/VBS in the evening, I still have to take 1-2 hours off each afternoon...and I can't always do that). So he would miss out.

Another factor in the decision to switch to evenings is that all or most of the adults involved in VBS work. For a daytime VBS ither they would have to take the week off from work or we would not have VBS.

An evening meal is served at VBS so that the people who work during the day don't have to worry about meals before coming in to volunteer--and it also really helps the parents of children involved w/ VBS



zoebob -> RE: VBS in the evening?? (6/5/2008 6:11:28 PM)

Another idea for small churches that a church we used to live near did. Instead of meeting every day for a week they met once a week all summer in the evening. That way people just had to leave early one day a week which was easier to arrange. It was mostly older people and teenagers. For teens with summer jobs (often at places like McD's or Walmart) they just had to ask for the same day off all summer.



Roberta_ -> RE: VBS in the evening?? (6/5/2008 9:19:29 PM)

I'll be helping out with a VBS in July that is 9-12 noon. It's the first time I've heard of a morning one in years!



Hismusicgal -> RE: VBS in the evening?? (6/6/2008 1:44:52 AM)

quote:

An evening meal is served at VBS so that the people who work during the day don't have to worry about meals before coming in to volunteer--and it also really helps the parents of children involved w/ VBS



An evening meal is served at my church also but only for VBS helpers and the children they bring. That is still cutting it close for some of us.

My suggestion is asking whoever is watching the kids to feed them something alittle earlier and for yourself nuke a Campbell's "Soup-in-hand" before you leave work and drink or eat it on the way to get the kids.

Our VBS always has a snack to for the kids and if there's enough helpers too.

[sm=angel.gif]



SweetLittleErin -> RE: VBS in the evening?? (6/13/2008 9:56:53 AM)

Our church has decided to try something new with VBS this year. Its just a trial run, but we are trying the idea out. We are doing a one day VBS (Saturday) 4 times a year. One each season, and calling it "Seasons of the Son". That way no one get totally worn out, and we can keep the spirit of revival that comes with VBS going all year long. Plus it will give a chance to incorporate the different season's Biblical themes into it..Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, etc. And it will allow for a wider range of crafts and activities.



LaurainAL -> RE: VBS in the evening?? (6/13/2008 10:11:50 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: SweetLittleErin

Our church has decided to try something new with VBS this year. Its just a trial run, but we are trying the idea out. We are doing a one day VBS (Saturday) 4 times a year. One each season, and calling it "Seasons of the Son". That way no one get totally worn out, and we can keep the spirit of revival that comes with VBS going all year long. Plus it will give a chance to incorporate the different season's Biblical themes into it..Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, etc. And it will allow for a wider range of crafts and activities.


That is a wonderful idea! Please let us know how it goes. I might have to borrow the idea.



SweetLittleErin -> RE: VBS in the evening?? (6/13/2008 10:13:42 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: LaurainAL

quote:

ORIGINAL: SweetLittleErin

Our church has decided to try something new with VBS this year. Its just a trial run, but we are trying the idea out. We are doing a one day VBS (Saturday) 4 times a year. One each season, and calling it "Seasons of the Son". That way no one get totally worn out, and we can keep the spirit of revival that comes with VBS going all year long. Plus it will give a chance to incorporate the different season's Biblical themes into it..Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, etc. And it will allow for a wider range of crafts and activities.


That is a wonderful idea! Please let us know how it goes. I might have to borrow the idea.


I'll let ya know. We havent had our planning meeting yet to work out details, but I'll keep ya posted. It sounds wonderful since we have so many families in our church where both parents work. Plus it will keep the kids, especially outside of the church kids, possibly involved all year long.



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