During VBS:
After VBS:
Vacation Bible School is a great opportunity to discover prospects and reclaim inactive church or Sunday School members. Consider using the questions above to develop your unique strategies for moving people from VBS to Sunday School. Consider involvinig all of your VBS leaders AND Sunday School leaders. Take it a step further and ask adult classes to bring 4-5 class leaders or members to this gathering. Allow all persons to brainstorm the things you might do before, during, and after VBS to create a time line for what you think will work in your own situation. Finally, assign people to specific tasks with specific time frames. Remember, involving adult classes early on in this process may be the missing ingredient that can help your church involve all family members of prospects you discover during VBS.
Here are some other tips for moving people from VBS to Sunday School:
1. Get as good information as possible from all persons attending VBS.
2. Recognize some children are brought to VBS by persons other than their parents, so gather good information from them, too.
3. Assign every prospect discovered in VBS to a Sunday School class or department.
4. Coordinate follow up with all Sunday School classes and departments.
5. Work with preschool and children’s leaders to develop packets of left over VBS materials that can be used as home learning activities. Deliver these during visits after VBS.
6. Plan an intensive follow up “blitz” with specific follow up plans. Consider a 2-3 month period for the blitz beginning immediately as soon as you discover the first prospect from VBS.
7. Involve Sunday School classes and departments in making four connections in four weeks following VBS. Ideas include a personal visit, phone calls, cards and letters, or involving prospects in a fellowship activity.
8. Vary the approaches of how you follow up with VBS attendees.
9. Offer to enroll persons in Sunday School.
10. Follow up with all members of the family—even if they all did not attend VBS. (Be sure to assign ALL prospects to classes and departments.)
11. Offer to meet persons at a specific door within a specific time frame so you may accompany them and their family to their Sunday School classes or departments.
12. Consider using the parenting workshops (See Adult VBS CD-ROM) as one means of outreach and follow up.
13. Include a family night as part of your VBS strategy. Involve leaders from all age group Sunday School classes and departments in the family night plans.
14. If you do not provide adult VBS, consider using the Adult VBS Day 3 Bible study for parents during a family night emphasis to give them a “taste of VBS”.
15. Consider planning and promoting future family-oriented studies to bring parents and children back. (parenting, money management, age group studies, etc.)
16. Coach Sunday School members on talking points during VBS. For example, “We talk about these kinds of things each week in our Sunday School class that meets in …” is a great way to remind people Bible study does not have to end with VBS.
17. Remind all VBS and Sunday School leaders of the importance of inviting and accompanying persons to Sunday School (Thom Rainer, The Unchurched Next Door: Understanding Faith Stages as Keys to Sharing Your Faith, High Expectations: The Remarkable Secret for Keeping People in Your Church).
18. Encourage prospects to invite their friends and family to VBS. Prospects are one of the best sources of finding other prospects.
If you have discovered effective, unique ways to follow up with individuals and families you discover through VBS, we would love to hear from you. Email Belinda Jolley to share your successes.
If you found this article helpful, you may also want to check out the SCBC VBS web page for other ideas and information.
