VBS 2018 - Rolling River Rampage from Cokesbury

Today I'm happy to share with you  Rolling River Rampage from Cokesbury. This is a VBS curriculum filled with resources which will help you share with children how they are able to know no matter what, God is always with them. Rolling River Rampage is well worth taking a thorough look at to see if it might be a good "fit" for your ministry -

Rolling River Rampage

Cokesbury

https://rrr.cokesburyvbs.com/
Price - $169.99

1. Jesus calls His Disciples - Matthew 4:18-25 - Find Adventure on the River
2. Jesus Accepts Mary and Martha - Luke 10:38-42 - Find Acceptance on the River
3. Jesus walks with Zacchaeus - Luke 19:1-10 - Find Joy on the River
4. Jesus shares a special meal - Luke 22:14-20 - Find Rest on the River
5. Jesus makes a promise - Matthew 28:16-20 - Find Peace on the River

Setting – A white-water rafting adventure with a river, waterfall, camping and more.

Message/Theme – "Lead children on an action-packed VBS adventure! Cokesbury’s Rolling River Rampage invites children on a white-water rafting adventure to experience the ride of a lifetime with God!"

Focus – Application, Service and Bible Content
Strengths –

• Complete director's book - filled with info you need to know - how to recruit, train volunteers, work with special needs children, count-down plan and follow-up.
• Excellent info on health and safety.
• I LOVE the reproducible take-home pages for each day - great way to help children connect what they learned/did with God's Word and be able to tell others. Big plus is the daily Science video so parents are able to see how to do the science experiments at home - this is awesome!
• Excellent info to dedicate and thank volunteers
• Rolling River Rampage has strong Bible content with a focus on application
• There are two options for each lesson - a Drama option and a Single Storyteller option - so you are able to chose the one which best "fits" your ministry. I would, however, like to see open Bibles and lessons which engage the children more. The Single Storyteller option 2 does a great job of engaging the children and the drama option 1 is written well, but I'd only use this if I had the children do the dramas - I personally like the option 2 the best for each day's Bible account.
• I LOVE the "Science Station" with Steve Spangler!!! I am truly impressed; well done again, Cokesbury – excellent science projects and activities to get kids thinking and talking.
• I LOVE "Active Learning Options" - focus on helping children understand what they have learned and how it lives in their lives!
• I LOVE the daily Closing Prayer Experience - excellent!
• I found the options for crafts to be creative, varied, affordable and fun – options for crafts you can buy as kits and crafts you make from items you collect!
• I absolutely LOVE "Reflection Time" activities at the close of each day to help children think and talk about what they can do the following day to live what they learned!

Would like to see –

• More excitement and engagement of the children in the opening and close - perhaps add some of the science projects from the "Science Station" which you didn’t use, to the closing to finish each day for a "WOW" moment.
• I would like to see open Bibles in the Bible lesson. It would be very easy to have the teachers read the Bible lesson rather than paraphrase it for the teacher teaching and for the dramas as well.

Cokesbury says, "At Rolling River Rampage, children discover life with God is an adventure full of wonder and surprise, and they can trust God to be with them through anything. Relevant music, exciting science, creative crafts, fun recreation, and memorable Bible stories will help children know God is always with them as they ride the rapids of amazing grace!" 

I really love how Rolling River Rampage focuses on helping children learn they are able to trust God to always be with them. I would use this in my church - if you do not choose it for your VBS (and it would make a fantastic VBS), then get it to use on Sundays or Wednesdays or for a special family event, or ??? If you have it, you will find a place to use it! 

If you are looking for a solid VBS with a focus on living what you learn and a theme which is thoroughly woven through each part of the day, take a good look at Rolling River Rampage!