I’ll be posting about fall festivals over the next couple of weeks. To get started, here are a couple of links to some good articles from Children’s Ministry Magazine.

Five Halloween Alternatives

The ABCs (and 123s!) of Planning a Fall Festival

And if you are already looking for crafts for your fall festival, be sure to check out the all the new fall crafts and products Guildcraft just added!

VBS is over – except the debriefing. There are few things that will save you more headaches with your next VBS (or any event) than taking the time to debrief. It is a simple process that reaps huge rewards.

Begin with yourself. Take a few minutes to review every aspect of the event thoroughly. You don’t have to share all of these thoughts with your team, but be open and honest in this private session.

Next, get together with those who helped lead the event. Keep the meeting casual and light. If someone has something strong to discuss, ask that they meet with you privately. You do not want someone to get hurt after putting in so much time and energy. If there are negative things to discuss, handle them carefully and gently. They need to be faced, but it doesn’t have to be brutal.

Proceed through the event chronologically. Keep the conversation logical and business-like; it will help it remain upbeat, and it is just about the only way to make sure things don’t get overlooked. Cover everything from the parking lot to the dismissal and all points in between.

With each segment, review:

1.     What went well? Not-so-well?

2.     What did the kids love? Not like at all?

3.     Was the event effective? In what ways?

4.     Did it meet your intended objectives? How so or how not?

You may find you spent a lot of time and effort – and perhaps money – on something that carried little impact. And you may discover that little something extra ended up carrying a HUGE punch. As you review the points, you will get better acquainted with what your group enjoys and what is really not necessary. WARNING:  This is not to be a fluff determiner. The kids will surely enjoy the prizes and the games, but do not be swayed by that. Think about things that truly impacted the kids.

Individually, and as a group, you must be honest. Did you go over budget – why? Did you stay on schedule – why or why not? Are you hanging on to a part of the event that no one likes but you? These kinds of questions are hard, but they must be answered.

Finally, finalize your thoughts and file your notes immediately. Don’t think about them over a stretch of time. Type your notes, if possible. It will be easier to read when you begin planning your next event.

Debriefing is brilliant! Next year when you begin planning, you will be so glad you spent this time now. Congrats on a fantastic VBS. VBS 2009 will be here before you know it!

Several more 2009 themes were announced this month! Catch the latest list here: http://vbsblog.guildcraftinc.com/vbs-2009/

What theme are you most excited about?

Wow - VBS 2008 is over. It seemed a bit like Christmas; a lot of planning, excitement and anticipation and then it is gone before you know it. 

Our biggest challenge - this year we planned for about 400 kids and ended up having 500! Even though we had some last minute problems, God provided and 500 kids had a great time learning about His Word and His Son. 

I think my favorite moment was watching the kids sing and dance their hearts out on the last day.  I had watched them practice all week and by the last day, they finally had all the song words and movements down! I loved watching them have a blast while praising God.

I’m so thankful for my experience and I can’t wait to direct VBS 2009!

What about you? How did your VBS go? What were your challenges? How about your favorite moments?

VBS is now over, but I’m already thinking to next year. Here are some more thoughts I’m jotting down to remember for 2009:

• Remind volunteers to speak to children in language that is easy for the kids to understand. This is especially important for the volunteers who are leading the Bible stories.
• Our pastor was on a business trip during VBS. We all really missed him! I know he is very busy, but I want to try to make sure he can attend next year. I think it is important that kids and volunteers see as many church staff as possible participating in VBS.
• Remind station leaders to repeat and reinforce each day’s message. Kids learn in different ways and you never know when “they’ll get it.”
• Thanking volunteers is so important. I want to have a discussion with my children’s pastor about ways to do this even better.
• I also want to discuss publicity. I live in a growing town. Are we reaching out to these new residents? How can we do better? 

What about you? Do you have any tips that you’ll remember for next year that you’ll share with me?

Our church is in the middle of our Vacation Bible School! I’m the assistant director this year and will be directing next year, so I’m trying to soak up as much knowledge as I can. Here are some of my take-away tips from Days 1 and 2.

• Encourage older kids to really sing and dance during assembly. Younger kids are watching them and will follow what they do!
• We split the preschoolers (4s and 5s) from the elementary kids this year, and it was a huge success. It really helped decrease the chaos during dismissal. Plus the little kids were really able to get into the singing and dancing. I’m not sure if it was the smaller room or the lack of older kids taking their attention away, but the preschoolers seemed to enjoy themselves much more. I’ll definitely be doing this again next year.
• Make sure you don’t have groups gather too close to the entrance/exit. We had a minor traffic jam on the first day!
• Take lots of photos. Post them the next day so kids can see themselves having fun. Allow parents to take them on the last day as a reminder of the fun had at VBS.
• Say thank you to your volunteers on a daily basis. Ask them if they need anything to help them do their job better.

Are you in the middle of VBS? Recovering from VBS? Putting the final touches on preparations for VBS? Regardless of which stage of VBS you are in, plans for a follow-up event cannot be delayed.

