2013 Vacation Bible School Leader Handbook

Leader Name______________________ Color/Group_______________________

VBS Leader Handbook

Everything you have to know to be An Effective VBS Leader
Pray, Pray, Pray Please begin praying now for the children and families you will encounter during VBS. 2 Timothy 4:1-2 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encouragewith great patience and careful instruction. If we, as leaders, are not prepared for how God can use us to reach the children and families at VBS, we may miss an opportunity to share Christ with them. We sure dont want to miss that blessing. Know the material - As a crew leader or station leader, you may be the person a child asks about the Bible story or what is this salvation people are talking about. You need to have an answer. When you prepare yourself through prayer, knowing your own God-story, and reviewing the Bible study and Scripture verseyou will have answers! Dinner for Workers - There will be a dinner for all workers each night beginning at 5pm. This dinner will be a sack supperthe tentative menu is below
Monday Turkey sandwich, pretzels, apple slices, pudding cup and drink Tuesday Corndog, chips, oranges, rice crispy treat and drink Wednesday Chicken, chips, peaches, granola bar and drink Thursday Ham sandwich, cheez-it crackers, fruit snacks, popsicle, and drink Friday Pizza, veggies and ranch, apple slices, ice cream sandwich and drink

HOWEVER, you need to make a reservation for the week! Even if you will not eat every night, we need to have a more accurate number of workers will take part in this dinner. Reservations can be made by emailing Rachel at rachel.cobb@firstbaptistnet.com by June 2nd or before you leave tonight. Schedules All crew leaders and station leaders will be given colorgroup schedules. Monday thru Thursdays schedule is on one side, Fridays schedule is on the opposite side. Fridays schedule is marked!

 Absence You are responsible for your group!! If you must be absent from VBS on any night, please make sure you have made arrangements for someone else to take over for you. Parents who come to drop their children off when there is no crew leader get a bit anxious! If there is an emergency and you cannot find a replacement, please let Rachel or you color group coordinator know! Mission Project - The mission project this year is about getting Gods Word to kids in India. We will collect an offering each night for Bible books specially designed for this project. The kids will draw pictures and write notes in the Bible books and we will send them to the Operation Kid to Kid organization. The books will be delivered late this summer on a mission trip. Friday Night Friday nights schedule will be slightly altered due to our VBS Family Night. See your Friday schedule. o Your pictures will be on the platform. Please get them and put them in your frame in your bag for each child with a special note from you about your week. (Great opportunity to invite kids to church) o On Friday night, please plan to help to get the church back in order for Sunday as soon as the closing rally is over! The more help we have the faster this goesthere will be several churches here to get our dcor too! o We hope you will make this part of your commitment as a leader. Inclement Weather If there is inclement weather any night during VBS, games and kids dinner will be inside. Designated areas will be announced during the opening rally! Salvation Presentation Children will hear the plan of salvation on Tuesday after the opening rally (elementary only) and Thursday during Bible Study. You also have a leading a child to Christ handout in your packet. First Aid If you have a child that needs a band aid or other first aid supplies, please visit our First Aid Station located just inside the main office! Changes and Updates

 Our fourth and fifth graders will be in our Kingdom Tower for VBS this year!! Youll find them in the balcony! Our Kindergarten-Third Graders will be in the fellowship hall. And our three and four year olds will be in the preschool wing. This will also help us find children quickly! You will see children leading A LOT this year! Our Worship Rallies will be jam-packed with new, creative and exciting stuff! Fridays Family Worship will be from 8:00-8:30pm! There will be a parent Bible study time this year immediately following the Opening Rally each night if parents would like to participate!

CREW LEADERS:
Name tags and Color Groups - All preschoolers and children will come to you with a colored lanyard, please take one of the name tags and fill it out, and place it in the plastic tag holder. Take these up each night and place them in your crew packet until the following night. We do not have very many extras, and this is a great way for us to easily identify where a child belongs. Time to be in your Pew - All crew leaders should be in their labeled pews (each pew will be labeled with color, crew name and leader) at 5:50pm each night. Parents will be dropping their children off to you and picking them up from you here each night. This is your opportunity to connect with new families and build relationships with our church family! Entering the Sanctuary All crew leaders should enter the sanctuary by the Choir Room. This allows the doors up front to be kept locked until crew leaders are in place. Attendance for the Week - Attendance will be taken each night. On Monday night, attendance will be the responsibility of the crew leaders. There is an attendance sheet in your crew bag, or you may need to pick one up on Monday on the stage, with instructions on what to do. The remainder of the week, children should check-in at the attendance table in the gathering place before entering the sanctuary. Please make sure all of your children are checked in before you leave the sanctuary!

