A number of publishers of Christian formation resources release new Vacation Bible School and camp program curricula every year. For some communities, these full-fledged kits with a host of materials like lesson plans, multimedia resources, decoration ideas, and craft guides serve program directors’ needs, goals, and budgets well. For other communities, however, the newest curriculum options may not provide what formation leaders are seeking, especially for those who want to reshape a traditional VBS for their ministry context, who are interested in intergenerational formation, or who need more affordable resources for a smaller budget.

Fortunately, more curriculum options are available that can help meet a range of needs, goals, and budgets for VBS, camp, and intergenerational programs during the summer and throughout the year. We at Building Faith have explored a wide swath of resources, and we are excited to share our updated list and reviews of our 11 favorite perennial VBS, camp, and intergenerational curricula for 2025. If you’re searching for a curriculum for your community’s summer formation, this article can help you get started.

Our Review Process

For our 2025 update, we invited a team of ministry leaders to conduct the reviews with us. We included curricula that are designed or well-suited for Vacation Bible School, residential or day camps, and intergenerational events or programs. The team primarily examined publishers’ website content, sample materials that are available for free, and videos; in a few cases, team members had the opportunity to review the full curriculum.

In the evaluation process, the team considered six interrelated dimensions:

1. Theological messages
2. Interpretations and uses of scripture
3. Approaches to learning and formation
4. Language and practices regarding inclusivity and diversity of human identities and experiences, especially in relation to race, culture, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and economic status
5. Attention to social justice, service, and creation care
6. Program structure and logistics

We developed reviews of all of the curriculum options that we recommend in the slidedecks linked below. Each review provides an overview of the curriculum and highlights what the curriculum does well as well as what could be improved. You can also follow this link to view the full slidedeck of all the perennial favorite reviews.

We offer our recommendations and critical feedback in a spirit of compassion and dedication to enriching faith formation for all people in liberating, life-giving ways. As always, we encourage you to reflect on the gifts, needs, values, and commitments of your ministry context in order to discern which curriculum may be best for your community.

Our Perennial Top Picks (Updated March 2025)

The curricula that we have included in our perennial favorites list are (in alphabetical order by title):

1. Abundant Life Garden Project

• Publisher: Episcopal Relief and Development
• Use(s): VBS or children’s formation series
• Full curriculum reviewed

2. All God’s Children: The Church Family Gathers for a Very Blessed Summer

• Publisher: GenOn Ministries
• Use(s): VBS or intergenerational program

3. Arts Camp

• Publisher: Morehouse (written by Christina Clark)
• Use(s): VBS or day camp
• Full curriculum reviewed

4. Good Stewards Together & Journey Together

• Publisher: Sparkhouse
• Use(s): intergenerational program

5. Living God’s Dream: Dismantling Racism for Children

• Publisher: Church Publishing
• Use(s): children’s formation series or VBS
• Full curriculum reviewed

6. Operation Restoration: Mending God’s World

• Publisher: Augsburg Fortress
• Use(s): VBS

7. Praying All the Time

• Publisher: Leader Resources
• Use(s): VBS or children’s formation series
• Full curriculum reviewed

8. ReNew: The Green VBS

• Publisher: Sparkhouse
• Use(s): VBS

9. S.P.Y. Parables

• Publisher: Leader Resources
• Use(s): VBS

10. Water All Around the World

• Publisher: Living Waters for the World
• Use(s): VBS or intergenerational program
• Full curriculum reviewed

11. Waves of Gratitude

• Publisher: United Thank Offering
• Use(s): VBS
• Full curriculum reviewed

The resources on this list are all ones that we recommend. They generally feature materials to help cultivate age-appropriate, theologically meaningful, fun, creative, and socially and ecologically mindful formation experiences for VBS, camp, or intergenerational programs. While they all can be improved in various ways, we think that these curricula can be beneficial options for formation programs in the summer and beyond.

