Tiffany, I am so sorry. As somone who also has a burden for VBS (my favorite time of year!), and was very hurt by how a church is handling it...I share your pain and I am sorry you have to go through this. I think you church is going down the wrong path. If you cannot change it..than you must leave. I know that may sound harsh and it may be hurtful...but I think it may be the best thing for your family. You have to find a church with the proper vision and one that glorifies the Lord. I pray that happens for you as much as for myself.
I don't know whether I'm the only one, but I find this rather depressing. Is a church a business to be run at a profit, or is it the body of Christ, displaying his love and compassion and self-sacrifice to the world?
It's all in the size of the congregation and their budget. Our congregation is small and could justify charging, but never will. Jeannie attended a vbs last year that charged 10.00. She went only one day, and I forget why. Their snack was crackers and a bathroom cup of juice, if I remember correctly. The craft was something out of paper. To me, that didn't call for a 10.00 fee. I guess churches are trying to help their budgets, but hopefully no one will ever be turned away.
My husband and I direct Kids Ministries at our church, and I absolutely agree that this is not the traditional way of running Vacation Bible School. The contemporary approach (with registration online, no walk-ins, a fee, etc.) may work well for some, especially those involved with the church already, but I highly doubt it will be effective in reaching those who do not attend church in your neighborhood or community. The success of this approach would depend on what the leaders want -- kids who already go to church or kids who don't. Traditionally, VBS is more of an outreach tool, as you know. The directors are likely inexperienced, thinking too much about convenience, and too little about reaching out. I think they need some grace, from those who have more experience. You absolutely have every reason in the world to feel let down, hurt, and annoyed. I would definitely feel the same way if I were you!
The cost of VBS should be supported by the church, period. If a church cannot fund a VBS then they need to opt out that year. Sorry...but that is my opinion. I know VBS is costly but its an outreach not summer camp.
I agree with you, Ava. Anyway, VBS is costly only if we make it so. As others mentioned, it's quite possible to keep to a low budget. We're reaching out to the community, not trying to prove our prowess in putting on a performance.
What does your husband think about the church? Does he want to leave? Have you talked to him about your feelings?
I think it was Becky that first told me that VBS was free..... since we do not go to church regularly I did not know....... I fugured it was something you had to pay for but you know it makes sense that its not supposed to be that way. I know my kids would love the oportunity to go, but IF I had to pay then I couldn't afford it (even $10 per child) and if I did not attend the church I would not know to look online. We not live close enough to a church for my kids to go. And I don't drive.
VBS is usually free, but then you have the occassional church that charges. Most churches advertise in the paper when their vbs is, or they'll put up a big banner. The one Jeanne goes to sends us a card every year when it's time to register.
(Been out of town until now!) Tiffany, then if I'm out of line, I apologize. You know that was never my intent! :love:
Our church charges a fee for it. Yes - if you can't afford it, it will be waived. The CD is optional.... but they get a T-shirt and actually do some pretty cool stuff. A lot of churches are now doing "curriculum" with VBS and I believe that's why they are charging $$. I know of 1 in the area that doesn't charge but asks for donations - but honestly it scared my kids the 1 night they went because it was soooooo packed and soooo loud they came home terrified and not wanting to go back! I know of a lot of people who come to ours who aren't catholic as well because it is done so well with so many helpers/volunteers that work with the kids and they get so much out of it (we even sent the non-catholic kids from Ireland last year we were hosting). They ask for registrations honestly because in order to have enough volunteers, they need to know how many kids will be there or else they would have to turn away kids because of safety issues! Ours is 1 week long from 9-12 and actually starts this week. Alexis gets to go but I didn't register in time for Jacob to be a volunteer this time so he won't be going so he has other stuff planned.
Churches have ALWAYS done "curriculum" for VBS! But now, rather than simle themes and lessons, the curriculum comes with all kinds of bells and whistles to ENTERTAIN, rather than to teach. And, of course, bells and whistles cost more! (I'm sorry! Is my biases showing through, lol!!!)
