VBS 2015 Fact sheet 

Theme / Title : Celebrate our Big God under The Big Top!

Date : 3 - 5 Dec 2015

Main Bible memory verse : Psalm 145 : 3 - 7

Main lessons : Celebrate God the Creator, Saviour and King

Rationale :

1. The main objective of VBS has always been evangelistic / outreach in nature especially for unchurched children.

2. This year we continue to extend this purpose to focus more on under privileged unchurched children from homes.

3. PBC has been blessed with much and it is our duty to be a blessing for those around. Hence this year we are reaching out to children from homes with the gospel through VBS.

4. The target children for this year’s VBS would still be children from PBC, their unchurched friends and children from homes ages 5 - 12. There will however be a larger proportion of children from homes.

5. With this in mind, VBS will be exploring a new format and teaching approach that would be more effective to reach to the spectrum of children involved.

6. From past experiences we have noted that children from homes have limited language abilities, hence the usual in-class teaching methods have been of limited effectiveness.

7. To this end, VBS will be using more visuals and presentations to share the gospel as children from across all the spectrum would benefit from this approach.

8. VBS would be using “Gospel Shows” by our guest team from Allan & Friends Co. Allan is an experienced Christian in the field of using performances (magic shows, puppetry etc) to share the gospel to children. This would be a good opportunity to learn from others as we continue to grow in this ministry.

9. As this is a new approach, it naturally necessitates a number of changes in the format, which will be explained below.

Changes in format :

1. 3-day VBS. Given that it is more of a visual / presentation in nature, there is no need for a longer 5-day session. This is also a good opportunity for VBS to explore the possibility of a more compact VBS which could be replicated in smaller settings especially in conjunction with other mission outreach ministries. This is would be a good long term target to strive for, if possible. Given that it is fewer days, it is also hoped that some who have not been able to serve in this ministry previously due to work commitments might be able to do so.

2. Non-site rotation VBS. This year, there will be no site rotations. This is another approach to VBS which some other churches use, however to date, it has not been explored at PBC. This approach is less resource intensive ie. number of volunteers and logistic planning in terms of timing of classes for different groups would be reduced. This also contributes to a more mobile and compact design for VBS.

3. Common activity times. Arising from the above, VBS will adopt common activity times, this year as follows :

8.30am - 8.55am - Music-Praise-Movements

8.55am - 9.25am - General Session (Evangelistic-Gospel Show-Message)

9.30am - 10.00am Small groups (Bible lesson)

10.05am - 10.25 am - Tea break

10.30am - 11.20am - Workshops - 4 workshops - (repeated for 2 days) 3rd day will be used for Final Practice for group presentation

11.25am - 12.00nn - Practice and Preparation for Group Presentations

(*5 mins in between allocated for children moving from 1 location to another.)

4. Shorter in-class small group time. As noted above, there will be shorter in-class teaching times as the main gospel / lesson presentation will be done during the “General Session”. The small group time will be used to re-inforce the lessons learnt during the General Session. This will be similar to the time used previously in the classes to do some activity sheets / discussions with the children. Curriculum / lesson plan for these sessions will be provided. It is also hoped that with this type of sessions, newer teachers could be encouraged to teach some of the sessions. This is also in-line with the longer term objective of succession planning and raising new leaders / teachers.

5. Common tea break time. This schedule has a common tea break time for all children (estimated to be around 200 children). This means that food and drinks has to be served all at the same time. Food and drinks that are compact, simple and easy to serve would be ideal eg. similar to in-flight meals such as buns, tortilla and other bite sized finger food.

People requirements for VBS 2015 :

1. Teachers / Co-teachers. The new format would require teachers and co-teachers to stay with the children throughout the daily schedule. Teachers / co-teachers would be required to teach the children during the Small Group sessions as well as assist in the workshop sessions which would be led by the team from Allan & Friends Co. They will also accompany the children for the presentation practices.

2. Worship team members. As usual, VBS would still require the worship team to lead and teach the children the actions and songs.

3. General helpers. As this is a non-site rotation VBS, it frees up the other helpers from being restricted to specific roles. Helpers would be assigned to different roles as the need arises. It is also hoped that this would build up volunteers that can run different aspects of VBS in the future. It is hoped that eventually we would be able to gather many teams of helpers that can run a mobile and compact VBS at different locations and times.

Final note :

With all the above in mind, the theme of a travelling BIG TOP is most apt for this year’s VBS. All these changes are done to explore new possibilities and improvements as PBC continues to serve the LORD in this ministry.