Top Ten Countdown for Vacation Bible School 2011 - Friday, January 7th's Post . . . "Rev It Up!" from Regular Baptist Press!

Welcome to the fifth day of my Top Ten Countdown for Vacation Bible School 2011; my Top Pick for VBS 2011 will be announced on January 14th, but today we are looking at "Rev It Up!" from Regular Baptist Press! This year RBP invites you to take your children to the Rev It Up Speedway where they will learn Who Jesus Is and how they can put Him first in their life!


Scope and Sequence -

1. Welcome to the Team! - Jesus Calls Disciples - Luke 5:1-15 - Jesus wants me to join His team!
2. Learn from the Best - Jesus Shows His Power - Mark 5:21-43; Luke 8:40-56 - God's power helps me run the race!
3. Run Up the Caution Flag - Who Is the Greatest? - Matthew 20:17-28; Mark 10:32-52 - I can show Jesus has first place in my life by serving Him and others!
4. Jesus in the winners circle: Jesus is the Victor! - John 20:1-22; Acts 1:8-11 - I can rejoice in Jesus' victory over sin and know He promises to take me to Heaven to be with Him!
5. Full Speed Ahead: Peter and John carry on - Acts 3:1-10; 4:1-24 - God can show His power and love through me as I serve Him!

Theme - Children will spend time looking at the life of Jesus and how He trained His disciples. They will learn how to put Jesus first in their life as they run the race!


Strong Points -

1. Solid Bible Lessons - strong salvation emphasis in each lesson and reminder for children who know Jesus that they can choose to serve Jesus by serving others!
2. Excellent science station - I love this part of the VBS as it is a great way to engage all the children, but particularly the older boys!
3. Excellent information on involving children with special needs in your VBS
4. Excellent info on decorating - RBP will help you transform your church into an exciting race venue!
5. Mission project - Operation Translation - the children in your VBS will raise money to pay for translating Bible lessons into Thai, Korean or Burmese so children in these countries can learn about Jesus in their own languages. (see the website at revitup.rbpstore.org/operation-translation). 
6. Complete director's information - RBP does an excellent job covering the important topics of screening volunteers and being sure your VBS is safe - inside and out.
7. I'm glad to see information to help you determine the goal for your VBS
8. Excellent information on how to lead a child to Christ and a complete training session for volunteers
9. Love the information giving you ideas on where to find the supplies you need for your VBS
10. Great puppet!

Would Like to See -

1. While the lessons are solidly grounded in God's Word, and there are some creative and intentional portions designed to engage the children in the teaching of the lessons, I'd like to see that engagement woven throughout the entire lesson - beyond having children just answer a question or read verses. I really love the "Discover" portion of the Bible lesson, but I'd rather see this type of involvement during the lesson than after the lesson.
2. I would really like to see opportunities and activities built into the lessons to help children serve their own communities - with the focus on serving Jesus by serving others, it seems this would have fit well with this vbs.
3. I'd like to see more activity and excitement in the opening and close - maybe use one of the science project options in the opening or close to "Rev It Up!".
4. I'd like to see "Live-It" activities each day for children to utilize . . . something specific for them to do and then come back and tell their teachers what happened when they lived God's Word!

I appreciate the commitment to God's Word that is shown in every part of this VBS! If your primary goal for your VBS is evangelism, be sure to take a serious look at "Rev It Up!". Since the setting is a NASCAR-type race, this VBS should work well at an outdoor venue and be fun for youth groups if they are looking for materials to use on a mission trip. RBP's VBS utilizes the KJV and NKJV Bible. Extremely well done, Regular Baptist Press - thank-you for sending "Rev It Up!" for my review.


Be sure to come back to About the Children's Department tomorrow for some interesting thoughts about VBS and then on Monday we continue with my next review of VBS materials in my Top Ten Countdown for VBS 2011!


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