Planning a VBS at your church this summer? Here are 3 top tips to help your kidmin volunteers serve best, avoid problems, and make VBS a great time for the kids!
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Worried about Volunteer Problems at Your VBS Program?
Here’s a common situation I have seen too many times at VBS and other children’s ministry:
- One adult leader is struggling to present a Bible lesson, review a memory verse, or give instructions for a game or craft.
- Meanwhile, a group of the little girls are chit-chatting and laughing, distracting other kids and making it hard for them to listen to the leader.
- Two or three of the boys keep poking and punching at each other, bumping into the kids next to them and creating a general disturbance.
- Other kids are fidgeting, rolling around in their seats, whispering to each other, and generally not paying attention (and making it difficult for other kids to pay attention, either).
- There are more adult leaders, but they’re standing at the back of the room visiting with each other (creating more noise!) and apparently oblivous to everything the kids are doing.
- There are also teenage volunteers who are sitting with the kids, but they’re looking at their phones (distracting the kids next to them, and also apparently oblivious to the kids).
Sound familiar?!
If you want to avoid this frustrating and less-than-ideal situation at your VBS program this summer, keep reading for 3 tips to share with your volunteers before VBS that will turn this scenario on its head!
Complete VBS Planner Workbook
Talk and Pray Over Your Goals for VBS Together
Before you get into these 3 helpful tips for your VBS volunteers, I highly recommend talking together with your volunteers about the purpose and goals of your VBS.
Are you primarily aiming to share the Gospel with unchurched kids?
Is your goal mainly to disciple kids from Christian families in your church?
What do you want kids to take away from their VBS experience?
- Feeling loved like they’ve never been loved before?
- Having a crazy fun time and realizing the Bible doesn’t have to be boring?
- Experiencing a secure place where they can be free to relax and enjoy just being kids?
Take comments from your volunteers. Get their perspectives on the purpose of VBS. Let them share why they wanted to volunteer, and what they hope will happen during VBS.
Try to get volunteers thinking about how they can best contribute to the purposes and goals of your VBS!
Then, PRAY TOGETHER over those goals and purposes. There is nothing more powerfully unifying than prayer. Praying together brings your hearts together–and that’s a great foundation for a big project like VBS!
Next, it’s time to get into my top 3 tips for VBS volunteers…
1) Engage with kids as much as possible throughout VBS
One of the delightful things about Christians is that we love to fellowship! At my church, it’s always difficult to get people to stop talking so we can start the service–and I don’t think that’s a bad thing!
However, VBS is not the ideal time to be visiting. Volunteers will get plenty of other chances to socialize together. But VBS is a very short time to focus on giving kids a great experience and sharing God’s truth with them.
So encourage volunteers to hold off on the conversations with each other, and to instead focus on interacting with the kids as much as possible!
- Chat with the kids in the hallway between activities, while they’re making crafts, or during snack time.
- Ask them questions! Ask about their lives, their families, their interests. Ask what they liked about the last activity. Ask what struck them the most from the day’s Bible lesson.
- Show interest in what they have to say. Look for opportunities to slip in truth from God’s Word or to reinforce concepts from the Bible lesson.
Above all, try to show the kids at every moment throughout VBS that you’re interested in them and you want them to have a great time!
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2) Set the tone for VBS by your example
Kids pick up far more from example than from words. And they will reflect what they observe. So an example of enthusiasm is key for VBS!
Volunteers who model attentive listening during Bible lessons and enthusiastic participation during singing, games, and other activities can absolutely make or break your VBS program for the kids.
I saw this first-hand as an inexperienced activities director in my early years of kids’ ministry when I did a game that, frankly, was terribly boring. But I had amazing leaders who chose to dive in with the utmost enthusiasm. And the kids caught their energy and ended up getting excited about the game–even though it was truly an awful game. I will never forget how clearly I saw that day that enthusiastic volunteers can make all the difference in kids’ ministry!
Encourage your volunteers to be as excited and enthusiastic as they can, because it will be contagious.
Check out these creative, easy-to-use Bible curriculums for kids:
3) Work as a team
Unfortunately, churches can be a place where gossip, backbiting, criticism, and arguing get out of control–and this will utterly destroy your children’s ministry.
During your VBS, aim for an entirely different atmosphere of love and unity! Here are a few key ideas to share with your volunteers:
- Strive for unity with other volunteers
- Show grace to one another, even when you’re tired or have a disagreement
- Freely express love and appreciation for one another
- Encourage each other in any way you can think of
- Pitch in where you see a need
- Pray together often
- Back each other up
I can’t emphasize enough how important prayer is. Pray individually and together over every aspect of VBS! Pray beforehand, pray during, and pray after your VBS program.
If you can, try to gather all your volunteers before the kids arrive each day to get on the same page and to pray together. Allow volunteers to share stories of how they see God working in kids’ lives throughout your VBS. Also encourage your volunteers to speak positively toward one another in public by asking them to share things they’ve seen other volunteers doing well.
With God’s help, do everything you can to build a sense of unity and teamwork among your volunteers. It will not only make your VBS program run better, but it will make an impact on the kids (because they will notice when your volunteers love one another!) and it will bring glory to God.
And after all, that’s what it’s all about, right?
TEACH THE BIBLE SUCCESSFULLY!
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