Using Your Preservice Time

Whatever the reason, you could have anywhere from 5–30 extra minutes with a child each day.

Sure, you could have kids sit quietly in their seats until VBS begins—properly supervised, of course. But that’s a wasted opportunity. Whether you have 5 or 25 extra minutes with a kid before VBS starts, use them to point children to Jesus and grow their faith.

To make your preservice time a faith-growing time, try a few of the following activities:

Use a Preservice Mix

f you’re low on extra volunteers (ones who aren’t busy setting up), this is a great option. Pick the amount of time the earliest child is dropped off. (I always plan on 30 minutes.) Now, gather videos and screen games to fill that time and drop them into your video-making or presentation software.

Your VBS kit already includes great worship videos you can include in this preservice mix. Kids can get a jump on learning the week’s songs and memorize Scripture through the Scripture songs. Check the Music section of your myAnswers.com account to access the music videos (available with hand motions and lyrics only).

With The Great Jungle Journey, you’ll also find a set of 7 C’s game videos and a set of 5-minute countdown videos featuring fun animal trivia. Look for these in the Resources section of your myAnswers.com account.

Some churches with shorter schedules choose to play the recorded drama during this time if they don’t have the time during an opening or closing assembly.

Companies such as Church Visuals (they produce Answers VBS game videos) have other great options, like screen-based games (just for fun), object lessons and gospel illusions (for faith growing), and more. Toss in some of your Sunday morning favorites, and you will be good to go.

Build Relationships

Whether it’s their first time at your church or their 500th time, they need to feel the love of Jesus poured out on them through your volunteers.

The kids at your VBS need to experience the love of Jesus. Whether it’s their first time at your church or their 500th time, they need to feel the love of Jesus poured out on them through your volunteers. Train your volunteers to engage with kids from their seats before VBS begins. Create some get-to-know-you questions for leaders to use. Make them into cards or pop them on the screens. These could be get-to-know-you questions (“Who is your favorite superhero?”), faith-building questions (“What is the craziest story from the Bible?”), or silly ones (“Would you rather eat pickle ice cream or mushroom cookies?”). Encourage leaders to answer the questions, too; this helps form relationships.

Practice Memory Verses or Worship Songs

Assign some leaders to engage kids from the stage in practicing the day’s/week’s memory verse. This could be through activities (call and response, games, silly voices, etc.) or allowing children to recite it for a prize.

Likewise, you can get kids out of their seats to hide God’s Word in their hearts through song. Sing and dance to the current year’s music or shake things up by adding in some old favorites from past VBS years or Sunday mornings.

Whatever You Do, Make It Fun!

The minutes leading up to VBS each day help set the tone. If children are told to sit quietly and wait, that doesn’t scream, “fun is to be had.” You can make it fun while intentionally using those moments to grow a child’s faith. Every minute you have at VBS needs to count. Use your preservice time well.