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Does your church charge for VBS?


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I'm wondering if I just crawled out of a hole :) because until very recently I've never heard of a VBS being something with a fee. I've heard of "church day camps" charging but I thought a VBS was a free ministry of the church. It's extremely possible that I'm 'out of the loop', so I thought I'd put the question out there!

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DS has attended two VBSs this summer and neither has charged a fee. T-shirts were $10 at each if you wanted one. Both churches have collected items for needy families (school supplies/food) from the children which I think is a wonderful thing.

 

Our former church charged $25 per child :blink:. As they didn't use a packaged curriculum, a lot of the money went toward a custom made t-shirt :glare:. I didn't have a little one at the time, but always thought it was very expensive.

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Ours doesn't, the one in town that I love to send my kids to... does. For theirs, it's $10 for VBS and $15 for the all day "Camp" starting in 2nd grade! Yay! I'm so excited! All day he'll be there... M-TH and half on Friday...

 

It's great for me! :) (The pay College students to come and lead their camp.... It's a Lutheran Church) BTW, that doesn't cover the whole cost.....The church picks up the rest...and perhaps do fundraisers...

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Ours is $20 per kid and includes the t-shirt, snack and a bunch of little doodads they send home. You also have to be sure to sign up early because it fills up fast. There are only 200 elementary spots for upwards of 1000 kids. We also pay $80 per kid for CCE, and $20 each for Reconciliation prep and First Communion prep, so VBS is in line with the other programs.

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Wow! I have never in my life heard of any church charging for VBS. I thought it was a mission/outreach type activity. I suppose it still could be...for a certain socioeconomic class. :001_huh:

 

I've heard of quite a few churches charging for VBS so they can continue to offer it. Most have the means to handle people who truly can't afford it if you just ask for help. But most are also not so expensive that I truly think it is "only ministering to a certain socioeconomic class"

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We do not charge any fees for our VBS. We provide a light meal, craft supplies, and transportation. We meet for three hours a day for five days. I invited a good friend's child to come stay with us for the week (they live in another state) and my friend asked me how much it cost. I was shocked! She told me that all of the churches in her community charge a fee for VBS. I was totally floored. For us, it is an outreach that we work all year to prepare and provide for.

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Our church charges $5 for one child or $10 per family (no matter how many children)

Our VBS has 850 kids, so I am definitely okay with a small charge to help with expenses. Previous years it has been close to 1000 kids, with almost 500 volunteers!

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Wow! I have never in my life heard of any church charging for VBS. I thought it was a mission/outreach type activity. I suppose it still could be...for a certain socioeconomic class. :001_huh:

_________

:iagree:

 

If you're going to charge, then call it something else - Bible Camp or Expensive Sunday School or something. That's sad that VBS is morphing into something else. I feel bad for all the kids that in times past would have been able to go to something like that.

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Our church doesn't offer VBS. My DD attended a wonderful free VBS at a nearby Baptist Church a couple of weeks ago. She's attending VBS at a Methodist Church this week because her best friend is going. This one charges $10 and includes a T-shirt. This is the first time I have ever paid for VBS. This year I can afford $10, but there have been years when I could not have sent my girls. It's hard to ask for financial aid, especially for what seems to be a small amount to many people.

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I always thought it was/should be free but things have changed here. Our church started charging when they started buying a curriculum. It seems minimal though considering the kids get a t-shirt and some other things. We charge $25 per kid.

 

I personally would like to see it free and forget about the t-shirt, etc. :)

 

I think when you charge you turn away the people that need to be there (neighborhood kids, etc.).

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:iagree:

 

If you're going to charge, then call it something else - Bible Camp or Expensive Sunday School or something. That's sad that VBS is morphing into something else. I feel bad for all the kids that in times past would have been able to go to something like that.

 

Honestly, this was my first thought. There are a lot of people who are unchurched who may have attended VBS as a child. I can see the "nostalgia factor" kicking in and deciding to let their kids go. Imagine the rude shock at the price :(

 

Of course the VBS that I grew up with had us decorating shoeboxes for crafts, eating store brand 'Oreos' and drinking watered down Kool-Aid ;) so t-shirts and other expensive take-home goodies don't even factor into my expectations of it.

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Our church here does not charge. Our church in Florida had, I think, a $10 charge, but only for congregation members. So any child coming off the street or with another family wasn't charged and neither were people in the church who could not afford the fee. I think the child got a t-shirt. Some other ones did charge I think $10. One might have charged more but that wasn't the problem. THe problem was that my daughter broke her leg at VBS and I wasn't called.

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:iagree:

 

If you're going to charge, then call it something else - Bible Camp or Expensive Sunday School or something...

 

Really? Most people have said their church charges between $10-$25. I am surprised that an average of $3/day would be considered "expensive".

 

Our church charges for VBS, but if you can't (or won't) pay, you don't have to.

