VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL REACHING CHILDREN Matt 19:14 Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me,...

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL REACHING CHILDREN

• Matt 19:14 Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

• Vacation Bible School is one of the most effective ways to fulfill this command of Christ.


• The most important part of VBS isn’t cookies and crafts. The most important part is the built-in evangelistic opportunities.– To build relationships with children who need

Christ– To be able to present the gospel in terms and

ways they will understand– To make VBS a fun-time where the children will

feel good about God and the church


• As many as one fourth of all baptisms in Southern Baptist churches can be tied directly to VBS conversion experiences

• In a recent study by the Barna Research Group data from churches showed the probability of someone accepting Christ after age 14 dramatically drops.

• We must reach the children with the Good News and VBS is one effective way.

SOME KEYS TO AN EVANGELISTIC VBS

• Plan VBS at a time to reach the most children– Monday - Friday during the day– Monday - Friday at night– Consider a weekend VBS - Friday night, Saturday

morning and afternoon, Sunday afternoon and evening.

– Consecutive Wednesdays or Saturdays– Other options?


• Publicize– Use many ways to get the word out

• Banners outside the church

• Direct mail

• Fliers delivered to homes in target areas

• Newspaper and radio ads

• Billboards

• Posters in businesses

• What are some other ideas?


• Train VBS workers in evangelism– Teach them about the importance of providing

an atmosphere that conveys Christ.– Stress the importance of praying for the

workers and for the children everyday.– Specifically train the teachers of older children

how to use an evangelistic tract written especially for children.


– Some evangelistic tracts to use:– Bridge to Life - Navigators, P.O. Box

35001, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80935

– Steps to Peace with God - Billy Graham• American Tract Society

• P.O. Box 462008

• Garland, Texas 75046

• 1-800-548-7228 or www.atstracts.org

SOME WEB-SITES FOR CHILDREN

• www.kidzplace.org - an interactive site about salvation. Excellent site.

• www. netministries.org - click on the Kid’s Link - there are multiple sites for children

• www. jesusvideo.org - The “Jesus” video can be viewed online.


– Provide opportunities during VBS for presenting the gospel to a large group as well as to individuals.

– Encourage children to bring their Bibles to VBS. Give Bibles to children who don’t have one

– Take the last two days of large group time to share a simple gospel presentation with the children. This is normally done by the pastor.


– Give an opportunity for the children to respond to Christ during the large group time.

– Encourage the children to talk to their teachers about salvation.

– Train some workers to talk to the children who have questions about salvation.

– Be sure that every child who responds is talked to one-on-one with someone trained to explain salvation.


– Lead every child who is wanting to be saved to pray the sinner’s prayer.

– Don’t manipulate the children. The Holy Spirit will do the convincing and convicting.

– Do follow-up in the home of every child explaining to their parent(s) about their child’s decision.

– This is a great time to talk to the parents about their own faith.


• If the children won’t come to us at church, we must go to them.

• Consider having a mission VBS somewhere in your area or in another area of Ky to help reach children for Christ.

• Use youth and older children in this outreach effort and make them missionaries

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL REACHING CHILDREN Matt 19:14 Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me,...

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