Wilderness Escape VBS: Day 1 (and a picture of God’s grace)

Today we kicked off our five-day Summer Bible Camp (aka VBS). Here I talked about how we were getting ready.

Yesterday was our set-up day and it was refreshing to see so many volunteers (of all ages) pitching in to transform our church into the wilderness.  When the majority of the set-up was complete, I left the church in a very reflective mood.  In fact, I was in a reflective mood for much of the day, thinking about the extravagant grace that God has extended to me time and time again.

You see, some Sundays I walk in to church more confident than others – yesterday was a day where I felt pretty good but I just couldn’t shake the feeling of being so thankful for God’s graciousness toward me and the ministry I lead…for the many, many ways that He has provided for our needs, for the awesome privilege it is to be able to share His love with children and seeing it ‘click’ in their eyes and the list goes on.  And as only God could orchestrate, one of our SBC volunteers came up to me yesterday, thanking me for being gracious to her (she felt that she was ‘out of the loop’ because of a family issue) but the fact that she still wanted to give us a smidgen of her time, we were thankful to her!

As I stood before the campers and volunteers this morning, my heart was again filled to overflowing.  All of our months of planning and preparing had brought us to this point.  At that very moment, I was thankful to God for His grace for all of the details that have consumed my thoughts and time for the past few months.  I was truly thankful for each and every child, teen, and adult in the room.  They were my very first God sighting for the day!

As I walked through the building for the duration of the morning, children were engaged and learning, volunteers were teaching and engaged with the children (I heard, “That was soooo cool!” countless times), team leaders were leading, and everyone was owning their piece of the VBS pie.  It was truly a beautiful sight.

Verse for the day:

“God answered, ‘I will be with you.’ “

Exodus 3:12

Here are a few pictures from Day 1:

Our main set
Our main set
Day 1's God Sighting Poster - I can't wait to see footprints covering this tomorrow!
Day 1’s God Sighting Poster – I can’t wait to see footprints covering this tomorrow!
A closer view of one side of the stage - I LOVE the color of the mountains!
A closer view of one side of the stage – I LOVE the color of the mountains!
The other side of our stage - our campfire was a big hit with the kids!
The other side of our stage – our campfire was a big hit with the kids!
One of our tribe signs
One of our tribe signs

It’s almost time for VBS!

For the past 5 months, we have been planning for this year’s VBS, which we affectionately refer to as Summer Bible Camp (SBC).  Like previous years, we selected Group’s Holy Land VBS, Wilderness Escape.  The intensity in prepping has picked up significantly as SBC is close – we kick off on Monday!

Let’s talk numbers for a bit just so that you can get an idea of what’s involved:

  • 17 leadership teams
  • 25 leadership team members
  • 235 campers (rising K – rising 6th Grade)
  • 45 infants, toddlers and preschoolers (children of our volunteers – we provide a scaled-back, age-appropriate SBC for our preschoolers)
  • >200 volunteers (students & adults)

This week, it’s an all-hands-on-deck approach for the entire church staff:

  • Our facilities team is prepping the building and helping with take-down, set-up, moving tables and chairs, etc.
  • Our worship arts department is prepping for our daily ‘Celebration’ times as well as Friday night Celebration Service for volunteers, campers and their families.
  • Our communications department is printing materials, ordering larger signage, and updating the website and Sunday morning announcements.
  • Our missions department is helping to coordinate our outreach project for the week.

Our leadership teams are:

  • Reviewing (and reviewing and reviewing!) notes, shopping lists, supply lists, email, voicemail…lots of details to oversee!
  • Making last-minute purchases
  • Gathering supplies
  • Meeting with team members to review logistics
  • Conducting rehearsals
  • Processing last-minute registrations
  • Reviewing volunteer assignments and making last-minute adjustments as needed
  • Drawing set-up maps in preparation for Sunday afternoon’s set-up

What about me, the SBC Director?  All things considered, I’m relatively calm.  (Don’t tell anyone, but I’ve even found time to read for the past few evenings!)  This week, my primary concern is being available to my leadership team leaders.  I have tried to clear my afternoon schedule to be available for team leaders who need closets unlocked, come in to gather supplies, have questions/concerns/a need for hugs and encouraging words, etc.  Our leaders have been working so hard that I get pleasure from supporting them and equipping them to lead well.

