Amanda Peck: How to Level Up Your VBS
When you think about a 1,200-kid VBS, it’s easy to assume it’s all hype and high energy. But what actually makes an event like that work?
In this episode, Jeremy sits down with Amanda Peck, Children’s Director at The Grove Community Church, to pull back the curtain on what it takes to execute VBS at a high level year after year. From leadership structure and volunteer empowerment to signage, registration systems, and follow-up strategy, Amanda shares practical insights that churches of any size can apply immediately.
You’ll hear:
Why “less is more” has become their guiding philosophy
How to decide between writing your own VBS or using a kit
The power of branding (and why they call it Summer Splash)
How to create a smooth day-one experience for families
Why handwritten postcards still matter
The leadership structure that keeps a massive event running smoothly
Whether you’re launching VBS for the first time or refining a long-standing tradition, this conversation will help you simplify, sharpen your focus, and remember what matters most.
Because at the end of the day, if even one child meets Jesus — it’s worth it.
Quick Links:
Transcript:
KIDMIN U Team (00:00)
man, and welcome to the podcast.
Amanda Peck (00:02)
Thank you for having me, Jeremy. It's so good to see you.
KIDMIN U Team (00:06)
Okay, this one is a treat for me. For those who don't know, Amanda and I worked together probably a decade ago at this point, I think, since I left and took my first kids past her job. It might, I'm starting to feel my age a little bit. But back in the day, Amanda and I worked together and the reason I wanted to bring her on is because her superpower is organization and administration and details and logistics. And when it comes to VBS, I don't think there's anybody who thinks about it quite like Amanda.
Amanda Peck (00:13)
Yeah, it might have been longer than a decade. ⁓
face.
KIDMIN U Team (00:35)
So we're in for a treat. This is going to be super fun. Before I just hype you up like crazy, Amanda, do you want to introduce yourself a little bit and tell people where you serve and what you're up to these days?
Amanda Peck (00:42)
Yeah,
absolutely. Yeah, my name is Amanda Peck and I have the privilege and honor of serving at the Grove Community Church in Riverside, California. And I have been in my specific role as Children's Director for about a little over 10 years now, but I've almost been at the Grove for 20 years. I celebrate my 20th anniversary in May, so I'm excited about just being in, it's so honoring to be in the same place for so long. But other than before that, I've...
probably been in ministry about 25 years, specifically in kids ministry. And it is such a joy and an honor to just partner alongside parents. But besides being in ministry, I'm also a mom of three girls. I have a 16 year old, a 13 year old, and then also a seven year old at home. And I've also been married to my husband Bobby for 20 years too. So it is quite a party always in Riverside, California.
KIDMIN U Team (01:31)
Yep. A percent. A very, warm party in the middle of the California heat, but for sure. Okay. So this episode, we're talking all things VBS. And just to give you your flowers for a moment, the Grove does a VBS on a level that very few churches I think do. And the Grove, for people who don't know, that's where I grew up. I mean, this is the church that I was born and raised in.
Amanda Peck (01:35)
Yes, absolutely.
KIDMIN U Team (01:58)
It was my first ministry job, worked on staff for seven years, five of those in the kids ministry with Amanda. And I don't think I realized at the time just how lucky I was to get a front row seat to all of that. think when you grow up in it, you don't even realize how weird it is or how unique it is to have 1200 kids who come to your VBS. Like that is not normal at all. And yet I feel like so much of what I know now and do now and things like that as it relates to VBS.
Amanda Peck (02:17)
Yep. Yes. No.
KIDMIN U Team (02:27)
really started with what I just got to witness firsthand, a model that was kind of already established, things I got to learn from. And I know you were a huge part of all that. Maybe as we kind of get started on this topic, give us a little bit of an overview of what a regular day looks like of VBS from start to finish.
Amanda Peck (02:33)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Yeah, absolutely. So yeah, so we run, like Jeremy was saying, about 1200 to 1300 kids and we have 600 volunteers that volunteer for Summer Splash. we, our age range is about, it's kindergarten through going into sixth grade. So we have a wide age range. And so basically kids come in, we run a morning vacation Bible school. And so kids come in, they go to their classroom or the, or even large group check-in for our elementary kids, which is our big worship center.
