Family Centered VBS

[SquirrellyMama]

Does anyone go to a church that has done a family vacation bible school? We are thinking about it but wanted to get some advice on it.

 

Kelly

[Erica in OR]

Our church did this for a couple of summers. The whole family was invited to come, although we then broke out into the usual age-grouped classes, including an adult class. The adult class was led like a Bible study. We did it in the evenings, and incorporated a meal into it at the beginning of the evening, so it was come-as-you-are, and parents could come straight to church with the kids after work. It was a nice time to get together.

 

We've since then stopped doing summer VBS altogether, in favor of a one-day Christmas VBS ("Christmas for Kids") on a Saturday a couple weeks before Christmas. It's billed as a time for parents to get shopping and holiday tasks done. They can drop-off/pick up kids any time between 9:30-2:30. The kids rotate to different stations throughout the day. We had a much better attendance by those who don't already attend our church, and it's one way we can give back to the community while spreading the gospel.

 

Erica in OR

[Lisa R.]

the twelve tribes of Israel. All of the people registered are divided up into the twelve tribes. I was the leader of Judah, for instance. Siblings are kept together, and ages within the tribe are mixed--just like a regular tribe. Fathers are invited to come. In fact, the ones that did were often tribe leaders.

 

The whole idea was to experience what it was like to be living as a Jewish family in ancient times. Our time period this year, specifically, was Passion Week. We did crafts and ate food in the "marketplace" that was designed to replicate the experience of that time.

 

We sang songs and danced as a group to music that went with all of this.

 

I can't remember the publisher of the curriculum. Sorry, I'm not more help. This was our first year at this church. Apparently, they've done VBS like this for a long time.

[6packofun]

I haven't seen one, but think there's a huge need for this because most VBSs (VBSes?) turn into a babysitting service for parents, both believers and particularly unbelievers. Just what I've experienced.

[Ottakee]

Well, it wasn't VBS this year but we did a whole church FACT program on Wednesday nights.

 

It was based on Creation. FACT was Family Adventures in Creation Truth

 

We did the days of creation over the summer and included all ages---from toddlers (yes even the 2/3 year olds) up to the senior citizens. We would do some whole group teaching, working on a Bible verse in very active ways (think camp activities), do some fun activities, break up into groups--some weeks it was boys vs. girls, other times it was groups of 4-6 of a wide age range, etc.

 

My kids LOVED it even more than our regular age/grade programs. It was really neat to see the preschoolers interacting with the senior citizens and the teens fully involved.

[Dobela]

Our church did this for a couple of summers. The whole family was invited to come, although we then broke out into the usual age-grouped classes, including an adult class. The adult class was led like a Bible study. We did it in the evenings, and incorporated a meal into it at the beginning of the evening, so it was come-as-you-are, and parents could come straight to church with the kids after work. It was a nice time to get together.

 

 

We do this each summer. But we do it differently than other churches. We only do VBS on Wednesday nights and stretch church out another 1/2 hour to accommodate extra activities for the kids. We call this Wednesday Night Bible Camp. There is one adult class that is taught each week by a different guest speaker from among members - you know, someone that is a delightful speaker or well versed in Bible knowledge but that doesn't usually teach. Sometimes topics are picked for them related to the theme of VBS, sometimes not. Kids are divided by age/grade/number coming to keep groups kind of equal in size. We usually have a potluck the first Wednesday before class as the kick off. The following Wednesdays we have refreshments and desserts.

 

The kids and families are encouraged to bring guests each week, but our real goal is to increase the number of families from within the congregation attending regularly on Wednesday and to increase their Bible knowledge of a particular topic. During the sumer, during the weeks we decide to do this program (5 weeks usually but up to 10 weeks depending on what we chose to study) our average attendance typically goes up 20-25%. Another plus has been that more folks are available as teachers for the youth. Many adults usually have Wednesday nights off already, or can arrange one night a week to leave early or take off when they can't always take off a whole week of nights if we did it in one week.

[SquirrellyMama]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I'll pass on the info to the chruch. It all sounds great.

 

Kelly

[SquirrellyMama]

the twelve tribes of Israel. All of the people registered are divided up into the twelve tribes. I was the leader of Judah, for instance. Siblings are kept together, and ages within the tribe are mixed--just like a regular tribe. Fathers are invited to come. In fact, the ones that did were often tribe leaders.

 

The whole idea was to experience what it was like to be living as a Jewish family in ancient times. Our time period this year, specifically, was Passion Week. We did crafts and ate food in the "marketplace" that was designed to replicate the experience of that time.

 

We sang songs and danced as a group to music that went with all of this.

 

I can't remember the publisher of the curriculum. Sorry, I'm not more help. This was our first year at this church. Apparently, they've done VBS like this for a long time.

 

Did you take a curriculum that was child centered and add adults to it or was it written as an intergenerational study?