Sunday and (Wednesday - optional) evenings, and during the afternoons Monday - Thursday, your short
term mission team will do Vacation Bible School Outreaches at the specially chosen church you'll be
serving with for the week. The children will range in ages from 3-12. Often, the younger ones will be
accompanied by their moms. Teenagers will often participate as well or observe from a distance. The
children will all be together for the VBS time for several reasons; 1) the older children will be taking care of
their younger siblings and cannot be divided, 2) the children of Mexico are not as cooperative and it's
really difficult to separate them (we've already tried it), 3) the church you'll be at probably won't have the
facilities to do this anyway.
A Vacation Bible School is a great way to share the Gospel and disciple those who attend. We have
carefully and prayerfully put together this VBS package and have seen it produce great results. It
communicates a lot of step by step biblical truths and at the same time, is fun and interesting.
Your group will do a total of 5 main VBS's and one scaled down VBS (without a craft and snack
for the Wednesday Evening Outreach that falls midweek).
Sample V.B.S. Outreach Schedule (Approximate time 2 hrs.)
2:00 - 2:20 - Game time outside with children
2:20 - 2:35 - Song time (4 or so upbeat songs 2 or so slow songs)
2:35 - 2:50 - Puppet show
2:50 - 2:55 - Two short testimonies geared towards children
2:55 - 3:00 - Drama or skit if you have one
3:00 - 3:30 - Bible Story via DVD
3:30 - 3:40 - Memory verse via puppets
3:40 - 4:00 - Crafts & snacks
Below is more info on each part of the VBS:
Game time - 20 - 30 min.
Your group will play outside games with the children such as; jump rope, beanbag toss, ball tosses, duck
duck goose, soccer, bubbles, face painting, frisbee games, baseball (with plastic bats and balls, and etc.
You can organize your group into smaller groups who can be in charge of the various games happening.
There won't be large group games where all the children will be involved in, but various, smaller games
happening at the same time. The children usually will rotate and go from one game to the other as they
please. After game time, make sure each group picks up their sports equipment as the children will often
try to take it. This is a time to get to know the children and draw a crowd from the community. We would
ask, if you could, to bring some sports equipment with you for this time.
(There will be no play time for Sunday or Wednesday evening VBS's. These condensed VBS's will need to
fit within the message time of the Adult Outreaches. VBS's on Sunday and Wednesday evening will last
about 1 hour 15 minutes, so these VBS's will be a little shorter.)
Song time - 15 min.
If you're team is able (if not we can fill in for you) you will do 5-7 children's Spanish songs. Several of
these should be upbeat songs with motions and several can be slower songs. (There will be no song time
for Sunday or Wednesday evening VBS's as children will have participated in the song time with the adult
outreach and the VBS will need to fit within the message time of the adult outreach. VBS's on Sunday and
Wednesday evening will last about 1 hour 15 minutes, so these VBS's will be a little shorter.)
Puppet show - 15 min.
A big highlight of the V.B.S. is the puppet show. We have the puppets and the Spanish scripts. The
scripts are on a Cd and easy to follow. It basically involves voice recognition. Upon arrival, we'll show
those in your team, who want to be involved in this area, how to do it.
The theme for the puppet teaching time is as follows:
VBS 1 - Rom. 3:23 "All have sinned and the problem of mankind." (Sunday)
VBS 2 - Rom. 6:23 "The wages of sin and the gift of salvation." (Monday)
VBS 3 - Jn. 3:16 "God's love for all and His gift of Jesus." (Tuesday)
VBS 4 - Rom. 5:8 " Christ's payment for our sins." (Wednesday)
VBS 5 - No memory verse or crafts and snacks (Wednesday Evening)
VBS 6 - Rom. 10:9 "Alter Call to receive Christ and be saved. (Thursday)
Two short testimonies geared towards children - 5-10 min. total
Try to be brief (3-5 min.) and share something that God did in your life to draw you to Him when you were
a child. More on sharing your testimony
Bible Story - 30 min.
This is done via DVD on a large screen or TV. Because the children are more unruly in Mexico and
harder to control, we find a Bible Story via DVD works best. We provide the movies, big screen or TV for
this part of the V.B.S.
The theme of the Bible Story teaching time is as follows:
VBS 1 - "David and Goliath" (Sunday Evening)
VBS 2 - "Creation" (Monday)
VBS 3 - "Moses and the Ten Commandments" (Tuesday)
VBS 4 - "Life and Miracles of Jesus" (Wednesday)
VBS 5 - "Daniel & the Lion's Den" (Wednesday Evening. No crafts or snacks)
VBS 6 - "Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus" (Thursday)
Memory Verses - 10 min.
