How to Increase VBS Attendance

Vacation Bible School has been planned, and soon the children will be registering for a week full of fun activities and friendships! Your volunteers are background-checked and ready to engage with these youngsters in a new way. The congregants are chatting about VBS attendance and who they’ll be inviting and carpooling with back and forth. There is excitement in the air for what is coming. The children’s Pastor has requested that everyone be in prayer on how to increase VBS attendance this summer and consider taking a personal interest in reaching out to the community in a fresh way. 

Consider these ideas to increase Vacation Bible School attendance and ultimately connect with families on a deeper level:

1. Create graphics that are the same printed and on social media so that your event is branded and easily recognizable as your week of VBS. 
2. Be sure to make all your social posts public. This way, congregants can share your messages.
3. Create a Facebook Event and pin it to the top of your Facebook page to encourage early registration.
4. Create a countdown calendar to share on social media, especially in the stories, and add some music to the stories to capture your audience and bring awareness.
5. Share 30-60 seconds videos in church and social media from previous VBS programs held on your premises to boost interest and create excitement.
6. Find parent groups on Facebook and ask if you can share your VBS event with them on their page. Parent groups are such a great resource!
7. Does your city/county list summer camps held in town online and/or in a publication? Get on their list! 
8. Reach out to your local school district and ask if you can include a VBS flyer in their school folders to welcome all the children at your neighborhood schools to a free week of camp. 
   • You can also reach out to daycares (with age-appropriate children) to invite and promote your Vacation Bible School. 
   • Ask some of your favorite local family restaurants if you could hang a VBS poster in their window. The worst they could say is no, but you won’t know unless you ask! Your congregants can also advertise VBS in their small businesses.

9. Spread the word! If children bring a friend, they are both entered in a drawing to win prizes. The benefit here is that the more friends they bring, the more chances to win! Prizes can be ice cream sandwiches, jump ropes, beach towels, goggles, hats, etc. 
10. Plan a community family kick-off event two weeks before VBS- perhaps an outdoor movie night. Before the movie, announce VBS and point people to a registration table and/or kiosk. Send them home with VBS invitations so that they can share with other families while they are out and about. 

The point of Vacation Bible School is to share the Gospel Message with children. And encourage them to be followers of Christ. Doing this in a safe, fun, and inviting environment optimizes engagement and further creates a sense of community. As a church, your goal is to increase VBS attendance, This will allow your church to positively impact the lives of families with eternal hope. 

Leigh Ann Shelley joined the ACST team in 2019. As a Product Marketing Manager, she oversees the launch and overall communication of key solutions to support the church’s needs. Prior to joining ACST, she spent several years in communications and graphic design roles. Most notably as a Communications Director for a large church in Florence, SC. Here she leveraged Realm to help solve key ministry challenges.