Vacation Bible School Publisher 2007 Report Card

Every year Vacation Bible School publishers work hard to design materials that will meet the needs of directors, teachers, helpers, and students.  VBS directors from across the nation gave their favorite publishers a grade on materials published for 2007.  Here's how they did!

 

Grade your publisher for 2008 materials

 

Grades for 2007

 

Augsburg Fortress

Grade What did you like best? What did you like the least? Ideas to Improve Would you recommend this publisher? Denomination City/State

A

 Lessons, skits, snacks, science station, reproducilble music, just about everything! Some crafts needed to be reworked but ideas were decent   Yes Lutheran Pittsburgh, PA

A

 Their lessons were fantastic!  The kids absolutely loved the science! Everything went together so well!  We were VERY impressed! We tweaked one of the crafts. that is it. Add words to the Music DVD for the kids to sing along with it. Yes United Methodist Traverse City, MI

A

 Molly & Jonah Video, Science, Games, Music, Crafts, Student Books Music Video DVD missing lyrics, Needs more Clip Art on CD DVD lyrics & More Clip Art! Yes Evangelical Lutheran Church in America St Mary's, OH

A

 Music and Centers were wonderful! Curriculum books were well laid out. Decorating materials were easy to find. Science was a really great addition, and the Kindergarten and first grades loved it. We only use it for Preschool and Kindergarteners (3 -6 year olds) Opening skit was long, and difficult for even the older kids to stay with. Music video moves were very complicated for all kids. Try to include some healthier ideas for snack- something that may actually stick with the little ones.  Also, shorten the skits a little, or create a version for the younger kids. Have the actions for the songs in the song book match the DVD. Continue to add intergenerational ideas, but make sure they really appeal to families with children of a variety of ages- we are considering adding that component to our VBS next year. Yes ELCA Madison, WI

B

 Scripture content and theme. Music; boring Go back to using the music writers from Camp Creation and the Circus Spectacular. Yes United Methodist Newburgh, NY

 

Bogard Press

Grade What did you like best? What did you like the least? Ideas to Improve Would you recommend this publisher? Denomination City/State
B Theme, life applications and Bible study Music Better music and helps for worship rally/roundup Yes Southern Baptist Bossier City, LA
A Everything...it gets better every year!     Yes Missionary Baptist Rison, AR

 

Cokesbury

Grade What did you like best? What did you like the least? Ideas to Improve Would you recommend this publisher? Denomination City/State
A Science Lab/Discovery Center, Great high quality crafts, correlation between creating a prayerful lifestyle and hot air balloons, great online and telephone customer support. Emphasis on Mission Center incorporated into the material.  We did not use the mission component and had to re-write several portions to exclude this.  Our mission project was to provide materials for other VBS programs. Create a small toy of the mascot for the children to take home with them.  Also the music should be simpler. Yes United Methodist Rosemont, WV
A The awesome energy that comes from all of the centres and music coming together for the children. The science discovery lab was a little short on material for the 25 minute sessions. A few more suggestions for each day for the science discovery lab. Yes Anglican Brantford, Ontario

 

Concordia

Grade What did you like best? What did you like the least? Ideas to Improve Would you recommend this publisher? Denomination City/State

A

 Very thorough director's book Nametags   Yes Lutheran Louisville, KY

 

Cook

Grade What did you like best? What did you like the least? Ideas to Improve Would you recommend this publisher? Denomination City/State

A

 This was our best VBS hands down.  The adults were all excited about it.  The kids had a great time.  I can't think of any one BEST part. The theme was fun since it was hot outside. The kids got wet every day and it was a big hit. I did not like the fact the Cook did not have a message board where I could chat with other people doing WaterWorks Park.  I had to go to other venues to find other people to talk with  about ideas. Please have a board on the website like the other publishers.
 		 Yes Pentecostal Evansville, IN
A Music, simplicity, water theme Nothing bad - little bit of confusion on puppet patterns Keep it up! Yes Wesleyan Houlton, Maine

 

Gospel Light

Grade What did you like best? What did you like the least? Ideas to Improve Would you recommend this publisher? Denomination City/State

