Vacation Bible School Outreaches

Vacation Bible School Details

Sunday and Wednesday evenings (Wed. Optional), and during the afternoons Monday -Thursday, your mission team will do Vacation Bible School Outreaches at the specially chosen church you'll be serving with for the week. The children will range in ages from 3-12. Often, the younger ones will be accompanied by their moms. Teenagers will often be involved as well or observe from a distance.

A Vacation Bible School is a great way to share the Gospel and disciple those who attend. We have carefully and prayerfully put together this VBS package and have seen it produce great results. It communicates what we believe is a clear, thorough, attractive presentation of the gospel that is fun and interesting at the same time.

Your Team Will Do 5 Main VBS's

Sunday Evening - 5:00pm
Monday Afternoon - 2:00pm
Tuesday Afternoon - 2:00pm
Wednesday Afternoon - 2:00pm
Thursday Afternoon - 2:00pm
Wednesday Evening Ministry- 6:00pm This is optional. If chosen, this VBS will have no snacks & crafts.

Style of VBS

VBS in Mexico is different than in the states. We have found the best method is to have all the children together rather than trying to divide them up into age groups. Following are the reasons: (1) the older siblings are commanded to watch their younger siblings by their parents so these little family units cannot be broken up; (2) the children down here are harder to direct and work with, and; (3) there are generally not the facilities to accommodate a number of groups.

V.B.S. Outreach Schedule - Approximate time 2 hrs.

2:00 - 2:20 - Game time outside with children
2:20 - 2:35 - Song time (4 or so upbeat songs, 2 or so slow songs)
2:35 - 2:45 - Two short testimonies geared towards children
2:45 - 2:50 - Drama or skit if you have one
2:50 - 3:00 - Puppet show
3:00 - 3:10 - Memory verse via puppets
3:10 - 3:30 - Bible Story via large TV
3:30 - 3:50 - Crafts & snacks

Following is more detail on the above schedule

Game Time - 20 min.

Your group will play outside games with the children such as; jump rope, bean bag toss, ball tosses, duck duck goose, soccer, bubbles, face painting, frisbee games, baseball (with plastic bats and balls, and etc.). You can organize your group into smaller groups who can be in charge of the various games happening. There won't be large group games where all the children will be involved in, but various, smaller games happening at the same time. The children usually will rotate and go from one game to the other as they please. After game time, make sure each group picks up their sports equipment as the children will often try to take it. This is a time to get to know the children and draw a crowd from the community. We would ask if you could, to bring some sports equipment with you for this time.

Note: There will be no play time for Sunday or Wednesday evening VBS's. These condensed VBS's will need to fit within the message time of the Adult Outreaches. VBS's on Sunday and Wednesday evening will last about 1 hour, so these VBS's will be a little shorter.

Song Time - 15 min.

If your team is able (if not we can fill in for you) you will do 4-5 children's Spanish songs. Several of these should be upbeat songs with motions and several can be slower songs.

Note: There will be no song time for Sunday or Wednesday evening VBS's as children will have participated in the song time with the adult outreach and the VBS will need to fit within the message time of the adult outreach. VBS's on Sunday and Wednesday evening will last about 1 hour, so these VBS's will be a little shorter.

Testimonies - 10 min.

Two short testimonies geared towards children (3-5 minutes each). Try to share something that God did in your life to draw you to Him when you were a child. More on sharing your testimony

Puppet Show - 10 min.

A big highlight of the V.B.S. is the puppet show. We have the puppets and the Spanish scripts. The scripts are on a cd and easy to follow. It basically involves voice recognition. Upon arrival, we'll show those in your team, who want to be involved in this area, how to do it.

The theme for the puppet teaching time is as follows:

VBS 1 - Sunday Evening: Rom. 3:23 “All have sinned and the problem of mankind.”
VBS 2 - Monday Afternoon: Rom. 6:23 “The wages of sin and the gift of salvation.”
VBS 3 - Tuesday Afternoon: Jn. 3:16 “God's love for all and His gift of Jesus.”
VBS 4 - Wednesday Afternoon: Rom. 5:8 “Christ's payment for our sins.”
VBS 5 - Thursday Afternoon: Rom. 10:9 “Alter Call to receive Christ and be saved.”
VBS 6 - Wednesday Evening: (optional) No memory verse or crafts and snacks

Memory Verses - 10 min.

After each Bible Story time, we will spend a few minutes teaching the children the Bible verses (Except Wednesday evening VBS).

These verses are taught via puppets. The last day we will hand out prizes for those who can say from one to all the verses. If your team could bring some prizes for the memory verses it would be great (50-75 would be good). We'll talk more about what kinds of prizes at the bottom of this page. If your team would like to include the verse in your crafts, here's the verses and version we use:

VBS 1 - Romanos 3:23 "Por cuanto todos pecaron y están destituidos de la gloria de Dios."

VBS 2 - Romanos 6:23 "Porque la paga del pecado es muerte, más la dádiva de Dios es vida eterna en Cristo Jesús nuestro Señor."

VBS 3 - Juan 3:16 "Porque de tal manera amó Dios al mundo, que ha dado a su hijo unigénito, para que todo aquel que en él cree, no se pierda más tenga vida eterna."

VBS 4 - Romanos 5:8 "Más Dios muestra su amor para con nosotros en que siendo aun pecadores Cristo murió por nuestros pecados."

VBS 5 - Romanos 10:9 "Si confiesas con tu boca que Jesús es el Señor y crees en tu corazón que Dios lo levantó de entre los muertos serás salvo."

