{"id":200,"date":"2015-04-17T00:15:03","date_gmt":"2015-04-17T00:15:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/?p=200"},"modified":"2015-05-20T13:58:02","modified_gmt":"2015-05-20T19:58:02","slug":"10-hacks-that-make-vbs-easier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/blog\/vbs\/10-hacks-that-make-vbs-easier\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Hacks That Make VBS Easier"},"content":{"rendered":"

While many children\u2019s pastors accept the droopy eyelids, constant yawning, and fingernail-biting that\u2019s a daily reality while preparing for VBS, you could be making the process a lot easier on yourself. Whether you spend all day making take-homes or begging for volunteers, these symptoms of exhaustion could be indicators that you\u2019re making your VBS prep harder than it needs to be.<\/p>\n

Here are some hacks that can make planning your VBS easier:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Share decorations.\u00a0<\/strong>Network with churches in your area that are using the same VBS program so you can share large d\u00e9cor items for your opening\/closing area.<\/li>\n
  2. Buy instead of make.<\/strong> Buy crafts\/science experiments instead of trying to make them yourself. Don\u2019t race around town looking for items or tear up your church supply closet in an effort to throw together themed crafts.<\/li>\n
  3. Reuse your volunteers.\u00a0<\/strong>Have the same volunteer lead your opening and closing celebration.<\/li>\n
  4. Preregister kids. <\/strong>Preregister kids online and make a fast pass registration line for your preregistered kids on Day 1.<\/li>\n
  5. Use teens as leaders.<\/strong>\u00a0Use your church\u2019s youth group as Crew Leaders and Assistant Station Leaders. A lot of times, it\u2019s easier to get teens to volunteer instead of adults.<\/li>\n
  6. Identify and assemble a decorating team early on.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Many times you\u2019ll find art teachers, professional artists, or talented teens right in your congregation.<\/li>\n
  7. Choose a program that\u2019s already been tested with real kids and crew leaders.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0If it\u2019s already been tested, it\u2019s bound to work!<\/li>\n
  8. Ask small groups to make the snacks.\u00a0<\/strong>Reach out to small groups within your church to assist with providing snacks.<\/li>\n
  9. Order program supplies early in the spring.<\/strong>\u00a0Don\u2019t wait till two weeks before your VBS to order all your supplies! You are too busy to track packages online or stalk your city\u2019s UPS truck the week before VBS.<\/li>\n
  10. Find a VBS Mentor.<\/strong>\u00a0Consider approaching a neighboring church that has a flourishing VBS, or network online with a seasoned VBS director who is using the same program as you.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    What are some things that have you stressed out about VBS? Let us know in the comments below! \u00a0If you didn\u2019t already know about\u00a0Group\u2019s Easy VBS<\/a>, I encourage you to check it out!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    While many children\u2019s pastors accept the droopy eyelids, constant yawning, and fingernail-biting that\u2019s a daily reality while preparing for VBS, you could be making the process a lot easier on yourself. Whether you spend all day making take-homes or begging for volunteers, these symptoms of exhaustion could be indicators that you\u2019re making your VBS prep harder than it needs to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":357,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vbs"],"yoast_head":"\n10 Hacks That Make VBS Easier - Group Children's Ministry<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"While many children\u2019s pastors accept the droopy eyelids, constant yawning, and fingernail-biting that\u2019s a daily reality while preparing for VBS, you could\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/blog\/vbs\/10-hacks-that-make-vbs-easier\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"10 Hacks That Make VBS Easier - Group Children's Ministry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Whether you spend all day making take-homes or begging for volunteers, these symptoms of exhaustion could be indicators that you\u2019re making your VBS prep harder than it needs to be.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/blog\/vbs\/10-hacks-that-make-vbs-easier\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Group Children's Ministry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GroupChildrensMinistry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-04-17T00:15:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-05-20T19:58:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/04\/hacks-to-make-vbs-easier-fb.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"627\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jill Frahm\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Whether you spend all day making take-homes or begging for volunteers, these symptoms of exhaustion could be indicators that you\u2019re making your VBS prep harder than it needs to be.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/04\/vbs-hacks-twitter.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@groupkidmin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@groupkidmin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jill Frahm\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/blog\/vbs\/10-hacks-that-make-vbs-easier\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/blog\/vbs\/10-hacks-that-make-vbs-easier\/\",\"name\":\"10 Hacks That Make VBS Easier - 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