See we never did a special curriculum type thing.... we had a "game plan" but it was pretty open. We were Themed I guess you could say. Today - with all these people out there (my cynical side is about to show) who will sue you just because, I think everyone is starting to be safer with some things. Heck even our farm has a liability sign up because people come up here sometimes unannounced so we have had to leave this sign up at all times. They need to know what to plan for - you can hardly plan for crafts if you don't know how many kids there will be (even an approximate #)
we use a curric, there are alot of bells and whistles, but we loved it. it was fast paced, so i did ask that we leave out 20 min of games for next year and add that to our lesson plan so i have more time to share the gospel.
Totally agreeing with you on this. Our VBS (at least for the last two years when I was in charge of openings and closings) has never focused on teaching God's word or leading a chlid to christ. It is all about having fun and being entertained and that is a huge part of my problem. They are more focused on stuff like t-shirts and color co-ordinated groups than anything else. And yes I have seen kids turned away in the past! I was soooo mad as were other teachers and yes we did say something and once again NOTHING changed! We also witnessed the "leader" trying to split up two girls. A member's dd6 brought her little friend to VBS and because she was a year older they insisted that they be in two different classes. Those little girls cried and cried until our pastor's dd basically told the leader off and took the two girls with her. Everyone was so made and once again things were said and once again nothing changed and she was back as "leader" the next year.
This year, our VBS was more extensive than in previous years, but it was very informative. One church member built a nice set to picture Roman buildings and all the parents dressed up as characters. Paul was in jail, some of the older boys wandered around as Roman soldiers, and the believers had to meet in secret. The children at the event got to listen to those believers learning about Jesus, to visit Paul in jail, to "buy" candy and the like from market stalls, and to be a little nervous of the soldiers. Indeed, one young lad quietly went up to "Paul" and whispered "You don't have to worry. The soldiers aren't real." - while fully believing this was the real Paul. There was no charge for children to attend, and I can't believe we ever would. Mind you, we're a smaller church and I quite understand that careful planning is needed if hundreds of children plan to attend.
I did not read the other posts but here is my two cents for what its worth.................... I don't feel it is proper for a church to place any type of barrier which would exclude certain people from attending. If someone is poor, they may not have a computer or the means to drive to the library. As far as the fee, I always thought churches had vbs worked into their budget. Alienating certain people from church based on their ability to pay is ridiculous. Around here, vbs is free and they do a lot of advertising and a round up, they want everyone to come, they even go door to door.
I personally don't see anything wrong with the fee structure. Some churches are free, others are not. $10/$15 isn't bad at all...and the registration deadline is acceptable. A lot of churches do that so they know how many kids they are dealing with in order to have enough volunteers. I do NOT agree with the "online" only registration though. Not everyone has a computer, and not everyone can afford to have internet service. I think that is expecting too much. They should be flexible with the ways people register. Our church office keeps the registration papers on hand for people who come to the church personally to register.
I agree with this. Although I do not agree with the "online registration only" clause, I do agree with charging a small fee. Most churches (a good one that cares at least would) will waive the fee if a family can't afford it. Our church does not charge, but in the future it is thinking about it depending on our financial status. We provide snacks for the kids, lunches for the leaders each day, crafts each day, a prize table at the end of the week...then there are supplies that are needed, advertising, decorations, etc. Do you guys realize how much money is needed just for PAPER for a ministry like this? It's a lot. I don't think people realize how much money really goes into the ministry. Just because it's a MINISTRY doesn't mean it should always be FREE....that's just not realistic. Awana is a ministry...it's not free normally, but people don't blink an eye at that. Going to a church service is free, but as a member you SHOULD give (time or money) to your local church...if we didn't the church would not exsist...so in actuality it's really not "free". Like I said...the online only thing I don't agree with. There is no good reason why they can't allow people to register how it's convenient for them. I don't see a problem with the other limitations though. There are numbers and safety issues to be concerned about. Personally, if I volunteered for VBS and I found out I had 20 6 year olds to myself...I'd be ticked. There has to be some careful planning involved...especially if you're in a small church like mine where the volunteers aren't necessarily lining up around the block.:love:
But think of this from the family's point of view. They can't afford to pay, yet that feel they have to "grovel" or accept charity - and many won't go through such humiliation. And why should they? If salvation is free, surely we can allow VBS and other forms of outreach to be free!