C

 Great music and many of the songs fit each day's bible story I don't like all these learning centers and a book for each center. I run a camp of 250 children and we still do self-contained classrooms, except this year we instituted a drama room for the bible story and that worked very well. Gospel Light used to put everything in one book and now I have to buy 2 or 3 books for each classroom and that gets expensive for 10 classes. So, I end up xeroxing a lot of pages for my teachers. You waste paper by putting in each book how to relate to children and the theme for each day etc. Also, the paper that gospel light uses is just plain cheap. When pages are double-sided, the one page shows through if you only want to xerox one side. The pages used to be perforated and they're not, so pages cannot  be torn out cleanly Go back to putting everything in one book. Centers do not allow teachers to have a personal relationship with their kids. Overall, gospel light is still the best program out there, because of music, skits, crafts and the bible content. We also do live skits. Once you do live skits, there is no comparison to showing a skit on a DVD. Yes Independent and fundamental Fort Washington, PA

B

 We liked the Crafts the best. Do not like all the learning centers. Put everything back in one book. That worked great. I think a lot of print is wasted the way you do the literature now. We have about 150 to 175 children and the centers do not work for us. Put everything in one book. Improve on your music and skit ideas. Yes Baptist Mansfield, LA

A

 Everything! The theme was a little hard to work with but still turned out awesome. Not much.  We love everything about the program Yes Nazarene Corona, CA

A

 The Music.  AND, we love the centers format with different books for each center.  As long as you have good "shepherds" to move the kids through the centers the relationship building takes place there.  The teachers love teaching the same lesson 3 times in one night (we have 400 kids). The Theme Center Proof read your curriculum better.  The daily mottos were different in the clip art than in the curriculum etc. Yes United Methodist Waco, TX

A

 Theme - kids and teachers loved it. Wish we could reproduce student books; we can't afford to buy them so must skip over all those activities. CD that would allow you to print student handbook pages. Yes Congregational /Methodist Millbury, MA

 

 

 

Group

Grade What did you like best? What did you like the least? Ideas to Improve Would you recommend this publisher? Denomination City/State