For a full slidedeck of all the perennial reviews, follow this link: Building Faith VBS, Summer Camp, and Intergenerational Perennial Favorite Reviews (2025)

You can also check out this chart to compare key features of all our perennial favorites: Building Faith VBS, Camp, and Intergenerational Perennial Favorites Chart (2025)

Additional VBS, Camp, and Intergenerational Resources

If you are interested in more options and ideas for VBS, camp, or intergenerational programs, here are some recent articles on Building Faith to check out:

• “VBS and Summer Camp Curriculum Top Picks for 2025“
• “VBS and Summer Camp Curriculum Top Picks for 2024“
• “A Festival of Creation” by Juniper LaNunziata
• “Intentional Vacation Bible School Planning Addresses Issues of Justice in Our Community” by Antoni Luc-Tayengo
• “Godly Play for Vacation Bible School” by Olivia Leone
• “Noticing God in Creation: At Home VBS for Families” by Margie Baker

A Word of Thanks to Our Review Team

Many thanks go to our review team for 2025: Sarah Bentley Allred, Sally Benton, Molly Herman-Gallow, Juniper LaNunziata, and Marvin McLennon. We greatly appreciate all the time, energy, and expertise they offered in assessing these resources. The reviews are all the better for each of their voices and insights in this collaborative work.

You can learn more about them in the bios below:

Sarah Bentley Allred (she/her/hers)

Sarah Bentley Allred is the Senior Formation Associate and Project Director of Roots & Wings: Intergenerational Formation Collaborative for Lifelong Learning at Virginia Theological Seminary. Before joining the Department of Lifelong Learning, Sarah served as Director of Children and Youth Ministries for four years and then completed the M.Div. program at VTS with a focus on Christian formation. She is passionate about children’s spirituality, intergenerational worship, and small church formation. She loves local coffee shops, board games, the beach, and exploring new places with her husband, Richard, and their toddler, Eleanor. Find out more at sarahbentleyallred.com.

Sally Benton (she/her/hers)

Sally Benton is the Director of Children, Youth, and Family Ministries at St. John’s in McLean, Virginia and has been ministering to children and youth for over 10 years. She and her husband are currently living in Alexandria, VA with their two small children. They have had the joy of ministering together not only in parishes, but on college campuses, at summer camp, and just about everywhere in between. Sally is passionate about faith formation for all people and helping people build confidence in exploring their faith independently as well as in community.

Molly Herman-Gallow (she/her/hers)

Molly Herman-Gallow lives in Durham, North Carolina, where she is pursuing her Master of Divinity at Duke Divinity School. She formerly worked at St. Martin in the Fields Episcopal Church in Brookhaven, GA as its Children & Youth Minister. In that role, she loved ministering to all of St. Martin’s children and families, and she especially enjoyed aspects of curriculum creation and Christian education that her role required of her. Molly is a cradle Episcopalian and grew up in the Diocese of Atlanta. She graduated from Elon University in 2019 with a filmmaking degree and a minor in religious studies. Molly loves continuing to tell the story of the Church and discovering her identity further as a Christian formation educator.

Juniper LaNunziata (they/them)

Juniper LaNunziata is a postulant for holy orders in the Diocese of East Carolina and currently serves as Campus Minister for The Well Campus Ministries of East Carolina University. They served as Director of Christian Formation at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church of Greenville, NC for 8 years. Juniper was born and raised in Pennsylvania but has been living in the South for almost 20 years. They love to bake bread, drink boba tea, and go geocaching. Check out their blog for Christian formation and design at www.formedbyexperience.blog.

Marvin McLennon (he/him/his)

Marvin is the Director of Children and Youth Ministries at Christ Episcopal Church in Little Rock, AR. An Arkansas native and cradle Episcopalian, Marvin grew up at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, where he was actively involved in the youth group, held diocesan youth leadership roles, and spent summers at Camp Mitchell as a camper and Counselor in Training. He went on to attend Hendrix College, earning a degree in Communications. After graduating in 2013, Marvin joined the Episcopal Service Corps in Louisiana, where he served as Assistant Youth Director at St. James Episcopal Church in Baton Rouge. Following his year of service, he became the Youth Director for St. James and the Diocesan Youth Director in the Diocese of Louisiana. In 2016, he returned to Arkansas to begin his work at Christ Church while also becoming an active member of the Forma Council in 2019 and part of the Forma Executive Council in 2021.

Featured image is by Jake Givens on Unsplash