After each Bible Story time, we will spend a few minutes teaching the children the Bible verses (Except
Wednesday evening VBS). These verses are taught via puppets. The last day we will hand out prizes for
those who can say from one to all the verses. If your team could bring some prizes for the memory verses
it would be great (50-75 would be good). We'll talk more about what kinds of prizes at the bottom of this
page.
If your team would like to include the verse some way in your crafts, here's the verses and version we uses:
VBS 1 -Romanos 3:23 "Por cuanto todos pecaron y están destituidos de la gloria de Dios."
VBS 2 - Romanos 6:23 "Porque la paga del pecado es muerte, más la dádiva de Dios es vida eterna en
Cristo Jesús nuestro Señor."
VBS 3 - Juan 3:16 "Porque de tal manera amó Dios al mundo, que ha dado a su hijo unigénito, para que
todo aquel que en el cree, no se pierda más tenga vida eterna."
VBS 4 - Romanos 5:8 "Más Dios muestra su amor para con nosotros en que siendo aun pecadores Cristo
murió por nuestros pecados."
VBS 5 - No memory verse for Wednesday evening VBS as the children will have just been given one to
memorize during Wednesday afternoon's VBS.
VBS 6 - Romanos 10:9 "Si confiesas con tu boca que Jesús es el Señor y crees en tu corazón que Dios lo
levantó de entre los muertos serás salvo."
Craft & Snack time - 20 min.
This is an important time where your team's participation is important. The children are divided into groups
of ten, with one or two people from your team attending them. You will need to bring crafts and snacks for
at least 100 children (we will notify you if you'll need to bring more). Package the crafts in bags of ten
bags. Package the snacks, as well, in bags of ten. Put both the bags of crafts and bags of snacks in one
larger non-see through bag. Each large bag should contain all crafts and snacks for a group of ten
children. We have discovered that by forming groups of ten, and having them sit on the floor, works best
for crowd control. Each sack is for each group of ten children. Try to avoid candy and sweets for snacks.
Salvation Altar Call on the last day of VBS
The last VBS (Thursday), we"ll present a clear salvation invitation for children to receive Christ. This will
be the culmination and goal for all that has been done in the VBS's. It's a special time and many will pray
to receive Christ or recommit to Him.
Here's the verses we use in presenting the gospel to them:
Romanos 3:23 "Por cuanto todos pecaron y están destituidos de la gloria de Dios."
Romanos 6:23 "Porque la paga del pecado es muerte, más la dádiva de Dios es vida eterna en Cristo
Jesús nuestro Señor."
Juan 3:16 "Porque de tal manera amó Dios al mundo, que ha dado a su hijo unigénito, para que todo
aquel que en el cree, no se pierda más tenga vida eterna."
Romanos 5:8 "Más Dios muestra su amor para con nosotros en que siendo aun pecadores Cristo murió
por nuestros pecados."
Romanos 10:9 "Si confiesas con tu boca que Jesús es el Señor y crees en tu corazón que Dios lo levantó
de entre los muertos serás salvo."
Summery of what you need to be prepared to do and bring:
1. Bring game things to play with children during the play time.
2. Be prepared to sing some children's songs (If you need help let us know). For help with children's VBS
songs click here
3. Bring crafts and snacks for five VBS's with enough for 100 in each VBS.
4. 50-75 prizes for those who memorize VBS verses.
5. Come prepared to share 12 testimonies geared for children.
Here are some craft ideas:
Coloring books - You can photo-copy pages, or purchase a Bible coloring book (preferably in Spanish)
and have the children color them. Crayons needed.
Puppets - Use paper lunch sacks and provide pieces for their mouths, ears, and etc. Crayons needed for
this craft.
Paper plate half-masks - Beforehand, cut paper plates in half, punch holes by ears, and cut eye-holes and
a slot for the nose. Let the kids color them and put rubber bands through the holes. They can wear the
masks by putting the rubber bands around their ears.
Paper plate visors - Beforehand, cut paper plates in half and punch a hole near each corner. Have the
kids decorate them and tie a piece of pre-cut elastic through the holes to make a visor.
Crowns - Trace a simple outline of the front of a crown onto tag board or other stiff paper. Cut them out
and punch a hole at each end. Let the kids decorate them and put a piece of pre-cut yarn or elastic
through each hole. To put the crown on, place on head and tie strings in back.