And there we're going to kick it off as like a huge party. So we're having, you know, really lively worship, you know, a host that's going to guide us through. We have a skit that the kids can buy into with the Bible stories throughout the week. And then we send them off into rotations where they're going to rotate through the craft and snack time. They're going to have a game time. And then also like that small group connect time. Because that's also, although we're large, that small group connect time is still so crucial.
to building relationships with the kids. And then we'll wind it back down by coming back together for some more worship and then sending them all sugared up, hyped up for their parents where hopefully they'll take a good nap in the afternoon. Yeah. Thanks.
KIDMIN U Team (03:55)
I it. That was a really good description, I think. Okay, I
might be putting you on the spot here, but one thing that's different, I just noticed, is that now the age range is just elementary or kinder and up. Back in the day, I remember we did preschool. Yeah, take me into that change. What went into shifting the age group?
Amanda Peck (04:05)
Yeah. Yeah. We were three years old.
Yeah, absolutely. So back when I first started, we would do three years old pre-K and kinder. And the reason that we started seeing that shift was a lot of our three-year-olds were having a really hard time making it throughout the whole morning without having to call like a mom or a dad, you know, or just even the potty training aspect was a whole different thing. So we thought, OK, let's just cut it down to. So then we shifted it to just pre-K and kinder.
for a while. And honestly, the shift to just kinder is a new shift within the past two years. Right now, we'll still offer pre-K to our ⁓ volunteers who are serving all five days, as that's kind of like a perk. So if you have a pre-K student, you can enroll. But we were finding we could, our ratios were more limited with the littler kids, where we were finding we could kind of just get more with the older kids and transitioning them, moving them from room to room.
where with the littler kids, were really having to just be more like the transitions were harder and they were having a hard time with crying.
KIDMIN U Team (05:16)
Yeah, that's one of the things I've noticed too with the younger age groups. They do have a hard time with an event like that. I think even we saw this with summer camp too in a similar way, right? When you have third, fourth, even fifth graders who were up at camp for the first time, you you're often going to deal with more homesickness and things like that. Same deal if you've got three and four year olds at VBS. I really do think for people who are starting from scratch, you know, like they've never done a VBS before.
Amanda Peck (05:22)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm. Right.
Absolutely. Yep. Yes. Yes.
Mm-hmm.
KIDMIN U Team (05:44)
I the easiest place to start probably would just be with elementary. That's one of the things we talk about in the book, by the way, start there because it's always easier to add than take away, which leads me to my next thing. When you had to make that shift and kind of take it away, how did you handle that sort of change management to not frustrate a bunch of parents?
Amanda Peck (05:47)
Absolutely. Yeah.
Absolutely. Woo! Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah, and I think you're going to have to realize you're never going to make everyone happy. So I think for like the first year, what we would do is be like, OK, we're not offering three years old or pre-K. But you know, if you volunteer this year, we will have a classroom just for the threes or the pre-K. And that really helped that transition of like, well, if I volunteer, like there is an option for me to get my littler one in.
KIDMIN U Team (06:24)
Hmm.
Amanda Peck (06:29)
But, know, and we also realized that's not an option for everyone, because not everyone can volunteer during the day, all five days. So, but that would help is just kind of like, well, we don't have it this year open, but we do have this as an opportunity available. So that kind of softened the blow a little bit. The other thing we would do is just kind of even mention like starting that conversation almost like right after VBS is like, hey, next year we're going to shift to just the kinder.
through sixth grade model will no longer be offering the pre-K. So it kind of like doesn't take parents by surprise when they go to register or sign up and they're not like, you know, they had this expectation in their head of like, I'm gonna register all my kids, I'm getting them all out of the house. And then surprise, surprise, we've eliminated a grade. So I think even just starting that conversation a year in advance, so people aren't caught off guard. And then the ones that do have a hard time with it, you know, just having those personal conversations and
explaining the vision and the why. And I know for us, it's becoming a space matter, even with a church as large as The Grove, we're running out of space. So it's like, how do we get as many kids in as we can and safely have them here while everyone's having a great time? So it's just those conversations that we have to have with each other as a staff and then also with our parents as well.
KIDMIN U Team (07:46)
Yeah, I think that's why it's how you handle all that. Cause it, takes time. know, you can't just decide one year, you know, when you open registration, Hey, we're just not doing it anymore. ⁓ I think you guys do a good job. I think honoring people along the way. Okay. One thing that's interesting about the Grove, it may be not unique. Lots of churches do this. You don't call it VBS. You may as a description, but you have your own branded name for it called summer splash.
Amanda Peck (07:49)
Mm-hmm.
