jenL Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 My boys go to a small United Methodist one up the road, and it's free. They even feed the kids dinner and provide dessert every night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 yikes! Ours is free. The T-shirt costs $5. Most others here that I know of are similar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 This is the first year our kids are going to VBS. There is one not too far from our home, and it is free. Our regular church has summer camp (understandably not free), but my kids have never been. They do offer scholarships for those who need it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katiebug_1976 Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Oh my goodness! Are you serious!?! I have never heard of churches charging for VBS. It is considered a ministry of the church...reaching out to the children of the area to teach them about Jesus. I can't believe that you would be charged for such a thing! That totally takes the ministry part out and makes it a paid day care/summer camp thing. That is just wrong in my opinion! It's still free in northern Oklahoma. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandaceC Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Most churches in our area are still free...I have heard of churches charging and hate that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbsweetpea Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Our church has it for free but has a cap on how many children (300). They also don't allow children from OUR OWN church to attend unless a parent is helping. Our VBS is four days from 9:30 to 2:30. There is crafts, sports, bible, chapel, movie, and snack. It is meant for an outreach but the majority of the kids are children from other churches. I have a feeling we will be revamping our VBS after this year. In the past it has been 50% other churches and 50% unchurched. Now it is about 10% unchurched. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Ours is free, as are most/all of the ones in the area, but I could understand charging. My DD has a friend who will probably attend 10 VBS programs before summer is over-often one in the morning and one at night. Her mother doesn't want her at home bored, and doesn't want to pay for a daycamp or child care program. I really don't think that this is what the churches have in mind. I've given up on VBS for my daughter-she HATED it last summer, even at our home church. However, this is also the kid who prefers the service and sermon to children's church. She just plain doesn't have a high tolerance for chaos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EgoElfWife Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 We just finished up VBS at our church. It was "Pandamania" Anyways, it was free. Started Sunday, Friday was a parent night and fun for the children. Four of my children went. I bought the shirts and CD and that was about it. I bought 6 shirts and 1 CD for 67.00 They do donations each day of actual products for various ministries, battered women, kids without food from Friday lunch to Monday breakfast, teenage orphans, etc.... They also do money donations that I believe goes into the Children's Ministry but I'm not sure. It probably goes to cover the cost and even then it probably didn't. But they make it fun. The girls lost this year and the leader of the children's ministry ate a live goldfish :puke: but the kids thought it was awesome. In the past they have done slime, pie, etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 We just finished up VBS at our church. It was "Pandamania" That's the theme of the one my son will be attending in July! (At the same church we go to AWANAs at. Our home church does not do VBS for kids as young as 3 :( ) Parents night on Friday yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 We just finished up VBS at our church. It was "Pandamania" My kids would have loved this theme. They each have a stuffed panda bear that goes every where with them. That is everywhere except bed, and night they don't care about them what - so - ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terabith Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Wait, is it WRONG to VBS hop? I always thought it was a great way for my kids to have fun and learn more about the Bible. They do about six a summer or so. I'm pretty careful and look at the curriculum they are using so that they aren't repeating the same VBS. I just thought it was a way to get exposure to different Bible stories. It never occurred to me that it was wrong to do so. Something to think about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivka Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 They also do money donations that I believe goes into the Children's Ministry but I'm not sure. It probably goes to cover the cost and even then it probably didn't. But they make it fun. The girls lost this year and the leader of the children's ministry ate a live goldfish but the kids thought it was awesome. In the past they have done slime, pie, etc... :blink: Animal abuse makes people feel closer to god? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinyhappypeople Posted June 22, 2011 Author Share Posted June 22, 2011 So, does anyone want to help me crunch the numbers? What would it actually cost (ballpark) to put one of these things on? They're using Hometown Nazareth: Where Jesus Was a Kid. Let's say 300 kids come (that's pure guessing on my part. I don't think it would be much less than 300, might be more, though.). So that's $9,000 to play with (300 kids x $30) The starter package is $119, but you have to add on all the extras (and there are A LOT). Would $1,000 cover it? What about other costs? Insurance? The water slide and bounce house rentals (1 day)? End of week BBQ? I really don't know very much about the technical side of pulling these things together. Help me figure this out... or maybe DON'T help, because I'm starting to get ticked off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jentancalann Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 No way did I read the whole thread, but just wanted to say that our church has always put VBS in the budget and has never charged. And it's always been BIG. A year or two ago we stopped putting on VBS when our main VBS gal moved and no one stepped up. We moved on to music camp and then this year, sports camp and music camp. No charge for either of these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obsidian Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 :blink: Animal abuse makes people feel closer to god? I just want to intrject that I would be horrified if my church leaders were eating live animals. :thumbdown: :sad: We normally do pie in the face... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Beachy Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 I was our director for our church's VBS about 5 years ago, and my budget was $3,000. We came in a couple of hundred dollars under budget, and we had about 280 children. I also know a lot of people donated items and many of the teachers paid for things out of pocket and never even bothered to get reimbursed. I would guess the same thing now would push $5,000, but it is just a guess. OP, our church still does a free VBS, but we are one of the few churches that do. Many around here will charge a snack and/or craft fee. Years ago our senior pastor felt that a church should never ask someone to pay to hear the gospel message. We also don't charge for our Christmas or Easter programs for the same reason. Now, we do have an offering for VBS and people do sometimes give donations for the others, but it never is enough to cover the actual costs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aubrey Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 I've never seen a church charge for VBS. Honestly, though, I have always hated it so badly, I won't go/send my kids even for free. Blech! (Sorry!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cat Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 I paid 15.00 per kid! I've heard of churches canceling VBS because they couldn't afford the curriculum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bairnmama Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 My church is doing our VBS this week and it's completely free. Every.single.kid who comes is getting their own bible as well. The pre-schoolers up through K get the Ergermeier's (sp?) Story Bible, the early elementary get the Adventure Bible for Early Readers, and the upper elementary through 6th graders get a study bible (I can't remember the exact title). We've had over 200 kids so far. We're doing the Go Fish Guys Backstage with the Bible and the kids are LOVING it! All snacks are donated by church members and all room decorations are provided by the teachers out of their own pocket so it's not glamorous... but they're there to learn about the Bible & God, NOT ooh and ahh over decorations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrogMom5 Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 My church just did VBS for free. It's the second year they had VBS and both years it has been free. Denise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandy in KY Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Charging for VBS?? Pretty sure that would mean very low attendance around here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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