Maybe you have kids in your church, maybe you do not, but we all love some great Kids Ministry! If you’re like me you are wanting to stretch your budget but also run a great VBS/Day Camp program. This blog may seem a few months late, but as you dream about next year hopefully it can serve a purpose.
For the purpose of this blog I went to a popular curriculum distributor and filled my cart with all the suggested items to go along with the $400 curriculum. At the end of it I was sitting at $3,271.28. This is simply too much money! Thankfully with some creativity, and focusing on the essentials of a great camp, it is possible to run a great VBS on a strict budget. Below I will be sharing my ideas of how I have run a VBS on a strict budget to save money. Here’s my plan! Take what you want, and throw out the rest. The numbers below are for a VBS of 60 Kids, for a half day VBS and broken down based on the schedule at the bottom.
1. Opening Session/Worship/Missions – COST: Free
Welcome the kids, pray, then invite kids to worship (2-3 songs). You can do live worship (which I highly suggest and you can read more below) or use kids worship videos on Youtube. My favourite kids bands are Rend Co. Kids, Hillsong Kids, Yancy, and Bethel Kids for music that is engaging for all ages.
After worship you can introduce your Missions Project, and even invite the Missionary you are supporting to share stories with you that you read, or to make short videos (2-3minutes) of them sharing a personal story that relates to your Bible story that day. You can take an offering every day to support your Missions Project.
2. Story Time/Lesson (I write my own but you don’t have to) – COST: Free
This may sound like a lot of work, but talk to those who have lead the “Story Time” in the past. I have learned that people are often very creative, and change what is written anyways! If you’re a pastor, you’re writing a 20-25 minute message. If not this is the template I use. I intro with an Ice Breaker Question (3 Minutes) then share a personal story (5minutes), then share the story of the Bible (5 Minutes) (where you can include kids to help tell the story), take time to recognize the lesson learned (5 Minutes) then end with some type of reflection question or response (2 Minutes). In the past I have had a young helper act out my childhood stories to make it more goofy and engaging, told embarrassing stories about myself, or pretended to be a character from the Bible. If you’re really against writing your own lessons, I am open to writing some if enough churches/ministries reach out (for a small fee). Contact Me to let me know!
3. Crafts (I cheap out on these for good reason) – COST: $150ish
Crafts end up in landfills, and if they don’t it’s because the workers did most the work. This can be a tough pill to swallow for those who love crafts, but 4 tubs of paint on amazon and some margarine containers go a long way! Each day, the craft can simply be “Paint a picture of something you learned today” or “Paint a picture of a ______”. Kid’s don’t get to paint as much as they would like, and paint and paper is cheap! You can also paint rocks one day, or raid your craft supplies and allow kids to create something completely unique with those left over cotton balls from the snowmen at Christmas, or use some of those popsicle sticks from the box of 500 that has been collecting dust. To serve your community, you could have kids make art one day that is donated to a local seniors home in your town! Below is a link of paint, brushes, and paper I have used before! If you have someone who loves to be crafty in your church stick to paper crafts, or ones that use minimal supplies.
Paint: $130, Brushes: $10, and Paper: $6.50
4. Games – COST: $25
The Purpose of games is not to enforce what has been taught. It’s a time for kids to let use, and give their brains a break! Play games that involve little to no supplies. My favourite resource for games is www.ultimatecampresource.com
5. Snack – COST: Free(ish)
Snack can be a big cost. This is a great way to get those involved who cannot make the week of camp. Make a list of the snack for each day, then ask people in your church to purchase the items needed. If you have a couple of great volunteers to prep the snack each day, you don’t have to spend money! If you have someone that likes to be creative with food then let them talk with the one writing your stories, and do themed snacks! Otherwise here are a few easy snack ideas that include little prep.
- Cookies (homemade) and watermelon – just make sure you emphasize NO PEANUTES
- Cheese & Crackers – for easier prep do cheese strings
- Bag of Chips
- Pretzels & Melon
- Freezes or Popsicles
5. Debrief Time & Closing
Have your Story Teller/Teacher come up with one Ice Breaker question (example: if you could be any animal for one day, what animal would you choose and why?) plus questions about the Bible Story (3-4). After groups get a chance to talk about the day, close with a fun “Goodbye” song. My personal favourite is the “Alligator Goodbye” by HIllsong Kids
Other Things To Think About
Live Worship
Do you, or someone in your church play guitar or piano? Is this person free for VBS? Traditional songs like “This Little Light of Mine”, “The Name of the Lord Is”, “I Went to the Enemy’s Camp”, “The B-I-B-L-E” are great songs to partner with slower songs. I personally stay away from actions for the slower songs to help kids learn how to engage in worship, but to each their own.
What About Decor?
In my experience, this is where churches use a lot of money, and volunteer hours. In my 7ish years of VBS as a kid I can’t tell you one theme. in my 10+ years of running VBS the theme/decor never saved anyone… If you want to decorate, choose a generic theme that can be used year over year, and slowly add to it. Ones I would suggest are Jerusalem, Summer Camp, or Back in Time. Each year you can add to your decor. With saving money in the other areas, maybe you decide to spend more money here.
Dress Up Days
To add to the fun make each day a fun dress up day. I would suggest basic ones that won’t break your parents/caregivers bank like..
- Crazy Hair Day
- Water Day (make the games ones where you get wet so kids can wear their bathing suits
- Backwards Day
- Costume Day
Do I Charge?
My personal opinion is yes. People often place value on things based on their cost. With such low overhead costs you may not need to charge, but you can always allocate that money to your missions project.
THE SCHEDULE
9:00 – Opening Session/Worship/Missions
9:25 – First Station
9:50 – Travel Time
9:55 – Second Station
10:20 – Travel Time
10:25 – Third Station
10:50 – Travel Time
10:55 – Fourth Station
11:20 – Travel Time
11:25 – Debrief Time & Closing
11:45 – Dismiss
Hopefully this has been helpful to you as you look to serve your communities well. Always feel free to reach out with any thoughts or questions as I am here to serve!
Jonathan DuHamel 
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