Right.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
KIDMIN U Team (08:13)
Let's have this conversation a little bit,
and this might be most relevant for people who are thinking about launching a new VBS and they've got to make the decision. Do I just call it, my church's name VBS, or do I come up with a fun name like summer splash or summer blast or something like that? ⁓ what's the advantage having done it for so long? What's the advantage of having your own brand for that?
Amanda Peck (08:19)
Mm-hmm.
Right.
Yeah.
Yeah, I think that advantage comes from like sometimes people was like, ⁓ VBS when I grew up, it was, you know, it looks like something different. So they already have a predefined definition of what they think vacation Bible school should look like. Where with this, when it's your own brand, your own name, it's like, Hey, let me tell you what summer splash is. It's games, it's high energy. Your kids are still going to learn the Bible, but it's like, I get to define.
what people have in their definition of what Summer Splash is rather with Vacation Bible School, although a great program, not everyone had a positive experience in a Vacation Bible School model. So I think the fact that I get to define and our church gets to define what that looks like is a real positive of having like branding it yourself and calling it what you want to call it. Summer Splash sounds a lot more fun than Vacation Bible School. I don't want to go to school again in the summer.
⁓ But I would like to go play in the water and have fun.
KIDMIN U Team (09:28)
Ha
That is probably the most fun part about Summer Splash is there's water every year. You don't have to wonder if there are gonna be water games. Yeah. So that is one of the unique things that I really, really love. And even I think being part of a church that had its own conference for the last few years, when we decided to roll out a kids event, we just called it a kids conference. Like we didn't even call it a BBS, even though it had the same structure, the same flow, same everything.
Amanda Peck (09:35)
Yes, yes, every year, even when it's cold. Yes, yes.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah. Yes.
Yes. Yeah.
KIDMIN U Team (10:00)
I was basically running a BBS. I just had a different name for it. And I think
to what you were saying, it probably makes it a little bit more approachable for a new family or somebody who just brings their own definition of what BBS is that may or may not be what you're actually doing at your church.
Amanda Peck (10:12)
Yes. Yeah. And
I think it also helps bring in the non-church family as well. They might be reluctant to send them to a Bible school, but like, ⁓ an event where there's water games, and although Bible is still a huge aspect of what we're doing, but you might get those families who are not church more apt to send their kid to something like Summer Splash rather than a vacation Bible school.
So I think there's there's pros and cons to everything. I mean, I think in my head, because I grew up Southern Baptist, I still call it BBS. It kind of is interchangeable language. So I have to and also we'll call it we'll refer to it a lot as like a day camp. Because it's like, you know, some people think, do I get to let my kids spend the night? I'm like, no, you have to come pick them up every day. We do not we do not offer sleeping here.
KIDMIN U Team (10:56)
Yeah.
Yeah. Well, and I think even in this day and age too, I think there is a shift away from overnight things for kids. think parents are already just getting more and more uncomfortable about the idea of where their kids go. Even if it's a church, even if it's a place they trust, it's just, it's a big ask nowadays for parents. And so, yeah, I think it is a little more approachable when it's, Hey, drop off, pick up whatever, whether it's a half day, full day. I think for that reason, I mean, I know the Grove.
Amanda Peck (11:05)
Yes, yes.
Yes, absolutely.
KIDMIN U Team (11:27)
loves doing summer camp for kids. Do you guys still do summer camp by the way, even for elementary?
Amanda Peck (11:30)
Mm-hmm.
We do
it, we started at fifth grade. So we don't do it for our elementary. We did a day camp for a while, but then COVID happened and it kind of all shifted. So right now we just do summer camp fifth and up.
KIDMIN U Team (11:35)
Okay, yeah.
Yeah, I was going to say, because that is a pretty, pretty important tradition for a church like the growth. Like families love that. They look forward to it for churches that don't have it yet. And they're making this decision. Do I do a VBS and camp or do I do a VBS or camp? I think for that reason, it's like, Hey, if you're just starting out, I don't know if I would introduce a summer camp for elementary yet. You know what I mean? ⁓ for churches who've had it, it's amazing, you know, but it's different now. Yeah.
Amanda Peck (11:49)
or did it.
Right.
Right.
Mm-hmm. Right.
Over. Yeah, because, Mm-hmm. And I think it's
really impactful of what you can handle, especially with elementary kids. There's a lot you could put in in three hours and then allowing them to go home, eat the food that they like at home, make sure they're getting a good night rest, and then coming back again rested in the morning where summer camp, you're really dealing with all the emotions of kids, especially a sleepaway camp. So.
KIDMIN U Team (12:24)
Yeah.
All of it.
