VBS 2014 - Agency D3 from LifeWay & Give-Away!

Today I'm happy to share Agency D3 from LifeWay! Take a look and consider if Agency D3 is a good "fit" for your children's ministry!

Agency D3

LifeWay

http://blog.lifeway.com/vbs/

1. Is Jesus really God's Son? An eyewitness report - Matthew 3:13-17; John 1:29-36 - Isaiah 42:1 points to Jesus as God's Son whom God would send to provide salvation for His people
2. Was Jesus more than just a good man? - Background check - Mark 6:1-6; 30-56 - In Luke 4:16-21 Jesus told people He was the Messiah referenced in Isaiah 61:1,2
3. Was Jesus' death real? - Death confirmed - Mark 14:22-28; 15:22-47 - As foretold in Isaiah 53:2-6, God's plan for Jesus includes Jesus' death and resurrection to provide forgiveness of sin
4. Is Jesus alive? - Physical Proof - Luke 24:1-48 - Just as David prophesied in Psalm 16:10 and Peter testified in Acts 2:31, God raised Jesus from the dead
5. What do I do with the evidence about Jesus? - Summing up the evidence - Acts 2:14-42; I Peter 3:15 - David declared (Psalm 22:31) and Peter preached (Acts 2:39) those present and generations yet to come woudl hear about the righteousness of Christ and what He has done

Setting – Children get to be special agents and use "high-tech gadgets and tools" to discover the truth about Jesus and Who He really is.

Message/Theme – Children will be challenged to, "Join Agency D3 as Special Agents for a week of fun as they examine eyewitness reports, physical proof, and biblical accounts to uncover and defend the truth about who Jesus really is."

Focus – Evangelism, Content and Application
Strengths –

• LOVE the "Christ Connection" and "Kid Connection" for each lesson which helps children connect the lesson with Jesus and with how it applies and lives out in their own lives.
• I LOVE the new "Takin' It Home CD" - what a terrific idea - sure to build excitement and more importantly, connect what children are doing at VBS with their own families!
• LOVE LifeWay's VBS Family App! This is something families will want to check out for sure! Excellent!
• As I would expect, Agency D3 has a strong evangelistic emphasis, excellent mission project and solid Bible teaching
• Excellent resources for taking your VBS out of your church and into your community with Backyard Kid's Club!
• Excellent focus on VBS and prayer - info on how to develop your prayer strategies and prayer team
• Excellent resources for children with special needs!
• I especially am happy to find excellent information on how to reach VBS families after VBS is over! I really love the “Connect in one hour” plan – great way to involve everyone in VBS in having a part with the follow up!
• I particularly love the daily “Secret Service Assignments” portion of each lesson. Focus is given each day for Evangelism and Application for kids who are already Christians. There is a definite focus on application again this year, the activities connect well and do a good job of reinforcing the daily point!
• I found the options for crafts to be affordable, but not necessarily very durable. However; the craft book has a nice variety of craft options made with items you gather - some of these are excellent!
• Music is well done. . . songs communicate the message and are songs kids will like, but I'd rather see just kids singing; not teens.
• Love the Missions station! I LOVE the "Mobilize Me Moment and Prayer" and the "Secret Service Mission" for each day! Excellent!
• Additional Activity Options for each day for churches with longer class time - or some of these could be incorporated into the opening or close to add excitement and engage children more.
• Excellent resource to help churches turn their building and grounds into an agency for secret agents!

Would like to see –

• While some of the age levels and some of the days lessons do have children opening their Bibles during the teaching of the lesson, others do not do this at all. I'd really like to see LifeWay do this for all ages.
• More excitement in the opening and closing – this is a great place for object lessons/science projects and give you a big way to once again make your point before kids leave for the day.
• Ideas to help children serve in their own communities.

LifeWay says, "Trace it back to the facts! The evidence is clear. The proof is all right here! Discover, decide, and defend the truth about who Jesus really is with LifeWay's Agency D3. With LifeWay’s VBS, you can rest assured that all aspects of your VBS will include age-appropriate outreach. Your church will have the opportunity to cultivate and establish ongoing relationships with all who attend." 


I am happy to say, LifeWay is making available some of their Jump Start kits which are, "packed with all the essentials you need to start planning for Agency D3", for me to give away (USA only)! If you are over the age of 18 and would like to be included in the drawing for one of the Jump Start kits - which will be on January 26, 2014, please comment below to let me know how knowing Jesus really is God's Son changes your life; for me it gives me hope, comfort, encouragement and joy!

In addition if you have followed on Google Friend Connect, followed by liking on facebook with the tab in the "Find us on Facebook" box ON THE BLOG or at this link (not just liking the post) and/or have followed About the Children's Department by email you will receive one entry for each of these which you have done. Plus, if you "share" this post, you'll receive another entry (please let me know if you share). This will help me be able to draw names from among people who would like to win one of the Jump Start kits and it gives you several ways to enter the give-away! Thank you for reading About the Children's Department and for sharing it with the people you know!