 

Our church also runs a 5-day VBS in a poor neighborhood every year. It is completely free. They serve hundreds of meals during the week - not just for VBS'ers. The whole family can come eat. Last year a bunch of teens showed up, unexpectedly. The volunteers managed to gear up quickly for a week's worth of activities for them, too. It was amazing. I'm glad the regular VBS at the church can cover its costs so that we can use money for outreach where it's needed more.

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$55 for 1/2 day (9a-noon) for 4yo to Kindy

$85 for full day (9a-4p) for 1st-6th grade

 

Cost includes t-shirt. Kids must bring own lunch. They also sell snowcones to the campers for $1, encourage the kids to bring money for donation during service (they compete for prizes based on the weight of their groups donation), and charge $5 for replacement wristbands and parent ID cards if you lose them during the week. There is no discount for those kids whose parents volunteer to staff the camp either.

 

There are over 900 kids there. There is one adult "chaperone" per every 6 kids and that adult leads their group to classes and activities. Other volunteers are in charge of each specific area.

 

MIL pays for DS to go and then she volunteers to be the "chaperone" for his group (6 boys). She did not offer to pay for DD this year (who was eligible) because it would have been cost prohibitive. If the inlaws didn't pay, I doubt DS would go either.

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I attended VBS every year as a kid, often at more than one church. And I've been a pastor's wife for 30 years, teaching VBS for many of those. In every case, VBS was an outreach of the church, and all the kids around there were invited to attend. Snacks and even meals were always free. The only expense for the parent was if the kid wanted to buy a VBS t-shirt; the churches always took up money for advance orders for the shirts.

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Our's never charges, it is for outreach, to bring more families into the church. They do a penny drive to raise money for a certain family or missionary. Church covers all costs for the actual event with volunteers and donations.

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OK...I agree that this is expensive and should be called something other than VBS!

 

If it weren't for the fact that MIL pays, DS wouldn't be there. Apparently it has become "THE" VBS to attend in our town and as a result they seem to charge what they want. However, it's more of a "fun" camp than a true VBS IMO. Yesterday they had go-carts and field games, today was water games, one day is inflatables, there is a rock wall, etc...

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I have never in my life heard of a church charging for VBS. I am shocked. I don't really get what is so expensive that it would cost $50+ per kid? If the workers are all volunteers and you do dinky snacks and arts and crafts, is it really that expensive? Are these churches that are charging ones with really low budgets?

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$275! And that's the early bird rate. Add $50 for the regular rate. Of course, this includes room and board for the week at the college where the camp is hosted. CD's are $10 more, and if they want to keep their music book, it's another $15. But EK loves it and goes every year. And ER used to go when he was eligible (it's for high school students). Somehow, we managed.

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$9 per child here, which includes a t-shirt. Very informal for paying, so if you don't pay, only the director knows, really. She will never prevent anyone from coming based on inability to pay.

Also, you can buy the CD for $5. Again, if you want one, and can't afford it, you just need to ask. If you talk to her about not paying, she might even just offer the CD, I don't know, but that is my feeling.

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If it weren't for the fact that MIL pays, DS wouldn't be there. Apparently it has become "THE" VBS to attend in our town and as a result they seem to charge what they want. However, it's more of a "fun" camp than a true VBS IMO. Yesterday they had go-carts and field games, today was water games, one day is inflatables, there is a rock wall, etc...

 

Well, I guess inflatables and go carts add up. Are the days of the pledge of allegiance to the Bible and crafts with popsicle sticks and a Bible story over?

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I just looked at the handbook for the $85/child campt...

Monday: Field games and off road racers

Tuesday: Zip line/Monkey Motion/Jungle Adventure

Weds: Reptile Man/Field Games

Thurs: Water activities

Fri: Inflatable Slide/Tug of War/off-road racers/Illusionist "concert"

 

They also have Family night on Friday where the entire family can do go-carts, inflatables, water slides, zip lines, etc., and "enjoy" concessions.

Not low budget at all!

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No.

 

It's $8 *if* you want to buy the t-shirt but you don't have to. I didn't buy them for my kids this year.

 

I have a problem with churches that charge children to hear the Gospel. Really ticks me off.

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Wow...I have never had to pay, at any church. Our church quit doing the t-shirts, probably because of cost. But when they did them, they didn't charge. It's a 5 day event, with a craft and snack (one year they did dinners instead of snack) each day. There's usually some little extra things, too (that match the theme). For example, boomerang shaped bookmarks when we did Boomerang Express for a theme. Another church did charge for the t-shirt, if you wanted one, otherwise it was free (and they included all the same activities, plus a huge carnival on the last night). Another church did the same, but included dinner each night also. These are all Southern Baptist churches. Dd5 attended one at the Presbyterian church where she attended preschool. They didn't charge, and even gave you the cd to learn all the songs. They did, however, limit their enrollment.

I understand limited budgets, but it seems counter-intuitive to charge. Most churches use this as an outreach program, attempting to reach children that are not already attending the church. I would think that by charging, you would limit that possibility a great deal.

