Vacation Bible School is a big project and an important ministry in the church. Much prayer, planning and preparation goes into a successful Vacation Bible School. Alabama Baptist churches are blessed with support on several levels to help them do their best in Vacation Bible School.
The primary level of support for a church’s VBS is the local association. In most areas there is an associational VBS Director who serves as a resource person for church VBS leaders. The help they give may include:
– Leading a clinic for church VBS directors and pastors in the winter to introduce them to LifeWay’s VBS Colossal Coaster World and Jungle Jaunt. (The majority of Alabama Baptist churches use curriculum from LifeWay Christian Resources, the publishing arm of the Southern Baptist Convention.
– Providing a training clinic in the spring with separate classes for all church VBS teachers and leaders to help them know how to teach using the curriculum for their age group or activity area.
– Coordinating the sharing of decorations and materials between churches, particularly to aid those with limited resources.
– Being available to church VBS directors to find answers to questions, give information about resources, and share ideas.
– Help to coordinate Mission VBS or Backyard Bible Clubs conducted by the association’s churches as a cooperative ministry.
The next level of support in Vacation Bible School is the State Convention. Each year, those who will teach in associational VBS clinics are provided training by a State Convention VBS team. The VBS promoter for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, James Blakeney, provides training and assistance to associational VBS directors and teams. He assists associational leaders in equipping them for their role in aiding the churches and leading their associational team. Blakeney is also available directly to church and associational leaders for information, assistance and leading VBS Early Bird Clinics.
LifeWay is unique among VBS publishers in that it not only writes and prints curriculum, but also puts a tremendous amount of resources toward helping the users know how best to teach the materials. LifeWay trains the state VBS teams and helps to provide materials for use in state and associational clinics. Both LifeWay and the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions are committed to aiding associations and churches so that their Bible Schools bring the best results possible for God’s Kingdom.
Vacation Bible School is one of the most effective outreach tools that churches have, bringing in people who rarely or never attend church at any other time. It is also one of our most effective evangelistic tools, with an average of four salvation decisions per VBS. As church leaders prepare for this important ministry, they can know that training and assistance are available through their association, the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions and LifeWay to help them do their best. The chart below shows the results of VBS in Alabama Baptist churches last year.