Here are just a few pics of what we’ve been up to.  We won’t reveal too much now – you’ll have to check back next week for more!

Our display (minus our tablecloth) for sign-ups/donation drop off in our main hallway
Our display (minus our tablecloth) for sign-ups/donation drop off in our main hallway

 

A few of our donated items
A few of our donated items

 

Our mountain backdrop - it looks AMAZING - I can't wait to see it up!
Our mountain backdrop – it looks AMAZING – I can’t wait to see it up!

 

More set elements
More set elements

 

Who knew that electric Christmas lawn reindeer could become wilderness sheep?
Who knew that electric Christmas lawn reindeer could become wilderness sheep?

 

Our wilderness campfire
Our wilderness campfire

 

Each camper will receive a bag with these items
Each camper will receive a bag with these items

 

A few of the completed camper bags
A few of the completed camper bags

We’d surely appreciate your prayers as we serve next week – come back next week for daily updates and more pictures!

VBS Volunteer Training – Covering the Basics

wilderness-escape-logo-hi-res

Like many of my kidmin friends, we are busy preparing for this year’s VBS, which is taking place mid-July.  One of the key areas that we address is volunteer training.

Last night, we held our first of two trainings for our VBS volunteers.  As Director, I lead our trainings, which are usually 90 minutes in length, by using the following outline:

Welcome:  I introduce myself, welcome everyone and thank them for giving of their time and talent to help children learn more about the God who made and loves them.  I open our time together with a word of prayer.

Brief curriculum overview:  I give a general overview about the main Bible person we’ll talk about during the week and share what the children will experience through worship, crafts, drama, games, and snacks.  This year, I showed the “Day at Wilderness Escape VBS” video to give them an even better idea of what the week would look like.  I think that doing this fires up veteran volunteers as well as rookies, who have likely never seen a Holy Land VBS in action before.

Event details:  I reiterate dates/information for:

  • Week of VBS
  • Times
  • Times volunteers should arrive
  • Set-up & take-down
  • Celebration Service (our end-of-week family worship service – this year we’re moving it from Sunday to Friday night and following up with a picnic for volunteers, campers and their families to connect)
  • T-shirt Sunday (the day that all VBS volunteers where their camp shirt and are prayed for at all morning services)

Safety Priorities:  We cover 4 main areas for safety:

  • Background checks (required for all volunteers ages 18 & older)
  • Sexual abuse prevention (appropriate and inappropriate touch)
  • Restroom policy
  • Drop-off & pick-up procedures

We also cover other safety precautions (such as evacuating the building, first aid, etc) in the individual area breakout groups.

Dress Code:  We give simple guidelines for teens & adults, as we want to make sure that ALL of our volunteers are appropriate covered.

Q & A:  A time for volunteers to ask questions about anything they need clarity about.

Overview of ways to serve:  Some of our volunteers do not indicate a preference on where they’d like to serve, so I give brief overviews of each area.

Wrap Up:  I again thank everyone for coming and for signing up to serve with us.  I encourage them in how their service will impact children and families as well as impact them personally.  I close in prayer and then send everyone off to meet with their prospective groups (crafts, family leaders & assistants, games, preschool, etc.)

Setting the environment is also something we give some thought to in advance.  We:

  • Reserve rooms for the training
  • Submit work orders for room set-up
  • Email reminders to volunteers about the training dates, times and locations
  • Purchase food & drinks
  • Make necessary copies of manuals, volunteer spreadsheets, background check authorization forms, etc.
  • Set out name tags, markers and pens
  • Play camp music as volunteers arrive
  • Create/select media elements we’ll use
  • Do sound check for sound equipment
  • Distribute t-shirts

Of course, I also touch bases with our leadership team (via email or text) with last-minute information ahead of time.  I also send a ‘thank you’ text to the team after the training to thank everyone for all they did to make the event a success.

Before our last training, I get input from the team by asking them what areas we need to cover at the last training that might have gotten overlooked at the first one.  Based on their responses (or my own thoughts), I tweak my talking points and make sure we’re all ready to go for Round 2!

How do you prepare for your VBS volunteer training?  I’m always on the lookout for new, creative ideas, so share your ideas below!