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Guest Dulcimeramy
:iagree:

 

If you're going to charge, then call it something else - Bible Camp or Expensive Sunday School or something. That's sad that VBS is morphing into something else. I feel bad for all the kids that in times past would have been able to go to something like that.

 

Well, I guess inflatables and go carts add up. Are the days of the pledge of allegiance to the Bible and crafts with popsicle sticks and a Bible story over?

 

Evidently.

 

Our church had a financial crisis several years ago but everyone agreed that we did not want to charge for VBS.

 

Some of the women put together a homemade one, but it was very poorly attended. They were frustrated that all the church folks just took their kids to the flashier VBS's in the neighborhood instead.

 

The next year we didn't bother. Surveys seemed to suggest that people only want bells and whistles (this included our church families) and we still couldn't afford it.

 

This year we are apparently doing better because we are doing the exact same VBS-in-a-box that every other church in town is doing. (High Seas) We'll have a full grilled lunch, ice cream, bouncy houses, crafts....sheesh.

 

It is my own personal opinion that if we have gotten richer again we should pay our pastor better. He took a huge pay cut and lost some benefits when our church went broke several years ago...and then he and his wife had a surprise baby. Tough times.

 

When I was a kid, VBS was Bible stories, crafts, a cheap snack, and songs. It was enough! No canned music, no bought programs. Our nation is in a severe recession and this materialism/commericialism surrounding VBS really bothers me.

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Wow! I have never in my life heard of any church charging for VBS. I thought it was a mission/outreach type activity. I suppose it still could be...for a certain socioeconomic class. :001_huh:

 

Yes, exactly this. Although to me, it is an outreach no matter what the socioeconomic class, which is why it should be FREE!!!

 

I have a real problem for a church charging for a traditional ministry. To me, charging for VBS is like charging for Sunday School.

 

We have never gone to a VBS that offered a t-shirt. It just hasn't happened, but I wonder at the rationale behind offering a t-shirt. Is it just a response to our consumer driven culture? Is there any value to having a VBS t-shirt? I am not into "Jesus Junk" at all, so I don't really get the appeal.

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We have never gone to a VBS that offered a t-shirt. It just hasn't happened, but I wonder at the rationale behind offering a t-shirt. Is it just a response to our consumer driven culture? Is there any value to having a VBS t-shirt? I am not into "Jesus Junk" at all, so I don't really get the appeal.

 

I think in the case of the camp DS is attending, it's to help keep track of campers. There are over 900 campers in attendance. Each age group has a different brightly-colored shirt and it helps the counselors know which kids should be where when.

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I've never heard of churches charging! I suppose it depends on whether it is considered outreach or if it's just primarily people already in the church. I also suppose it could depend on the size of the church? Perhaps churches need to charge if they don't have enough support from the congregation. If this is the case, however, I wonder why they would hold a VBS. Interesting. Now I will go and read the other replies. That may help me understand.

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JMHO, but that would not be well received in our region...folks are poor here...our fmr church (I was on the board for several years) always had VBS expenses in the budget each year and it was always protected fairly rigorously when $$ was really tight...and $25.00 seems really steep!

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Even if it is only church members that have to pay? No different than tithing imo. I could see if they charged those that are outside the church.

 

Our church would post something in the bulletin that allowed people to donate things if they wanted. They usually were asking for capri-suns, or craft items (like shoeboxes). They did do an offering each night at VBS, and the money was for something outside of the church itself. (For example, supporting a certain mission in another country, or sending blankets, etc.) They also relied on church members volunteering to teach the classes, decorate, etc. Lots of church members donated time, money, and materials. But that is still different than taking admission at the door, at least to me. Tithing is a personal decision, not a requirement. The charge for VBS sounds like a requirement, and would keep some people from attending. Even if the church would allow a child to come without paying if they knew there were money troubles, how would a non-member who saw a flyer, know that? Besides, if I wasn't a member, I would be too embarrassed to ask for any favors.

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Even if it is only church members that have to pay? No different than tithing imo. I could see if they charged those that are outside the church.

 

Actually it is a lot different than tithing. It is one thing to take up an offering in the service and say, "Hey, this is to help defray the costs of VBS," and something entirely different to charge for it.

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Never heard of such around here. I wonder if it may have to do with the size of the church? VBS is budgeted in yearly, t-shirts are optional and sold on parents night. However, this year we are doing a music camp week instead of VBS and will be performing a musical on the following Sunday. I'm sure t-shirts will be free, as they usually are for musicals.

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All of the churches that I'm aware of here in town charge, usually $15-20 and I think most use a pre-packaged curriculum. I think it usually includes a t-shirt, which I'd be GLAD to skip! How many t-shirts do you have from various camps, etc.?!!! Especially after you've had several kids and hand-me-downs on top of the camp shirts the younger ones now are getting. Too many darned t-shirts. I'd be glad to get nothing, or else something else (like the CD they offer for sale). But I guess I'm getting off topic!

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