Vacation Bible School is a big project and an important ministry in the church. It takes a lot of prayer, planning, and preparation to pull it off!
VBS Training & Support
Vacation Bible School is a big project and an important ministry in the church. It takes a lot of prayer, planning, and preparation to pull it off! South Carolina Baptist churches are blessed with support on several levels to help them do their best in VBS.
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 materials and themes. (The majority of SC 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 trained by a state convention VBS team. The VBS specialist in the South Carolina Baptist Convention, Sue Harmon, provides training and assistance to associational VBS Directors, to equip them for their role in aiding the churches and leading their associational team. Sue is also available directly to church leaders for information and assistance.
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 use the materials. LifeWay trains the state VBS teams and helps to provide materials for use in state and associational clinics. Both LifeWay and the South Carolina Baptist Convention are committed to aiding associations and churches so that their Bible Schools brings the best results possible for God’s Kingdom.
Vacation Bible School is one of the most effective outreach tools that churches use, 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 is available through their association, the South Carolina Baptist Convention, and LifeWay to help them do their best.
Click here for the Vacation Bible School home page.
