How Much Does VBS Cost?
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A week of Vacation Bible School (VBS) is often one of those much-anticipated opportunities for parents to get a rest from entertaining their bored children during the summer holidays. Kids come to hang out with their friends or make new friends, and they expect to have a lot of fun.
Detractors have dubbed it “church day-care,” while others consider VBS one of the most important forms of children’s ministry in terms of outreach. VBS attracts members of the host church, people from other churches, and sometimes even the unchurched.
Many volunteers and donations are required to run this week-long event, but it still costs something to host a week of crafts, sports, food, and music. There can be anywhere from a handful to hundreds of kids; yet, many would argue that VBS should be free to participants. No matter which direction you lean, there is always a cost. But just how much?
How Much Does It Cost to Attend VBS?
Some churches stand by their policy of never charging for day camp during the summer. While costs have gone up for every aspect of the event, the committee has prayed about it and, led by their pastor, they put their faith in members of the church to supply whatever is needed. The funds can be set apart from regular giving throughout the year if that is enough to pay for curriculum materials, shirts, food, etc.
Alternatively, some months or weeks before the event takes place, there may be more calls within the congregation for members to dig a little deeper for funds, to make or buy snacks, or to consider giving their time. Another way the church can raise money is to run a fundraiser such as a bake sale.
A number of churches, however, charge a small amount for VBS, with a cap on the total fees for large families. These groups will sometimes opt to offer a big adventure, renting expensive equipment, hiring bus drivers, even employing professionals when a specific skill is coveted: a clown, a musician, or a professional athlete for instance.
While the cost to register is generally low, that fee includes everything from a shirt to transportation to food. If a family is unable to pay for VBS but wants to attend, there is often some wiggle room for low-income families; if that is a need within your church or community, set aside extra money so that these children will still hear about Jesus and share the gospel with their families.
The church pays most of the costs and merely asks for a small amount. Charging a fee and implementing a registration deadline ahead of the event helps organizers plan and gather their supplies, although there is almost always extra room for latecomers.
How Much Does It Cost a Church to Run VBS?
A survey explored the cost of running Vacation Bible School and discovered that 20% of churches spent less than $1,000, while 8% of churches spent more than $10,000. Something closer to $1,000 is more likely, especially with attendance expected to be around 0-10% in the majority of cases. Only 3% of day camp committees are planning to serve more than 100 children.
A writer from a VBS-offering church writes that, under “Children’s Ministry, we see that a hefty chunk of the budget goes toward the one-week VBS program. Under utilities, we see that our energy, disposal, and water usage spikes during VBS week.” Running a one-week summer program is costly. If the program is small, attracting only a few children, that is probably because the church is small so there are few children to invite their friends, but the budget is equally limited.
A “wealthy” (big) church is still spending a lot of their children’s ministry budget for five days of hectic fun – despite the number of available donors – because they will attract huge crowds. The demand on utilities is greater and costs for all the crafts, shirts, and food will be enormous.
But “you need to consider the volunteers required to accommodate the amount of kids who might attend. [...] Are these the same 5-10 people who sign up for everything? If so, they may be close to burnout and it might not be best for them to serve in this capacity at this time.” If finding fresh faces to organize the whole event, run stations, or carry equipment is difficult, then your committee might decide not to host VBS for a year. Alternatively, you can brainstorm a new ideas to shake things up, like creating an exciting experience that will attract people who ordinarily think of children’s ministry as “boring.”
With low interest in volunteering, the committee could end up paying for staff instead of relying on volunteers. This, of course, adds to the costs of running Vacation Bible School.
The Personal Cost
Ministry can be rewarding when the goal is to serve Christ by serving others. When you prayerfully reach the conclusion that a week of day camp at the church is a good way to reach the unchurched in your neighborhood, or even in small towns nearby where practical needs are high, but interest in church has been low, you need workers. What if you see the same pattern as in any volunteer-run event where 20% of the people do 80% of the work? Those 20% are committed to service and they give of their time to serve young people and their families.
They also risk burning out. It is easy to take advantage of those enthusiastic individuals who are too apt to say “yes” without asking God first if they should take part. A church needs them, and pastors do not always have time to find out what motivates their workers. There are often Christians who take on too much responsibility as though paying penance for past sins, failing to grasp the truth that they are forgiven. God loves them, and they must stop punishing themselves. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8-9). These folks quickly become exhausted.
But even the people who understand this and volunteer for VBS because they love children and believe this is an important ministry will give too much, not realizing until too late that they are becoming overloaded. To volunteer at VBS might mean giving up holiday time. Fewer and fewer parents can afford to be stay-at-home mothers or fathers. Offering to help run VBS might feel like a privilege, but they do so by sacrificing their much-needed rest and relaxation. For those who only get two weeks off each year, that means they are sacrificing half of their vacation time which would otherwise have been a valuable opportunity to reconnect with friends or to work on being still before God.
