VBS & Evangelism

1. VBS & Evangelism BGCT Bible Study/Discipleship www.bgct.org/biblestudy

2. What is the purpose of VBS? • Take a moment and discuss, with a group of 3 or 4 around you, why churches have VBS. • Hear reports • Now, together, put together a “purpose statement” for VBS. What is the intended purpose of this program/event in the church? When you have a statement, place it on a sheet of flip chart paper provided. • reports

3. What is the purpose of VBS? • Vacation Bible School is a ministry designed to reach people of all ages, leading them to know and respond to Jesus Christ as led by the Holy Spirit. VBS is a fun-filled, spiritual adventure that provides concentrated Bible study and encourages real-life application. All aspects of VBS are appropriate for church and mission settings.

4. Is it working as an evangelistic tool? VBS Statistics from 2005 (of reporting churches) • Over 3 million enrolled in VBS • 97,000 reported decisions to accept Christ as Savior • 2000+ reported commitments to full-time church-related vocations • 39,000+ enrolled in Sunday School • 26% of baptisms in SBC life were the result of VBS

5. How effective is VBS compared to other evangelistic programs? 2005 Data From NAMB Missional Research

6. How effective is/was VBS in your own life? • In small groups, discuss your own experiences with VBS. Were you saved as a result of a Vacation Bible School at your church? Did an experience in VBS encourage you to surrender to full-time ministry or missions? • After sharing in your small groups, we’ll have time to hear from each group about how VBS has impacted a life – yours, someone in your family, etc. Be prepared to share at least one testimony with the large group.

7. Keeping VBS Evangelistic • Who are some key individuals that are responsible, and what are some key elements that must be in place in order to ensure that we have an evangelistic VBS and not just a “summer activity” for children? • Groups discuss and be prepared to give reports. • Reports – “How to make sure VBS is truly an Evangelistic opportunity, and not just another fun summer activity for kids…”

8. Ensuring an Evangelistic VBS • Well before VBS • Is the whole church “bought in” to VBS as a major evangelism strategy? Have they caught the vision for utilizing this tool to reach people of all ages for Christ? Has the leadership of your Sunday School understood the potential growth in enrollment that can come from utilizing the “VBS to Sunday School Plan”? • Make sure your church has discussed, heard from the pastor and leaders, and caught the vision for what you’re doing with VBS, and that they see it as more than just an activity to keep kids busy for a week in the summer.

9. Ensuring an Evangelistic VBS • In Advance of VBS • Present the “VBS to Sunday School Plan” to the Sunday School Council. Propose its adoption as an ongoing enrollment plan. Share it with the church. • Train all VBS Leaders on the importance of gathering accurate contact information on every VBS enrollee, for follow-up purposes. • Train Every VBS and Sunday School leader in age-appropriate tools for sharing Christ. Provide the appropriate tools for leading children/youth/adults to Christ. • Prepare promotional plans making sure to include evangelistic prospects.

10. Ensuring an Evangelistic VBS • In Advance of VBS • Plan NOW for follow-up letters and visits which will be made within one week of VBS. For a truly evangelistic VBS to be most effective, a church will need “all hands on deck” the week following VBS so that appropriate follow-up visits can be made in the homes of those who made decisions. There are many more potential decisions to be made if we will be faithful to get into the homes – and the sooner the better!

11. Ensuring an Evangelistic VBS • During VBS • Remember to give invitations to all enrollees to come back to your regular, ongoing, weekly Bible Study program. Preferably, this would be something you could put in their hand and send home with them that describes options for the whole family. • Identify Sunday School prospects who are enrolled in VBS, and begin appropriate follow-up. (via Sunday School classes) • On Wednesday night of VBS, have a joint meeting of VBS and Sunday School workers to make visitation assignments for this purpose.

12. Ensuring an Evangelistic VBS • During VBS • During the appropriate special evangelistic bible study time or service, have VBS teachers prepared to counsel with all children/youth who make decisions. (always have more than one adult with each child) For every decision card, make plans for immediate follow-up within one week. • Remember, when enrolling children and younger teens in Sunday School from VBS, always ask permission from their family/parent/guardian before doing so. But do be sure and ask every child who is not currently enrolled if they would like to do so!

