Christ's Church of the Valley VBS, Part 2

My kids are doing Christ's Church of the Valley's VBS again this week. I am going to re-post my thoughts from last year, because the same problem exists this year. When I picked my kids up (and my great-nephew Thomas, who is staying with us and attending VBS) from their first day yesterday, this was the conversation:

Me: Did you guys have fun?

Them: If we bring the most friends, we will win a Nintendo DS!

Me: Did you make any new friends?

Them: No, but can we bring all of our friends tomorrow, so we can win the DS?

Me: Did you learn anything?

Them: Yes, that if we bring the most friends we'll win a DS!

Again, CCV's VBS is poorly attended this year, with over 1000 kids on the first day. So read on, last year's thoughts are still applicable today.....



My kids recently attended VBS at Christ's Church of the Valley, where we regularly attend. My kids loved it, it's very well organized and very "whoopie".

I just have a few issues with CCV's VBS (I like typing and saying that...I say it out loud to myself every time I type it. Try it, it's fun!). The first is, CCV holds a contest among the kids for who can bring the most new people to VBS, and whoever wins gets a shiny new scooter.

Now, I realize, CCV's VBS is poorly attended. I know plenty of churches around here that get those numbers. Those numbers won't get CCV into any hall of fame, that's for sure..........

But on both Thursday and Friday morning's drive to camp, both of my older children were crying. Why? Because we had "forgotten" to bring friends to camp, thus ending their opportunity to win the shiny new scooter. For one, the sadness even turned into a twinge of anger at me, for not helping in the quest for the scooter.

Wow, fun camp! Can't wait for next year!

Putting pressure on children is more than slightly pathetic. If you absolutely can't help yourself in the quest for more more more, send a note home to the parents. Put the pressure on the people who are more equipped for it, the adults. Fight fair. You don't have to sit in the car for 35 minutes every morning with my children and talk them down from their ledge. VBS isn't supposed to make my life difficult and make my children feel stress.

My kids went to a lovely little VBS at a local Mennonite church with some friends a few weeks ago. This church had a total of 25 kids attending, in grades K-6. Gotta tell ya, there were no clowns or flashing lights or giant Moonbounces, but my kids didn't cry on the way to camp every morning....the attitude there was simply "your friends are welcome here!".

Also, CCV does tons of advertising beforehand. Tons of marketing. Which is great. Get the word out there. But once camp starts, why not focus completely on the kids who are ALREADY THERE? Why make the kids who are already there feel like it's not about them? You only win a prize around here if you bring more people.

My last issue is that it seems like CCV's VBS is just a big push to get more people coming to Sunday services. Get the parents to come back here. Do whatever it takes to get the families to come back on Sunday.

Why is so much focus on Sunday numbers? Why not just focus on the kids who come to camp? I realize that the paybacks of that focus would be much more long term than next Sunday, but shouldn't that be what a KID'S camp should be about? Planting seeds in children's minds and souls? So that in 10-20 years down the road when they get their first car, they might have a moment where they say to their mothers "hey, remember that cool VBS you took me to that one summer? Remember those Bible verses they taught me? I've been thinking about those lately, and I think I might want to go back there".

Slightly manipulative, I must say. And manipulating via children....

Hey, here's an idea...why not give out a scooter to whoever memorizes the most Bible verses?!!!!! At least that contest wouldn't be self-serving.

I can't help but feel like my kids were used as pawns in someone else's contest for THEIR shiny new scooter.....child labor is illegal, you know.