We believe Vacation Bible School can be a powerful tool for evangelism in your church. At the same time, VBS should be fun and engaging for everyone involved. This is a time to celebrate God's love and presence in the world!
The 2019 VBS Reviews are here! Each year, Lifelong Learning at VTS reviews kits and programs for Vacation Bible School. We carefully examine each program. We open the kits, pour through all the materials, listen to the CDs and watch the videos...and then we share the strengths and weaknesses of each program.
Read and download the 2019 reviews here.
Our Top Picks for Publishers
We have found that year after year we gravitate toward these publishers: Cokesbury, Group Publishing Marketplace Series, and MennoMedia. VBS from the publishers include these attributes:
- An emphasis on God's love and care for all people.
- The unity of a program around a distinctive theme supported by a cohesive program of stories and activities.
- Sound learning strategies based on developmental traits of the targeted audience.
Each program review includes a publisher review, website address, cost of a starter kit, theme, daily content overview, and a brief summary of the strengths and weaknesses of programs from each publishing house.
Perennial Favorites
As always, our 2019 review also contains reviews of our "perennial favorites." These are from individuals or small publishing houses. Each provides scope and sequence, theme and daily activities but do not offer additional sale items such as crafts, music, or marketing information.
Tell Us About Your Favorites!
From its origins in the yearly VBS Fair hosted at Key Hall, our annual VBS review is a labor of love. We appreciate hearing from you what your favorites are, what works and what doesn't, and to be alerted to any hidden gems out there.