13. Ensuring an Evangelistic VBS • Immediately following VBS • Within a week, every person who made a profession of faith should receive a follow-up visit. In the home, you will have opportunity to explain the decision to family members who may also want to hear the presentation of the gospel and receive Christ. It is so vitally important, not only for the future spiritual growth of the child/youth, but for the potential salvation of family members, to make these follow-up visits.

14. Ensuring an Evangelistic VBS • Immediately following VBS • It is also important to visit in the home of those not enrolled in Sunday School, giving them an opportunity to continue to study God’s Word and be ministered to. The appropriate Sunday School department director or teacher should visit to become acquainted with the child/youth and their family, and personally invite them to enroll/attend. • Extend invitations to other church events • Wednesday suppers • Upcoming summer activities • Camps, retreats, etc. • Invite parents to participate in activities appropriate to their situation.

15. Keys to an Evangelistic VBS • Prepare by: • Inviting evangelistic prospects to attend • Training your workers to share Christ appropriately • Having a follow-up plan in place • Enrolling as many unsaved children, students, and adults as possible. • Conduct by: • Sharing Christ in age-appropriate ways during VBS • Following up faithfully on every decision • Seeking to enroll in Sunday School all who are not currently enrolled

16. The Vital Role of the Pastor in an Evangelistic VBS • The pastor sets the tone for your VBS. If you want your VBS to be truly evangelistic in nature, that vision and direction will ideally come from the pastor. • In doing so, here are five vital roles the pastor plays in preparing and conducting an evangelistic VBS. • VBS Promoter • VBS Team Member Lead Recruiter • Budgeting for VBS • Evangelism Leader • Follow-Up

17. Five Key Roles of the Pastor • In 5 small groups, consider how the pastor can successfully utilize your assigned role in order to make the VBS evangelistic. What are some things a pastor should do in that role in order to ensure an evangelistic VBS? • VBS Promoter • VBS Team Member Lead Recruiter • Budgeting for VBS • Evangelism Leader • Follow-Up

18. VBS Promoter • Promotional Sermons • Personally Promote VBS at every opportunity. Don’t leave it to someone else. • See to it that current VBS statistics are printed in bulletins, newsletters, etc. • Lead the church to set a goal for enrollment, etc. • Include prayer for VBS on prayer lists, in prayer services, etc. • Be PRESENT when any VBS related event is taking place. • Lead the church to place VBS high on its list of priorities.

19. VBS Team Member Lead Recruiter • Lead church in praying for the Lord’s guidance in recruitment of VBS workers. • Lead VBS team to create clear expectations for workers to be communicated to potential volunteers. • Lead church to hold a VBS Information Fair early in the year to promote the value your church has for VBS. • Give plenty of space for VBS in promotional materials, sign up sheets, etc. • Recruit team members individually, not en-masse’. Pastor should recruit VBS director personally. • Provide as much info about VBS as possible to potential volunteers and to the church, including time, date, schedule, goals, evangelism goals, budget, theme, job descriptions for open positions, and more.

20. Budgeting for VBS • Lead the finance/budget committee of your church to allocate adequate financial resources for VBS, including literature, crafts, promotion, outreach, follow-up, training, and more. • Consider challenging Sunday School classes to fund specific projects for VBS, such as family night, follow-up materials, specific craft activities, etc. • Consider adding funds each budget year to fund something new and possibly re-useable for VBS. • Contact other areas churches about the possibility of borrowing items from their VBS. Decorations, leftover props, craft items, and even literature can often be shared with several churches, saving budget funds that can be utilized elsewhere in VBS – on outreach/follow-up for example!

21. Evangelism Leader • Plan an evangelism training event for ALL VBS workers, counselors, and follow-up teams. Teach them how to share the gospel with children/youth/adults. Provide age appropriate materials for their use. • If sharing the gospel on more than one day, try to use a different method each time. • Share the gospel clearly and simply. Avoid using church language as much as possible. Explain difficult words in terms kids can understand. • After sharing, always be very clear about how kids are to respond. Avoid high pressure situations and manipulative tactics.

