Blog

Yes, it’s only October nevertheless, time to plan ahead for summer 2022 and VBS! One great way to stay ahead of the game is by making plans to attend a VBS workshop. In this digital world where we tend to purchase many items online, we’ve lost the connection and ability to look at products in person. Attending a Cokesbury workshop gives you the opportunity to see and feel the products your church will be using for VBS.

For me, a highlight of attending a workshop is the interaction with other VBS leaders. There are numerous benefits of attending a workshop!

• Cultivate relationships with other Christian education leaders
• Offers an opportunity to network with other local churches
• Discover other leaders who are invested in the same VBS theme
• Time to exchange ideas

Now you may think “why do I need to meet others and cultivate relationships with other Christian education leaders”?

Meeting and networking with other leaders allows you to share ideas, decorations and props. Sharing these resources In turn, saves money and helps you be more environmentally courteous. Coordinating decorations and other resources helps builds relationships with other leaders who are passionate about children’s ministry and VBS. I don’t know about you, but I am always striving to build a better program! I want to be sure that my ministry is cutting edge. If someone has a better way to do something, I want to know about it.

Workshops foster the environment to exchange ideas for your ministry. Once you’ve opened the door for the VBS relationship other Christian education leaders, it can be expanded to other areas of your ministry as well. Future collaborative efforts can begin just by attending a workshop.

At a VBS workshop, you will have the opportunity to discover the Bible stories and the key teaching points for each lesson. Part of discovering the Bible stories involves seeing the content that is created. You can preview videos, participate in skits and brainstorm ways to encourage your volunteers and students to open themselves to the Bible lessons in new ways. In a VBS workshop, each Bible story will be highlighted. Experiencing the Bible stories gives you the opportunity to reflect on your own understanding of the stories but also gain a fresh perspective of the lesson and ways to apply the teaching to your life.

NEW MUSIC! After my four thousandth time of listening to last year’s VBS music, I am ready for some new songs!! Don’t get me wrong, last year’s music was AMAZING! But hearing the new music gives me hope for the new songs my kids are surely going to beg we play on repeat in the coming months. By attending a workshop, you get an opportunity to experience the music that your children will be listening to all summer long.

Yes, there are even more benefits for attending a workshop. While at a VBS workshop there will be opportunities to:

• Touch and feel products
• Speak with representatives about the products or lessons
• Discover completed crafts and snacks

Also, There will be statements made about which crafts or snacks resonated best with the test churches.

During the workshops you will hear success stories about what test church leaders learned about particular craft and snack preparations. This is the point where the inspiration begins!

Like many people do, I tend to review the catalog before the workshop. Sometimes I have seen a product such as a science experiment advertised that didn’t impress me. “There is no way this will work for our church”, I would think. Then I came to a workshop where I had the opportunity to see the experiment in action and my mind was changed! I’ve also wondered sometimes “how did they come up with this idea”? If I attend a workshop, I can ask that question directly to the people responsible for creating the content! How often do you get to speak directly with the content creators of your curriculum?! When you attend a workshop, you do!

One of my favorite parts about VBS is the decorations. I get so excited dreaming of ways to transform my church into a place that will inspire and motivate children (and adults!) to take their faith journeys to the next level. VBS workshops are the start of that excitement. While at a workshop you can start dreaming of ways to  decorate your space in your facility.

VBS workshops are designed to excite YOU- the VBS coordinator/volunteer/director/leader. Many times, we are the ones designing fun elements for others. At a workshop, this is the time for you to get excited. The ability to see and interact with the decorations before you even purchase them makes a big difference. “How big is that poster, really”? Well, go put your hands on it at the resource table. You pour so much of yourself into VBS. Workshops are designed to give you back some of that same energy. Speaking of energy….

Maybe you are in a rut. These past few months have beaten everyone down. I know I have been to the point where I do not even know if what I do matters anymore. Again, workshops are where you can regain that excitement for ministry and VBS! If you are lacking inspiration. If you are feeling underwhelmed. Join me at a VBS workshop. I’d be very surprised if you left unchanged.

You can get more info on the workshops here.