Here are some snack ideas:
Single serving of canned fruit/applesauce, pudding (don't forget spoons.
Single serving bags of chips.
Single serving bags of peanuts.
Single serving boxes of raisins.
Single serving cookies, or animal crackers.
Granola bars
Individually wrapped Hostess/or similar treats.
Graham crackers.
Handi-Snacks (crackers and peanut butter, etc.)
It definitely works best if the snacks are individually wrapped and easily transported. It is often possible to
get stores in your area to donate these types of items.
VBS Prize info
These are given to children who can say from 1 to all of the memory verses. Prizes are a great way to
reward those who have worked hard to hide God's word in their hearts.
We'll give out varying kinds of prizes depending on how many verses the children can say. It is best to
hand out the same kind of prize for the amount of verses memorized. For example; all who can say one
verse would all get the same prize and etc. This helps with crowd control and cuts down on each child
wanting a different prize (when working with large numbers of children crowd control becomes important).
Normally, we'll take the prizes you bring and put them into our cache of prizes and hand out as most
appropriate.
Here's some ideas for prizes:
For saying 1 verse - Pencil with a small coloring book or workbook leaflets (in Spanish please).
For saying 2-3 verses: Rubber balls, small cars (boys) hair things (girls) crayons, party favors toys,
bubbles, dollar store stuff, coloring books or workbook leaflets (in Spanish please).
For saying 4-5 verses: Frisbees, jump ropes, soccer type balls, markers, coloring books (in Spanish
please), small stuffed animals, and etc.
Normally, we'll hand out about 40 prizes to those who can say 1 verse, about 25 to those who can say 2-3
verses and about 10 to those who can say all the verses. Of course, sometimes these numbers can vary if
we have more children in the VBS. Any extra items are put into our prize cache and used when numbers
are up at a VBS.
We would appreciate it, if you can get a hold of large amounts of coloring book type leaflets, pencils, or
crayons, to bring them down. They work great for prizes for those who say 1-3 verses.
Thank you for your thoughtfulness and we're looking forward to a great VBS with your team.
term mission team will do Vacation Bible School Outreaches at the specially chosen church you'll be
serving with for the week. The children will range in ages from 3-12. Often, the younger ones will be
accompanied by their moms. Teenagers will often participate as well or observe from a distance. The
children will all be together for the VBS time for several reasons; 1) the older children will be taking care of
their younger siblings and cannot be divided, 2) the children of Mexico are not as cooperative and it's
really difficult to separate them (we've already tried it), 3) the church you'll be at probably won't have the
facilities to do this anyway.
A Vacation Bible School is a great way to share the Gospel and disciple those who attend. We have
carefully and prayerfully put together this VBS package and have seen it produce great results. It
communicates a lot of step by step biblical truths and at the same time, is fun and interesting.
Your group will do a total of 5 main VBS's and one scaled down VBS (without a craft and snack
for the Wednesday Evening Outreach that falls midweek).
Sample V.B.S. Outreach Schedule (Approximate time 2 hrs.)
2:00 - 2:20 - Game time outside with children
2:20 - 2:35 - Song time (4 or so upbeat songs 2 or so slow songs)
2:35 - 2:50 - Puppet show
2:50 - 2:55 - Two short testimonies geared towards children
2:55 - 3:00 - Drama or skit if you have one
3:00 - 3:30 - Bible Story via DVD
3:30 - 3:40 - Memory verse via puppets
3:40 - 4:00 - Crafts & snacks
Below is more info on each part of the VBS:
Game time - 20 - 30 min.
Your group will play outside games with the children such as; jump rope, beanbag toss, ball tosses, duck
duck goose, soccer, bubbles, face painting, frisbee games, baseball (with plastic bats and balls, and etc.
You can organize your group into smaller groups who can be in charge of the various games happening.
There won't be large group games where all the children will be involved in, but various, smaller games
happening at the same time. The children usually will rotate and go from one game to the other as they
please. After game time, make sure each group picks up their sports equipment as the children will often
try to take it. This is a time to get to know the children and draw a crowd from the community. We would
ask, if you could, to bring some sports equipment with you for this time.
(There will be no play time for Sunday or Wednesday evening VBS's. These condensed VBS's will need to
fit within the message time of the Adult Outreaches. VBS's on Sunday and Wednesday evening will last
about 1 hour 15 minutes, so these VBS's will be a little shorter.)