 Kids Meals We are providing the meals this year for VBS, please make sure each child takes one meal first. They can have more; we just need to make sure we know exactly how many we serve. Parent Evaluations On Friday when children are dropped off, please give each parent an evaluation and ask them to drop them when they pick their child up. There will be baskets in the Narthex to drop them in. Crew Leader & Station Leader Evaluations On Friday night, please, take the evaluation from your packet, fill it out and drop it in a basket in the Narthex. Pick Up Passes As a crew leader, it is your responsibility to make sure the person picking a child has their pass. If they do not, they must see Rachel or a registration team member to verify that they are on the list. A drivers license will need to be presented.

Crew Leaders Continued

Pictures Our Amazing VBS Photographers will need a picture of your crew in the sanctuary at the castle! Check out your scheduled photo opportunity below! o Purple Team Monday before closing rally o Red Team Tuesday after opening rally o Blue Team Tuesday before closing rally o Yellow Team - Wednesday after opening rally o Green Team Wednesday before closing rally o Orange Team Anytime you have a minutesee photographers o If your team has an absent member during your scheduled time, make up your picture at your convenience; just make sure it gets done by Wednesday!! Bus Kids You will know kids from the buses as our drivers will drop them off to you. If you have children in your crew who ride the bus, they will meet at the back of the sanctuary each night at the close of VBS. Please take them to the bus driver yourself or designate one

person from your color to do so. Your color group coordinator may take on this responsibility.

STATION LEADERS:
Craft Leaders As you finish each craft, please count the extras and label them with that number, and box them up! This will allow us to know what we are passing on to our mission teams for next summer or send them back if they are still in the package! Bible Leaders As you finish each night, please put anything that can be reused by another church or the missions team in a box labeled for what day the item is appropriate. All Station Leaders On Friday evening, please make sure your classroom is torn down. All tables, chairs and or other items brought into the room should be placed back where you found them. Thank you! All Station Leaders (Bible, Chadder, Games & Imagination Station)All station leaders should be in the Narthex, outside the sanctuary, at 5:50pm each night to help families find their crew! Monday and Tuesday night it will be Super important for you to be ready to help families! You can be the key to a family being welcomed! Helping Families Find Their Way Please go to the narthex at 5:50pm to help families find their way to crews! You can help be the glue that makes a smooth first and second night of VBS! RED & PURPLE Bible & Chadders Leaders Please make sure all of your materials are kept together along with all posters and mobile props. You have been designated to give your sets of material to the mission teams. All other color groups should be kept together and placed in the box marked curriculum and posters outside Rachels office on Friday!

THANK YOU!!!
Crew Packet Check-List
God Sighting Stones Photo frames Schedule Name Tags Monday Attendance Sheet Family Night Invitations

Conversation Starters Watch for God Bracelets

Crew Leaders

Evaluations Leader Handbook

Quick Guide to Bible Stories, Points and Verses

Bible Point: Gods love helps us stand strong. Bible Verse: "I love you, Lord; you are my strength." (Psalm 18:1) Bible Story: David writes about God's love. (Psalm 23)

Bible Point: Family and friends help us stand strong. Bible Verse: "So encourage each other and build each other up." (1 Thessalonians 5:11) Bible Story: Mordecai encourages Esther to do the right thing. (Esther 19)

Bible Point: Prayer helps us stand strong. Bible Verse: "Dont worry about anything; instead, pray about everything." (Philippians 4:6) Bible Story: Nehemiah perseveres to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. (Nehemiah 16)

Bible Point: Trusting God helps us stand strong. Bible Verse: "Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock." (Isaiah 26:4) Bible Story: Jesus dies and comes back to life. (Luke 22:3924:12)

Bible Point: The Bible helps us stand strong. Bible Verse: "Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path." (Psalm 119:105) Bible Story: King Josiah follows Gods way. (2 Kings 22:123:23)

HAVE A GREAT WEEK AT