VBS 6 - No memory verse for Wednesday evening VBS as the children will have just been given one to memorize during Wednesday afternoon's VBS.

Bible Story - 20 min.

This is done on a large screen TV. Because the children are more unruly in Mexico and harder to control, we find a Bible Story via TV works best. We provide the movies, big screen TV for this part of the V.B.S.

Themes of the Bible Stories

VBS 1 – “Creation of Heavens and Earth”

VBS 2 – “Moses and the Ten Commandments”

VBS 3 – “Life and Miracles of Jesus” Part I

VBS 4 – “Life and Miracles of Jesus” Part II

VBS 5 – “Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus”

VBS 6 – “Miracles of Elijah” (Wednesday Evening. No crafts or snacks)

Note: Wednesday evening ministry is optional. Please advise us if you will not be doing this.

Craft & Snack Time - 20 min.

This is an important time where your team's participation is important. The children are divided into groups of ten, with one or two people from your team attending them. You will need to bring crafts and snacks for at least 100 children (we will notify you if you'll need to bring more). Package the crafts in bags of 10 (snacks do not need to be packaged in bags of 10). We have discovered that by forming groups of ten, and having them sit on the floor, works best for crowd control. Try to avoid candy and sweets for snacks.

Salvation Altar Call - Last Day of VBS

The last VBS (Thursday), we’ll present a clear salvation invitation for children to receive Christ. This will be the culmination and goal for all that has been done in the VBS's. It's a special time and many will pray to receive Christ or recommit to Him.

Here are the verses we use in presenting the gospel:

Romanos 3:23 "Por cuanto todos pecaron y están destituidos de la gloria de Dios."

Romanos 6:23 "Porque la paga del pecado es muerte, más la dádiva de Dios es vida eterna en Cristo Jesús nuestro Señor."

Juan 3:16 "Porque de tal manera amó Dios al mundo, que ha dado a su hijo unigénito, para que todo aquel que en él cree, no se pierda más tenga vida eterna."

Romanos 5:8 "Más Dios muestra su amor para con nosotros en que siendo aun pecadores Cristo murió por nuestros pecados."

Romanos 10:9 "Si confiesas con tu boca que Jesús es el Señor y crees en tu corazón que Dios lo levantó de entre los muertos serás salvo."

Summary of What Items You’ll Need to Bring for Your VBS Ministry

Bring game equitment to play with children during the play time.
Be prepared to sing some children's songs (If you need help let us know). For help with children's VBS songs consult our website for more help
Bring crafts and snacks for five VBS's with enough for 100 in each VBS.
50-75 prizes for those who memorize VBS verses.
Come prepared to share 12 testimonies geared for children. More on sharing your testimony

Craft Ideas

Coloring books - You can photocopy pages, or purchase a Bible coloring book (preferably in Spanish) and have the children color them. Crayons needed.
Puppets - Use paper lunch sacks and provide pieces for their mouths, ears, and etc. Crayons needed for this craft.
Paper plate half-masks - Beforehand, cut paper plates in half, punch holes by ears, and cut eye-holes and a slot for the nose. Let the kids color them and put rubber bands through the holes. They can wear the masks by putting the rubber bands around their ears.
Paper plate visors - Beforehand, cut paper plates in half and punch a hole near each corner. Have the kids decorate them and tie a piece of pre-cut elastic through the holes to make a visor.
Crowns - Trace a simple outline of the front of a crown onto tag board or other stiff paper. Cut them out and punch a hole at each end. Let the kids decorate them and put a piece of pre-cut yarn or elastic through each hole. To put the crown on, place on head and tie strings in back.
You can look on the Internet for other great ideas as well.

Snack Ideas

Single serving of canned fruit/applesauce, pudding (don't forget spoons.
Single-serving bags of chips.
Single-serving bags of peanuts.
Single-serving boxes of raisins.
Single-serving cookies, or animal crackers.
Granola bars individually wrapped Hostess/or similar treats.
Graham crackers.
Handi-Snacks (crackers and peanut butter, etc.)

It definitely works best if the snacks are individually wrapped and easily transported. It is often possible to get stores in your area to donate these types of items. Drinks for VBS are optional and up to the discretion and desire of each mission team.

VBS Prize Info

These are given to children who can say from 1 to all of the memory verses. Prizes are a great way to reward those who have worked hard to hide God's word in their hearts.

We'll give out varying kinds of prizes depending on how many verses the children can say. It's best to hand out the same kind of prize for the amount of verses memorized. For example; all who can say one verse would all get the same prize, etc. This helps with crowd control and cuts down on each child wanting a different prize (when working with large numbers of children crowd control becomes important).

Here are some ideas for prizes:

For saying 1 verse - Pencil with a small coloring book or workbook leaflets (in Spanish please).
For saying 2-3 verses: Rubber balls, small cars (boys) hair things (girls) crayons, party favors toys, bubbles, dollar store stuff, coloring books or workbook leaflets (in Spanish please).
For saying 4-5 verses: Frisbees, jump ropes, soccer type balls, markers, coloring books (in Spanish please), small stuffed animals, and etc.

Normally, we'll hand out about 40 prizes to those who can say 1 verse, about 25 for those who can say 2-3 verses and about 10 to those who can say all the verses. Of course, sometimes these numbers can vary if we have more children in the VBS. Any extra items are put into our prize cache and used when numbers are up at a VBS.

We would appreciate it, if you can get a hold of large amounts of coloring book type leaflets, pencils, or crayons, to bring them down. They work great for prizes for those who say 1-3 verses.

Thank you for your thoughtfulness and we're looking forward to a great VBS with your team.