VBS 2013 - the Dollars & Cents of VBS

While there certainly are excellent and compelling reasons for churches to plan and present a Vacation Bible School to the children in their churches and communities, the realities of the Dollars and Cents can impact if a church is able to do so. If your church chooses to go ahead with VBS for Summer 2013, the Dollar and Cents of it all can again come into play as you determine which resources you will use. 

I once had someone from a publisher tell me if a church really cared about the children in their ministry, they would spend whatever they had to, to have the best curriculum possible. I disagree. While I absolutely believe churches care about the children in their ministries, budgets are a very real and difficult reality. In this economy with so many people out of work our churches are struggling to meet their budgets. VBS can be expensive and yet, it is a very important - and in many cases the only - outreach of the year for many churches.

Today I'm going to take a look at the Dollars and Cents for the five VBS resources I reviewed this week. I'm happy to see in many of the director's materials some fun ideas of ways to raise money for VBS, but again, when so many people are unemployed and living pay check to pay check, there just may not be additional dollars for them to give to VBS.

Obviously a starter kit is the first place to begin when purchasing VBS materials and from there you'll need to determine what - if any - student materials you will utilize. As far as student materials, I like the idea of being able to give children something each day which will remind them of the Bible lesson. I especially like the objects/cards which can be clipped or pinned to a backpack as these things make great reminders! I also like the idea of being able to give children their own copy of the music - of course these things take money and your budget just might not have room for them. So, what will it cost and how can you move ahead with VBS on a budget?


Top Ten VBS for 2013 - 10th Place - Kingdom Rock
Group Publishing

http://group.com/vbs/kingdom-rock

Cost of kit - 

• one kit is available for $165.99

Cost per student - 

• Music is not reproducible, so you have to purchase CDs to give kids at a cost of $6.99 per CD.
• Bible Memory Buddies - $3.19 per child
• Carabiners - $6.99 for 10
• Sciency Fun Gizmos range in price from $3.99 to $7.49 for 10

My Dollar & Cents Thoughts . . . Group does not offer a basic starter kit, so unless you decide to purchase just the Director's book and individual Station Leader guides, you will have to buy the one kit they offer. For children I'd buy the Bible Memory Buddies and Carabiner clips for a cost of approximately $3.90 per child. The music CD could be given to families instead of each child for additional savings.

Top Ten VBS for 2013 - 9th Place - Knights of God
by - NextGen4Christ

http://www.nextgen4christ.com/knightsofgod/home.php

Cost of kit - 

• One kit - downloadable from their website - $59.99

Cost per student - 

• Music is available, but I do not have the info on it yet.
• All student materials are reproducible.

My Dollar & Cents Thoughts . . . I love how affordable this VBS resource is - $59.99! The kit can be used any time of the year since all the student materials are reproducible! Consider using some of the artwork - or your own - to make daily "tags" with the point and then give the tags and a carabiner to children. (make tags on cardstock and laminate them)

Top Ten VBS for 2013 - 8th Place - Go Big
David C. Cook Publishing

http://gobigvbs.com/

Cost of kit - 

• One kit - downloadable from their website -  $99.99

Cost per student - 

• Music is available, but I do not have the info on it yet.
• All student materials are reproducible.

My Dollar & Cents Thoughts . . . Again, I love how affordable this VBS resource is - $99.99! The kit can be used any time of the year since all the student materials are reproducible! Consider using some of the artwork - or your own - to make daily "tags" with the point and then give the tags and a carabiner to children. (make tags on cardstock and laminate them)

Top Ten VBS for 2013 - 7th Place - Investigation Destination
Regular Baptist Press

http://www.rbpvbs.org/

Cost of kit -  

• one kit is available for $89.99

Cost per student - 

• Music is available this year - $24.99 for 10.
• Crafts range in price from $7.99 to $22.99 for 12 to 50 so most of these are very affordable.
• Student books cost $2.99 per child

My Dollar & Cents Thoughts . . . Regular Baptist Press does not offer a basic starter kit, so unless you decide to purchase just the Director's book and individual Station Leader/Classroom guides, you will have to buy the one kit they offer. For children I'd buy the music for a cost of approximately $2.49 per child. 

Top Ten VBS for 2013 - 6th Place - SonWest Roundup
Gospel Light

http://www.gospellightvbs.com/sonwest/

Cost of kit - 

• two kits are available for $79.99 and $199.99

Cost per student - 

• Music is reproducible, so you have the option of purchasing the Music & More CD to reproduce at a cost of $24.99 or buying already recorded CDs to give kids at a cost of $19.99 for 10 CDs.
• Connection Cards - $5.99 for five children
• Horse Carabiners - $5.99 for five

My Dollar & Cents Thoughts . . . Gospel Light does offer a basic starter kit, which gives you the option of buying the basics at a cost savings. For children I'd buy the Connection Cards and Carabiner clips for a cost of approximately $2.40 per child. The music CDs could be an affordable extra at $1.99 per child or family.