Song time - 15 min.
If you're team is able (if not we can fill in for you) you will do 5-7 children's Spanish songs. Several of
these should be upbeat songs with motions and several can be slower songs. (There will be no song time
for Sunday or Wednesday evening VBS's as children will have participated in the song time with the adult
outreach and the VBS will need to fit within the message time of the adult outreach. VBS's on Sunday and
Wednesday evening will last about 1 hour 15 minutes, so these VBS's will be a little shorter.)
Puppet show - 15 min.
A big highlight of the V.B.S. is the puppet show. We have the puppets and the Spanish scripts. The
scripts are on a Cd and easy to follow. It basically involves voice recognition. Upon arrival, we'll show
those in your team, who want to be involved in this area, how to do it.
The theme for the puppet teaching time is as follows:
VBS 1 - Rom. 3:23 "All have sinned and the problem of mankind." (Sunday)
VBS 2 - Rom. 6:23 "The wages of sin and the gift of salvation." (Monday)
VBS 3 - Jn. 3:16 "God's love for all and His gift of Jesus." (Tuesday)
VBS 4 - Rom. 5:8 " Christ's payment for our sins." (Wednesday)
VBS 5 - No memory verse or crafts and snacks (Wednesday Evening)
VBS 6 - Rom. 10:9 "Alter Call to receive Christ and be saved. (Thursday)
Two short testimonies geared towards children - 5-10 min. total
Try to be brief (3-5 min.) and share something that God did in your life to draw you to Him when you were
a child. More on sharing your testimony
Bible Story - 30 min.
This is done via DVD on a large screen or TV. Because the children are more unruly in Mexico and
harder to control, we find a Bible Story via DVD works best. We provide the movies, big screen or TV for
this part of the V.B.S.
The theme of the Bible Story teaching time is as follows:
VBS 1 - "David and Goliath" (Sunday Evening)
VBS 2 - "Creation" (Monday)
VBS 3 - "Moses and the Ten Commandments" (Tuesday)
VBS 4 - "Life and Miracles of Jesus" (Wednesday)
VBS 5 - "Daniel & the Lion's Den" (Wednesday Evening. No crafts or snacks)
VBS 6 - "Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus" (Thursday)
Memory Verses - 10 min.
After each Bible Story time, we will spend a few minutes teaching the children the Bible verses (Except
Wednesday evening VBS). These verses are taught via puppets. The last day we will hand out prizes for
those who can say from one to all the verses. If your team could bring some prizes for the memory verses
it would be great (50-75 would be good). We'll talk more about what kinds of prizes at the bottom of this
page.
If your team would like to include the verse some way in your crafts, here's the verses and version we uses:
VBS 1 -Romanos 3:23 "Por cuanto todos pecaron y están destituidos de la gloria de Dios."
VBS 2 - Romanos 6:23 "Porque la paga del pecado es muerte, más la dádiva de Dios es vida eterna en
Cristo Jesús nuestro Señor."
VBS 3 - Juan 3:16 "Porque de tal manera amó Dios al mundo, que ha dado a su hijo unigénito, para que
todo aquel que en el cree, no se pierda más tenga vida eterna."
VBS 4 - Romanos 5:8 "Más Dios muestra su amor para con nosotros en que siendo aun pecadores Cristo
murió por nuestros pecados."
VBS 5 - No memory verse for Wednesday evening VBS as the children will have just been given one to
memorize during Wednesday afternoon's VBS.
VBS 6 - Romanos 10:9 "Si confiesas con tu boca que Jesús es el Señor y crees en tu corazón que Dios lo
levantó de entre los muertos serás salvo."
Craft & Snack time - 20 min.
This is an important time where your team's participation is important. The children are divided into groups
of ten, with one or two people from your team attending them. You will need to bring crafts and snacks for
at least 100 children (we will notify you if you'll need to bring more). Package the crafts in bags of ten
bags. Package the snacks, as well, in bags of ten. Put both the bags of crafts and bags of snacks in one
larger non-see through bag. Each large bag should contain all crafts and snacks for a group of ten
children. We have discovered that by forming groups of ten, and having them sit on the floor, works best
for crowd control. Each sack is for each group of ten children. Try to avoid candy and sweets for snacks.
Salvation Altar Call on the last day of VBS
The last VBS (Thursday), we"ll present a clear salvation invitation for children to receive Christ. This will
be the culmination and goal for all that has been done in the VBS's. It's a special time and many will pray
to receive Christ or recommit to Him.