Tips to Cut VBS Costs
If you are adamant to maintain a no-cost VBS for anyone who wants to attend, but have a hard time envisioning just how to make that happen, here are some ideas from people who have organized many such events over the years.
One is to join forces with another church. One writer suggests some simple ideas for reducing the costs and staying within budget while providing a Jesus-centered, fun, and uplifting VBS.
“Ask other churches if you could use their leftover decorations and materials.” A church, eager to keep each year’s program fresh, might only use materials once. They are still in good shape for a second use by a different church.
Another way to cut costs is to ask for donations or sponsorship from a grocery store or even a corporation that is happy to exchange money for advertising and a tax receipt. Even a “thank you” on social media, in the town’s local newsletter, or on the radio makes donor companies look good.
One ingenious idea, often utilized by couples getting married or teenagers at Christmas time, is the online wish list. “Create an Amazon wish list that is shareable over social media. Other church friends across the country who would like to support your ministry would be able to help ease your church’s financial burden with a few clicks.”
If this ministry is on your heart, consider running VBS in your own backyard with a few extra kids besides your own, rather than making it a big production. “Consider hosting a bible club in your neighborhood, a bible story-centered block party at the church, or taking a small group of volunteers to a local park.” While still intentional, this is less formal, more like an extension of the usual play dates, but equally rewarding. The smaller size could even facilitate a connection and mentorship between leaders and youngsters.
If you go outside to play and teach, water and electricity are no issue. Ask parents to pack their kids a lunch and a bottle of water, or do what parents and grandparents always do and feed the crew as you would any pack of children visiting with your kids (or grandkids), even if it’s just bologna sandwiches or popsicles.
Finally, change the timing. God is omnipotent and omniscient, able to work in and through volunteers and students at night time. An evening VBS might free up more people to take part. This means they can keep their holiday time for real rest and you do not need to hire staff.
Don’t Count the Cost
What does VBS cost? This leads to a more important question: “‘Why are we putting on VBS in the first place?’ Is it because our church has always held a Vacation Bible School and we feel like we need to uphold tradition? Or is it because this will be a helpful event for our ministry inside the church and our mission to spread the gospel to the community?”
One survey reveals that outreach is the reason in 79% of programs. Leaders want to reach families who have never heard the gospel or experienced the love that Jesus offers through his servants – those leaders who organize and run day camps as pastors, organizers, and helpers.
They also want to show those who were hurt by the church that Jesus loves them. What would it cost not to host VBS? Potentially, there are thousands of children across the country in whose hearts that seed would not be planted.
A successful VBS is one where the costs are less important than the rewards. Of the churches surveyed, 89% said that their event was either somewhat or totally successful. Success was not based on the financials but on “Number of children making faith commitments, commitment from volunteers, more non-church members attending, positive feedback from children, parents, and church, outside-the-box thinking to better reach children and families, [and] greater attendance due to creative publicity efforts”.
Zero percent of those surveyed stayed within budget, and yet the majority consider VBS successful as a strategy for involving multiple generations of church members to serve and for inviting children to know Christ as their Savior. These success markers do not mention outreach, but even children within the church must eventually make a personal decision for or against Christ when they are old enough to understand. VBS is a seed-planting kind of ministry for them too.
“Of the 7 percent of churches who said their VBS was not successful”, their main reasons were: “low attendance, few faith commitments, lack of church leadership support, [and] lack of volunteers.” These are the churches who need to decide if VBS is worth the cost, or if they just require a makeover and some good ideas to get the ball rolling again.
Reward Is High
The survey mentioned above looked at over a hundred churches in the United States, the majority of which had been running a program like this for more than 15 years. Ryan Higginbottom argues that the difficulty and expense of Vacation Bible School are worthwhile. He points out that the spiritual change taking place is not immediately obvious as kids focus on games and snacks. On the other hand, “even though we do little harvesting at VBS, we do a lot of planting. We sow the word of God into the minds and hearts of kids who might not otherwise hear the gospel. We trust God to use his word as he sends it forth, and we pray for fruit.”
Meanwhile, the church is able to bless families and experience the privilege of being entrusted with their children. “We build a reputation as a safe place with open doors and love for our neighbors.” The church comes together as a body, not to convert children or increase the number of people at church on Sunday. They unite to do God’s work and leave results in his Sovereign hands, knowing that they are workers tending to a plentiful harvest (Luke 10:2).
Sources
https://ftc.co/resource-library/blog-entries/vbs-is-worth-the-cost/
https://childrensministry.com/vacation-bible-school-impact/
https://replantwife.com/blog/f/vbs-what-to-do-when-you-have-few-volunteers-and-a-small-budget
Photo credit: Unsplash/Micheile Henderson