B

 The music (always one of my favorite things about Group's VBS)
 		 Crafts (they were kind of "lame" and the directions difficult for our first-time craft director) Go back to a "per child" daily challenge indicator (instead of posting one item per crew).  We've changed this aspect of the material for 2 years running now.  For example, we changed this year's crew WOW Cows to individuals horseshoes.) Yes Southern Baptist Titus, AL
A That it was easy to decorate for and Group answered any questions I might have That the Bible Lessons didn't have very much "meat" to it. The kids love drama, but there is more to drama than that. I think the Bible Lessons could use a little more meat. Yes   Hesperia, CA
A It is easy for volunteers to prepare their stations and to run them.  Group has it all mapped out for them which is great for new volunteers without much experience with kid's ministry.  Also the music is always a hit with the kids and volunteers Nothing If the kit is going to include what it did this year, I would like to see the "clip art" CD in it as well.  In previous years I would buy the Chadder's Video, Music Video, Clip Art and the Music CD bundle anyways.  So now that everything but the clip art is in the kit - I missed not having the clip art CD. Yes   Sechelt, BC
C Separate folder for different areas of teaching Some of the stories were not as effective as previous and some props did not work appropriately Better closing at the end of each service No Nazarene Cambridge, OH
B Clear themes and short verses Some crafts and snacks were too complicated, (crafts) esp. for preschoolers We changed crew to family because families are important in Hispanic cultures, our missions focus was street children in Hispanic countries because the blanket fabric wasn't available and I'd read last year's comments about the difficulties in tying. Yes PCA St. Louis, MO
A DRAMA VIDEOS, LIFE SIZE BUDDIES NO CLOSING PROGRAM DRAMA VIDEOS THAT TRANSFER TO MEDIA SHOUT Yes Protestant Blufton, IN
A Ease of use! Expense Cut costs down Yes Catholic Fort Worth, TX
A Music Crafts Crafts were either too simple or too complicated.  No in between. Yes Disciples of Christ Livingston, TN
A music, kids loved the bible memory buddies, chadder video some crafts inexpensive and hard for pre-schoolers have clipart of kids involved in theme-related activities (riding horses, spinning rope) Yes Baptist Fort Thomas, KY
A They put the Bible at the center of Bible School. We used the Holy Land Adventure series, not the Avalanche Ranch one. The Holy Land Series is excellent, and helps more than any curriculum I've ever encountered at teaching adults and kids what life was like in Bible times and also how to apply it to today's lifestyle. By the end of our VBS week, we had kids in the 1st grade able to write and explain simple Hebrew words, and they absolutely loved the marketplace shops. Some of them brought their parents in to try their hand at working with the tools. Nothing. It was across the board excellent. Keep going with the Holy Land series. Maybe doing something about the early church using Acts as the centerpiece, or do a series of Old Testament themes, many of which feature young people figuring out how to obey God-David, Daniel, Esther, Ruth, Jonathan, Abigail, Joseph, etc... Yes Non-denominational Fort Rucker, AL
B The Music is always top-notch. The Crafts and Missions are too expensive!  Not very doable financially for small churches.  I feel like they could make it a lot less expensive, if they didn't make you buy their stuff for the supplies. Less expensive, simplify - it's a little too much for someone to go through it all. Yes Baptist Bonham, TX
A Fantastic music.  Separate folders for each station.  Good lessons and verses that were enforced at each station. List of supplies and the expense if we had done it as written. Remember that all churches who purchase your curricula are not well off monetarily.  Though the ideas for so many costumes and props are good for larger churches with more to spend, it is a little daunting to see the supply lists.  We made some changes in logistics and were off and running with great success. Yes ELCA (Lutheran) Pennsylvania
A Music and individual folders for each day - kids loved the bible buddies. Crafts: too cheap looking. Add the clip art cd to the starter kit and lower prices on most things. Yes Baptist Paris Crossing, IN
B Mission Project - Bears.  Very cute and evangelistic.  Kids loved doing this craft. Bible stories - Lots of action in each, but watered down content with very little Gospel presentation, which should be essential.  Had to supplement with Child Evangelism Fellowship materials and internet resources. Include Gospel points (God loves you.  You are a sinner.  Jesus died for you.  You must receive him.)  Crafts were too expensive and quick.  We only used the Bears.  Wow Cows were too expensive.  We used a die-cut to save money.  Music was fun and kids liked songs, but some were too low for their range.  Include a definite closing program with gospel in it, for us to use.  We wound up using the Spotlight Drama pictures and added more dialogue.  The kids really liked getting their pictures taken. Yes Southern Baptist Booneville, MS
A The format was easy to use.  The music was great. The craft selections were not exciting.   Yes The Salvation Army Barrie, Ontario
B Music and Scripts for Bible Adventure and theme decorating ideas. Very creative. We use both Avalanche Ranch and Galilee by the Sea- the Music for Galilee was harder and we made up our own motions. Group is expensive to use. Crafts are not 'crafts' and kids like making things. SNACKS ARE SUGARY and not as healthy for kids as they could be especially for morning time use. I use their supplemental crafts but more and more creative would be great! It's a shame we can buy so much stuff less expensively elsewhere- would rather give you the business. Give away music CD could be in envelope and cut cost- etc. Yes Catholic Poughkeepsie, NY
B Everything is included in the major kit... no surprises. All the folders for everyone ready to go that is nice. Their songs were incredible as well. Theme. I guess It was great but we need something different than ranches and islands and safari's. They are too common. I would love to see a new theme such as circus, castle times, or even a heaven theme and a lot more decorating ideas. Yes Christian Church Beeville, TX
A Music, Creative storytelling methods. COST There needs to be ONE supply list. Station leaders expect everything provided for them. Put more of the Gospel in the general version. Yes Baptist Philadelphia, PA
B The Daily Bible Points & Theme (The week covers some of the most well know bible stories in a new and interactive way). The Crafts & Music (The music is great, but there were very few songs to choose from. The crafts were costly and there wasn't much to choose from.) More Music (It's great! I'd like some more!) Decorating Book or DVD (DVD from 07-08 was way too hard, nothing for anyone on a small budget!) New theme, Jerusalem Marketplace was a repeat from 2005. Yes Roman Catholic Topeka, KS

 

