VBS 2013 - Growing in the Son - Christian Games & Crafts

I'm happy to share with you another VBS resource - one you may not be familiar with, but one which is certainly worth taking a look at to see if it may be a good "fit" for your ministry - Growing in the Son by Christian Games & Crafts which is FREE with your $60.00 yearly subscription to Christian Games and Crafts!

Growing in the Son

Christian Games & Crafts

www.ChristianGamesandCrafts.com 

1. We want a good heart so God's love will grow - The Parable of the Sower - Luke 8
2. We want to plant God's Word so the Holy Spirit will bloom - Cain & Able - Genesis 4
3. Faith growing in our hearts will transform us and spread to those around us - The Mustard seed - Matthew 13
4. Jesus offers living water so we will never be thirsty again - the Woman at the well - John 4
5. We share our garden by telling others about Jesus - Feeding the 5,000 - John 6

Setting – a farm.

Message – Children will dig into the Bible and learn how they can grow in God!

Focus – Bible content and Application

Strengths –

• Very affordable - all reproducible
• Solid Bible teaching.
• Parts of each lesson do engage children, I'd like to see more of this throughout the entire lesson each day.
• I really like the way it is written into each lesson to review the previous day's lesson and give children an opportunity to share how they lived the lesson and shared it with people they know.
• There is a good variety of crafts made from items you can collect/buy and ties in with the Bible lessons 
• Fun setting – easy to decorate for.

Would like to see –

• I'd like to see teachers and children reading from the Bible during the Bible lessons
• As I said, I'd like to see the lessons engage children more throughout the lesson.
• Stronger focus on evangelism - the opportunities to invite children to trust Jesus are there, just not clearly presented to children . . . this is of course, something churches could easily "boost".
• Contemporary music - maybe collaborate with someone like Rob Biagi - some of the songs are difficult to figure out how the words match with the tunes and some tunes are just not familiar.
• Information to help churches engage and involve Special Needs Kids in their VBS
• Information to help churches select and stay focused on a goal for their VBS
• More complete director's information with safety and volunteer screening info.
• A service station for children to work on projects to serve others in their family, neighborhood, church, community and the world.
• More enthusiasm in the opening and close - the opening is a great opportunity to set the pace and introduce children to the theme . . . and get them excited for what they will be doing. The close is the perfect opportunity to review what they learned and to have one "get-their-attention" and "won't-be-forgotten" object lesson to make the point one more time before the leave - science projects are great for this.

Christian Games & Crafts says, "This summer, introduce kids to Growing In The Son Vacation Bible School - a place where they can plant God's seeds and watch love grow! Transform your church and introduce children to life on the farm where they'll dig into the Bible and learn how they can grow in God. The message is reinforced with a daily seed packet which includes the Daily Message, Memory Verse and items representing the daily symbol which children take home to share with their family." 

Overall, Growing In The Son VBS is an option for a VBS which may really appeal to churches with very limited resources in particular. You could also use this throughout the year for mid-week, Sunday evenings, special events, etc. Definitely take a look at Growing In The Son VBS to see if it is a good "fit" for your ministry!