Some families make a summer of going to different, local VBS programs. One day, I thought of what it would look like if there was a VBS critic, much like a movie or concert critic. That inspired my “How do you rate vacation Bible school?” cartoon.
Seriously though, if we’re going to host a big program like VBS, we need to consider how effective it is and how we can improve it. And if the volunteers have to eat the snacks, we would like them to be palatable to grown-ups too!
VBS Evaluation
Therefore, what are some good ways to evaluate a VBS program? Here are some good tips from the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church. They note it takes deliberate action to survey parents and children. And never forget to ask what seems to be the obvious question; Were the kids into it?
Regular Baptist Press reminds us that it is important to set goals for your vacation Bible school program. Is there a purpose to all the fun? After all, we all know deep down a program without a goal starts to become busy work. Have we a stated goal beyond, We’ve always done it this way?
The State of Vacation Bible School
In 2013, Barna Research published a survey on the state of VBS. Among the findings was that while VBS was still popular, fewer churches were continuing the programs. It was partly due to the challenge of finding volunteers along with dwindling time.
So if we want to invest in VBS, we need to be sure it is effective and impactful. Who wants to go through the motions of a program when it doesn’t have the effect it used to?
Whenever we put the time and resources into a program, we want to get the best return for our efforts. So be sure to consider the question, “How do you rate vacation Bible school?”
I drew this cartoon for the November 2022 CHOGNews.
Editor’s Note: I originally published this blog on October 6, 2015. I revamped and updated it for timeliness and comprehensiveness.
