When VBS is Over, Then What?

The title of this post is inaccurate.  Vacation Bible School is never over.  Well, perhaps the actual program is, but the “follow-up” that ought to be taking place, keeps it going.   Various kinds of follow-up can be implemented to help make this year’s VBS even more spiritually successful as well as set the stage for the next VBS.   While everything is fresh in people’s mind, it’s time to start planning for the next year.

Follow-Up Ideas for When VBS is Over

The following ideas provide some broad suggestions for what you can do for follow-up. Specifics for implementing these suggestions depends on your setting but in some way could be a part of your plan.

1. Take Home Follow-up:  This could be information sent home the last day to inform parents of what other opportunities are available for their children and for them as well.  But, even better, is to send something home recapping what was learned and something they can do to enhance its effect (the next steps).
2. Contact Follow-up:   This is communication in writing or through a personal visit to thank them for coming, to inform them of other church ministries, and to welcome them to come again.
3. Outreach Follow-up:  This is for those who attended the VBS to have an opportunity to do some sort of service project a short time after VBS to do something with what they learned.
4. Prayer Follow-up:  This is a time of prayer for those who attended that the Spirit would continue to work in their lives.
5. Report Follow-up:  This is a report given to the total church body a week or two after VBS to inform them of what God did this year and to invite them to pray about their participation for next year.
6. Evaluation Follow-up:  This is when leaders, teachers, and all workers come together to discuss and learn for the next year, the good and the bad.  Or, rather than pull the whole team together, people could be surveyed, perhaps even those who attended.
7. Projecting Forward Follow-up:  This is casting the vision for the next year at the end of this year while the spiritual victories are still fresh.
8. Reunion Follow-up:  This is a special event a month or two down the road wherein everyone who attended is invited to come back and revisit some of the favorite moments or activities.  If a video or pictures were taken, a media presentation could be part of it.

If your VBS program is long over and you haven’t done any follow-up, you can still implement some of these ideas.