That might sound utterly exhausting to you right now, and perhaps, it is the very last thing you want think about. But, now is the best and decidedly single most important moment to strike. You have in your hand (or in your computer or on your desk) a list of names of children and families that just enjoyed being at an event hosted by your church. Some, hopefully, were first-time visitors. All are in need of spiritual development. All have friends and contacts who might not have not been to your church before, and maybe they have friends that haven’t heard the Gospel before. Now is the time to get them excited about another event. They are 85% more likely to come to a second event in the near future than one that is a season or two away.

Children are always ready to discuss the next thing on the calendar. And while it is tiring for the adults, it is necessary for the kids. Have you heard the phrase “What are we going to do after this?” They are ready! Give them a reason to come back to church.

You don’t have to do all the planning right this moment, you just have to put a date on the calendar and get some simple publicity ready to go. The final plans can be done in a few weeks. Getting an announcement out is all that really has to be done immediately.

“What should I do?” might be the next question on your mind. There many ideas, and certainly there is no wrong idea (except doing nothing). I think it is a good idea to include spiritual impact in your follow-up event. While offering a simple game night without a purpose might be tempting, go the extra mile and include a fun object lesson or mini-message as well.

There are plenty of ideas ready to make this task a breeze:

• www.ChildrensChurchStuff.com  has a line of products called “Extreme Party Plans.” They are delightful, create lasting memories, and are extremely cost effective. You won’t believe how easy you’ll pull one together. They are even easy on your volunteer team. Each one takes one theme, like Popcorn or Flip Flops, and centers an entire party on that theme. The kids will have a blast. Plus the Bible message is powerful and full of impact.
• Many of the publishers are now offering follow-up events that relate to their VBS theme. Check with your publisher to see if they have something. If not, encourage them to develop one for next year’s theme!
• Take advantage of the myriad of object lesson books available at every single curriculum publishing house. For example, choose 3-4 object lessons that have something to do with nature and plan a “Back to Nature” event before summer ends. Take a simple hike, have a picnic, play field games, and sprinkle the object lessons throughout your time with them.
• Back to School is a perfect time for a fun event. Have the kids each bring a “cool” school supply and use these items as prizes during the event. Put them in a container and simply draw one (or more) for each game or contest you hold. There are a host of messages perfect for back-to-school, but you could just stick with the “supply” theme and use the passage that reminds us that “God will supply all our needs.” This is a good time to provide pencils with the name of your children’s ministry on them or even a simple “Jesus Loves You” pencil is a great reminder for any of us while we are hard at work.
• Fall Festival packages are available from most of the publishers as well. While a Fall Festival is a little distance away, if you advertise it well and keep the excitement level high, you could be extremely successful in bringing your visitors back.  

Whatever you plan, be sure to send a postcard soon so the families that just visited your VBS have something tangible to remind them. Then publicize with announcements and flyers, and as with VBS, make publicity fun and memorable!

Keep those visitors - and regulars - coming back to church!!! 

I was raised in a military family and the values of “God, Home and Country” were continuously instilled in me throughout my childhood.

I remember the day that my father was deployed to Desert Storm. My family stood together dressed in red, white and blue waving American flags in each hand as my Dad’s unit gathered together to head to Saudia Arabia. We were sad that Daddy was leaving and worried that he wouldn’t return, but we proudly stood together as a family. When he came home 9 months later, we were all there waiting - again dressed in red, white and blue and again waving American flags. I’m not sure I’ve ever been more proud to be an American or to be my Dad’s daughter.

Now as an adult, I look back on that time with amazement. How did Dad handle being away from his kids and wife? How did Mom handle raising three kids alone when she had been used to having a husband around? I now know that their faith got them through the difficult time. Faith in God, faith in each other and faith in our country. I’m so thankful of those most important values they passed on to me.

Have a wonderful 4th of July! See the free coloring page link at the top of the page for a coloring project celebrating love of God, Home and Country. Maybe have the kids in your church color it and write a message to a soldier - past or present! Speaking for my dad, they’ll appreciate being appreciated!

Our church goes all out with decorating for VBS as I’m sure a lot of your churches do. It is so fun to see a fellowship hall transformed into a beach boardwalk or a gymnasium transported to Africa. And what a great message this is for kids - learning about Jesus is fun!

While the decorating is exciting to see, it is a lot of work! Our church is trying something new this year, and I wanted to share this great tip with you. We’ve asked our adult Sunday School classes to take charge of an area of the church. Our hope is that this will get more of the church involved in VBS and generate a church-wide excitement for VBS. It will also be a great help to the VBS team who usually decorates the whole church. So far, we’ve heard so me really great ideas coming from the Sunday School classes!

It’s that time of year! I love summer because I get to find out what great themes the publishers will be sending our way for the next year. Several of the 2009 themes have been announced. We’ll keep you up to date and provide links to the the publisher’s Web sites here: http://vbsblog.guildcraftinc.com/vbs-2009/