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 & Cents can impact whether or not a church is able to do so. If your church chooses to go ahead with VBS for Summer 2015, the Dollar & 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 as so many churches struggle 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.
All of the VBS resources reviewed last week made my Top Ten VBS for 2015 and are excellent resources, well worth taking a serious look at!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?
Basic Elements
Cost of kit -
- $329.99
Cost per student -
- All student materials are reproducible, so the cost depends on which items you reproduce and what your costs are for doing so.
My Dollar & Cents Thoughts . . . While $330 is a lot to spend, since you are able to reproduce all student and teacher materials, in the long run, this VBS could be affordable for many churches. Plus, since so many activities are given in the curriculum, you could leave some activities to use in your classes on Sundays. By "stretching out" this curriculum it makes it even more affordable!
Journey Off the Map
Cost of kit -
LifeWay
Cost of kit -
- $99.99 - for the kid's starter kit
- $99.99 - for the preschool starter kit
- Music is not reproducible, so you have to purchase CDs to give kids ranging in cost from $1.89 to $2.29 per CD depending on how many you purchase.
- Worship Rally pack - $41.99
- Expedition tags - $6.99 for enough for ten children
- Taking it Home CD: included in kit and reproducible!
- Kid Wraps - $10.49 for 6
- Crafts range in price from $4.99 to $8.99 for 10
My Dollar & Cents Thoughts . . . Lifeway
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 kit they offer. For children I'd buy the Expedition tags and music CD for a cost of $2.48 to $2.98 per child. The music
CD could be given to families instead of each child for additional
savings and I really loved the Taking it Home CD - these are reproducible, so I would absolutely make one for each family! Depending on what you do for
crafts/stations, you would have an additional expense, but this depends
on which ones you buy and how many you need. Lifeway has a variety of
additional items available; you would have to decide which items you
wanted to buy.
SonSpark Labs
Cost of kit -
Gospel Light
Cost of kit -
- $199.99 for kit
- $99.99 for reproducible power pack
- Music is not reproducible, so you have to purchase CDs to give kids which costs $21.99 for ten.
- Connection Gears Necklace - $7.99 for five children
- Lab Journals - $12.99 to $14.99 for 5 children
- Crafts are reproducible
My Dollar & Cents Thoughts . . . Gospel Light
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 Connection Gears Necklaces and music CD for a cost of $3.78 per
child. The music CD could be given to families instead of each child for
additional savings. Depending on what you do for the science lab, you would have an additional expense, but this depends on which supplies you buy. Gospel Light has a variety of additional
items available; you would have to decide which items you wanted to buy.
To the Edge
Regular Baptist Press
To the Edge
Regular Baptist Press
Cost of kit -
- $89.99
Cost per student -
- Music is not reproducible, so you have to buy the Music CD at a cost of $24.99 for 10 CDs.
- Crafts vary in cost from $7.99 for 12 children to $45.99 for 12 children.
- To the Edge Family Fun Sheet - $6.99 for twenty-five families.
- Student books - $2.99 per child
My Dollar & Cents Thoughts . . . Regular Baptist Press does not offer a basic starter kit so you will need to buy their kit unless you just buy director's guides and teacher books. For children
I'd buy the Music CD and Family Fun Sheet for a cost of
approximately $2.77 per child. Crafts depend on which ones you choose to use.
The music CDs could be given to each family instead of each child at a cost savings.
G Force
Cokesbury
http://2015.cokesburyvbs.com/
Cost of kit -
- $159.99
Cost per student -
- Music CD/DVD is available at a cost of $3.99 per child
- Scripture Treasures - $7.99 for six children
- Treasure Holders - $7.99 for six children
- Crafts range in price from $3.99 to $8.99 for six children
- Student books - $2.99 each
My Dollar & Cents Thoughts . . . Cokesbury 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 Scripture Treasures and Holders for a cost of
approximately $2.66 per child. The music CDs could be an extra at $3.99
per child or family.
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