Here's the verses we use in presenting the gospel to them:
Romanos 3:23 "Por cuanto todos pecaron y están destituidos de la gloria de Dios."
Romanos 6:23 "Porque la paga del pecado es muerte, más la dádiva de Dios es vida eterna en Cristo
Jesús nuestro Señor."
Juan 3:16 "Porque de tal manera amó Dios al mundo, que ha dado a su hijo unigénito, para que todo
aquel que en el cree, no se pierda más tenga vida eterna."
Romanos 5:8 "Más Dios muestra su amor para con nosotros en que siendo aun pecadores Cristo murió
por nuestros pecados."
Romanos 10:9 "Si confiesas con tu boca que Jesús es el Señor y crees en tu corazón que Dios lo levantó
de entre los muertos serás salvo."
Summery of what you need to be prepared to do and bring:
1. Bring game things to play with children during the play time.
2. Be prepared to sing some children's songs (If you need help let us know). For help with children's VBS
songs click here
3. Bring crafts and snacks for five VBS's with enough for 100 in each VBS.
4. 50-75 prizes for those who memorize VBS verses.
5. Come prepared to share 12 testimonies geared for children.
Here are some craft ideas:
Coloring books - You can photo-copy pages, or purchase a Bible coloring book (preferably in Spanish)
and have the children color them. Crayons needed.
Puppets - Use paper lunch sacks and provide pieces for their mouths, ears, and etc. Crayons needed for
this craft.
Paper plate half-masks - Beforehand, cut paper plates in half, punch holes by ears, and cut eye-holes and
a slot for the nose. Let the kids color them and put rubber bands through the holes. They can wear the
masks by putting the rubber bands around their ears.
Paper plate visors - Beforehand, cut paper plates in half and punch a hole near each corner. Have the
kids decorate them and tie a piece of pre-cut elastic through the holes to make a visor.
Crowns - Trace a simple outline of the front of a crown onto tag board or other stiff paper. Cut them out
and punch a hole at each end. Let the kids decorate them and put a piece of pre-cut yarn or elastic
through each hole. To put the crown on, place on head and tie strings in back.
Here are some snack ideas:
Single serving of canned fruit/applesauce, pudding (don't forget spoons.
Single serving bags of chips.
Single serving bags of peanuts.
Single serving boxes of raisins.
Single serving cookies, or animal crackers.
Granola bars
Individually wrapped Hostess/or similar treats.
Graham crackers.
Handi-Snacks (crackers and peanut butter, etc.)
It definitely works best if the snacks are individually wrapped and easily transported. It is often possible to
get stores in your area to donate these types of items.
VBS Prize info
These are given to children who can say from 1 to all of the memory verses. Prizes are a great way to
reward those who have worked hard to hide God's word in their hearts.
We'll give out varying kinds of prizes depending on how many verses the children can say. It is best to
hand out the same kind of prize for the amount of verses memorized. For example; all who can say one
verse would all get the same prize and etc. This helps with crowd control and cuts down on each child
wanting a different prize (when working with large numbers of children crowd control becomes important).
Normally, we'll take the prizes you bring and put them into our cache of prizes and hand out as most
appropriate.
Here's some ideas for prizes:
For saying 1 verse - Pencil with a small coloring book or workbook leaflets (in Spanish please).
For saying 2-3 verses: Rubber balls, small cars (boys) hair things (girls) crayons, party favors toys,
bubbles, dollar store stuff, coloring books or workbook leaflets (in Spanish please).
For saying 4-5 verses: Frisbees, jump ropes, soccer type balls, markers, coloring books (in Spanish
please), small stuffed animals, and etc.
Normally, we'll hand out about 40 prizes to those who can say 1 verse, about 25 to those who can say 2-3
verses and about 10 to those who can say all the verses. Of course, sometimes these numbers can vary if
we have more children in the VBS. Any extra items are put into our prize cache and used when numbers
are up at a VBS.
We would appreciate it, if you can get a hold of large amounts of coloring book type leaflets, pencils, or
crayons, to bring them down. They work great for prizes for those who say 1-3 verses.
Thank you for your thoughtfulness and we're looking forward to a great VBS with your team.
| Game Time |
| Song Time |
| Puppet Time |
| Testimony Time |
| Story Time |
| Craft Time |
| Fun |
| Developing Relationships |
 |  |  |
| Vacation Bible School Prep |
| | |
| Receiving Christ |