LifeWay

Grade What did you like best? What did you like the least? Ideas to Improve Would you recommend this publisher? Denomination City/State
A It is God-centered and complete It is hard to fit it all in   Yes Southern Baptist Ely, MN
A Numerous ideas to support theme Writing for groups smaller than 20 Include ideas for VBS groups of 30 or more Yes Southern Baptist Manhattan, IL
A Biblical. Theme was sports-related. Kids enjoyed it Nothing   Yes Baptist Baxley, GA
A The ease of sharing the plan of salvation Expense of the material   Yes Southern Baptist West Jefferson
D Clip Art and online decorating helps Omission of words to songs in Worship Rally handbook. VBX curriculum was not clear in Bible Study and caused directors to make up their own. Clip art back in director's book --printed material for directors instead of cd -- not everyone has a computer. Yes Southern Baptist Gun Barrel City, TX
A It was easy to decorate for and the children could relate to it so easily. Music hand signals   Yes Baptist Rhonda, NC
B THE THEME AND BIBLE VERSES AND PASSAGES, IF IT WAS'N FOR THE BIBLE LESSON FORMAT I WOULD GIVE AN A THE BIBLE LESSON FORMAT, IT WASN'T VERY EASY TO TRANSMIT, SPECIALLY WITH ALL THOSE REFERENCE TO THE VISUAL MATERIAL, IT MADE ME GET CONFUSED UTILIZE MORE DRAMA, AND MAKE THE BIBLE LESSONS MORE APPEALING TO KIDS AND VBS PERSONNEL Yes   Manati, Puerto Rico
A Biblical Content No complaints Yes Southern Baptist Cookeville, TN
A Fantastic theme, easy to decorate for, Bible stories very good, songs wonderful, heard children singing them in the halls, more acitivities than we could use so lots of choices. Buying a cactus for 200 preschoolers not practical in our area (not a big problem, we just bought one for each class Please try out all art and center activities to be sure they work and supplies are easy to find. Yes Baptist Fayetteville, GA
C Great Theme Stories and teacher Bible study too watered down, Game #3 flipping story pictures were a distraction and kids had a hard time doing it.  Learner guides were not worth the money, only two of the days were really worth looking at. Crafts such as the paddle ball field for game #2 did not work as directions stated, some were also very expensive to make. More application.  Better story-telling ideas and discussion ideas.  Crafts should be cost effective or have substitution ideas and should not be so hard to make that the leader has to do most of the craft for the child. Yes Southern Baptist Fredericksburg, VA
B   In my personal opinion we are putting entirely too much emphasis on the theme.  The theme was easy to decorate for but the emphasis was on the theme. Probably everything for 2008 has been decided.  However, my suggestion is to have everything more Bible related, including decorations and crafts.  This is the only religious training some children will ever receive.  Also,I don't know the solution for crafts but children K-3 cannot do what children 4-6 can do.  Crafts suitable for K-3 are too juvenile for 4-6.  Also, all crafts need to be safe for children. Yes Baptist Manchester, KY
C Good theme, fun to work with, lots of great extra materials available to go along with theme. They did not use children in their music demonstration video.  They used a man standing alone even when he was motioning to hold hand and put arms around the person next to you.  Very confusing and poorly done. Use KIDS in you music demonstrations! Yes Non-denominational Boca Raton, FL
A The theme causes the children to grasp the meaning of the activities they are doing and therefore grasp the points of each lesson and be able to carry it with them longer on a daily basis. There is so much stuff that is in the curriculum to do that you do not want to omit any of it, but you do not have time for it all! Just fixing the DVD and music presentations to work with BOTH Power Point AND media Shout Yes Church of God Russell Springs, KY
C   The skit was not very interesting for the children. It was very weak in teaching about Christ and more about the theme.Too bad! While it is important to make things interesting for children, we're here to teach them about Jesus. We need a little more focus and a little less theme Yes Non-Denominational Baton Rouge, LA
A They listened! We asked for separate materials on snacks, rec and crafts for preschool and they did it. Also, they also listened to us when we requested that the missions segments relate to the theme. No complaints. Include ways to transfer from VBS to Sunday School in the leader guides. Yes Southern Baptist Russellville, KY

 

 

 

Regular Baptist Press

Grade What did you like best? What did you like the least? Ideas to Improve Would you recommend this publisher? Denomination City/State
A It had something for everyone.  From kids to adults all enjoyed this bible school program. Hard to decorate for.  Hard to come up with ideas. Wider range of games and craft ideas.  Games were fun, but would like some different options, not just about the memory verses. Yes Baptist Rushmore, OH

 

Standard Publishing

Grade What did you like be