22. Evangelism Leader • Have trained workers on hand after sharing the gospel to counsel with any children who make a decision. Each worker used in counseling should have a designated place where they will take children for counseling. ALWAYS have a helper with each counselor. NEVER counsel a child alone. • Each worker who deals with a child should fill out a counseling report. Make sure to record the child’s name, VBS class, age, gender, decision made, suggestions for following up with parents, counselor’s name, and any other information the counselor deems important. These should be filled out and turned in immediately to the VBS director and/or pastor.

23. Follow Up • Pastor should recruit a “Follow-up Director” as part of the main VBS Leadership Team. This role is absolutely vital for an evangelistic VBS. • Recruit follow-up teams at the same time you recruit VBS workers. VBS teachers and workers can and should be on follow-up teams. • Provide follow-up teams with copies of children’s registration forms, counseling reports, maps, and a follow-up report form. • Follow-up teams should be at all VBS leader evangelism training events. • Provide follow-up teams with some give-a-way items to deliver when they make their visits. (class photos, music cd’s, etc.)

24. Follow-Up • Follow up with EVERY home that sends children to your VBS. • Do they know of other children we could invite to our next event/VBS/Sunday School? • Are they aware of other upcoming events/bible study programs, etc., that we offer? • Instruct Follow-up teams to attempt to share the gospel in every home they are in. We should never assume every child, every parent, every family member, even in the homes of church members, is a believer and has no interest in hearing the good news! • Pastor should give follow-up team reports and opportunity for testimonies from the pulpit on a regular basis after VBS. • Pastor should also personally participate on the follow-up team, and encourage the others by their presence.

25. Leading Children to Christ

26. Leading Children to Christ • Build relationships and friendships • Call each child by name • Give handshakes, high fives, pats on backs • Listen--Children communicate not only with words, but also with their actions and body language. • Treat children with respect and dignity

27. Leading Children to Christ • Appreciate the unique differences of each child • Pray for the children you will reach

28. Leading Children to Christ • Remember who is in charge • HOLY SPIRIT • Pray for the children • Share the good news regularly and accurately • Answer questions the children will have • Be ready to lead the Child when he or she feels it is time

29. REMEMBER THOSE CHILDREN!!!!!!!

30. REMEMBER • Concrete thinkers • Children with no church experience will not understand “churchy” words • They like praise and attention • They will come to Christ one at a time • Leave the door open for conversation • Be prepared to share the good news

31. REMEMBER • Ask open ended questions • Not every child is ready to become a Christian • NO MATTER HOW BUSY YOU ARE, THERE IS NO MORE IMPORTANT THING THAN TO LEAD A PERSON TO CHRIST.

32. ABC’S OF BECOMING A CHRISTIAN • A--Admit to God you are a sinner • Repent, turning away from your sin • Romans 3:23 • Romans 6:23 • Acts 3:19 • 1 John 1:9

33. ABC’S OF BECOMING A CHRISTIAN • B--Believe that Jesus Christ is God’s Son and accept God’s gift of forgivenes for sin • John 3:16 • John 14:6 • Acts 4:12 • Romans 5:8 • Ephesians 2:8-9 • John 1:11-13

34. ABC’S OF BECOMING A CHRISTIAN • C--Confess Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. When you become a Christian, you are saying that you want God to forgive you and that you want Jesus to be the “boss” of your life. • Romans 10:9-10, 13

35. ABC’S OF BECOMING A CHRISTIAN • Prayer – Remember to tell a child that God understands them when they pray in their own words. If they need a little help, here is a suggested prayer for accepting Christ as their Lord & Savior… • “God I know that you love me and have a great plan for my life. I believe that Jesus is your Son and that Jesus died for me. I admit that I have sinned and chosen to do things my way instead of your way. Please forgive me of my sin. As of today, I want Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. Amen”

36. In Other Words • Admit--to acknowledge something as true • Sin--Missing the mark of God, an action or attitude that disobeys God • Sinner-A person who sins • Repent--To change one’s mind and to turn from a life with God to life with Him • Believe--Trust, have confidence in, have faith in, make a commitment to

37. In Other Words • Accept--To receive willingly • Forgiveness--To excuse wrong and reestablish a broken relationship • Confess--Openly admit wrongdoing and declare or acknowledge Jesus as Lord • Savior--Deliverer, One who saves, Jesus • Lord--Referring to God

38. PRACTICE! • Break up into teams • Take turns practicing leading a partner through the ABC plan of salvation.