Amanda Peck (12:34)
But yeah, all
of it. But yeah, if you're just starting out, you could always, like I think you said, add. You know what I mean? You could always go bigger. Start simple. Start with what you know you can tangibly handle. And then you could always grow, expand, change. But it's just always fun to start somewhere. And then just honestly just start simple. And you can always expand on it.
KIDMIN U Team (12:57)
That's great advice. Okay, as we're talking about making things approachable for a new family and welcoming people who don't come to your church, this is a big question when it comes to VBS. And I think sometimes when people have a knock on VBS, they might say that this is something that's just for church kids. It doesn't actually do a good job of reaching new families. First of all, I think that's a lie. That's not been what I've seen. Like all the data I've looked at at every church that I've ever done a VBS.
Amanda Peck (13:03)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
KIDMIN U Team (13:25)
At minimum, we have like 20 % of our kids are new families who don't go to our church a lot of times much more. So I don't think that's legitimate, but I do think if you're not careful, it can easily become the sort of ministry. It's just for the kids in your church. So with that in mind, what are some of the things that you do specifically to gear it towards people who aren't in your church?
Amanda Peck (13:28)
Yes.
Yeah.
Absolutely, yep.
Yeah, we really encourage people to just invite a friend and we're happy to put friends with friends. We don't honor a lot of friend requests, but we will like if you're inviting your friend, we want you guys to be together, especially if you're in the same group. We'll also start marketing it. Like we have like community centers that are nearby at the Grove. And so we'll start marketing summer splash there. We'll even take it within the schools and using the school system to put out flyers. Not every school will let us do it.
But we do have partnerships with some of the schools too. They know that we've partnered with so many schools that they know the Grove is a safe place that they can recommend to families. And so we have kind of built that reputation within our community that, hey, that's a safe place where I can send my kids. So whether it's through the school system or the parks, we definitely target those audiences to even going door to door and putting flyers on our neighbors' doors saying like, hey, we have this event coming up.
In the summer, we'd love to have your kids come and join us. And so just really trying to spread the word that way. And word of mouth has for sure gotten around too. It's always crazy to me when we open up registration, how I'll see our community like social media sites blow up of like the Grove's registration is open, like go, go, go. And it's like a race in time to get registered for summer splash.
KIDMIN U Team (15:04)
Yeah.
Well, I imagine it fills up every year, right?
Amanda Peck (15:11)
every year. So we used to start registration like right after Easter. But then sometimes like especially with an early Easter this year, we're like, my gosh, registration is open for two months. We fill up in three weeks. And then for a month and a half, we're having to tell people like, my gosh, we're sorry, it's full already. And so we don't start opening registration till May after Mother's Day this year, just because it's like it really does fill up within like two to three weeks.
And that's also another thing with Vacation Bible School is do you register or do you not? know, do you do a pre-registration or do you just allow people to walk in that day? And I think what we have found for the Grove, it works, is that pre-registration is what works for us because we're ordering t-shirts, we're putting them in classes. You know, it's a little bit more detail oriented where I see that other churches just come the day of and register. So I think you just have to find
KIDMIN U Team (16:00)
Yeah.
Amanda Peck (16:02)
what works for your church and your system.
KIDMIN U Team (16:06)
Yeah, well, especially if you're going to fill up every year, you have to have registration. Otherwise you have no idea if there are people showing up and then they're just frustrated. Like it would be chaotic. If that ever happened, I think it's a grove.
Amanda Peck (16:09)
Yeah.
my gosh.
Yes. Yes. ⁓ I like thinking like,
my gosh, people are getting lined up at 4am. they're kidding. Nobody wants to do that. I know. Nobody wants to do that. So we do the pre-registration and then once and then we really try our hardest and once we fill up and we start a waiting list, we truly try to get every child that is on the waiting list on just because we want everyone to be able to experience. But for us, also
KIDMIN U Team (16:23)
Yeah, they would. They would. Yeah.
Amanda Peck (16:43)
It's finding that balance of having safe numbers. We want to make sure our ratios are good at a safe capacity. It's always fun to be like, my gosh, this year we blew it out of the water. We have a million children. But is it safe? the volunteers having fun with the numbers and ratios that are in your classes? So it's just trying to find that. If I can get the volunteers, I'll put the kids in if we have the space. So it's a dance that we play all throughout the month of May and June of trying to maximize the amount of space and volunteers that we have.
KIDMIN U Team (17:13)
Yeah, 100%. Okay, so ⁓ when it comes to registration, one thing I'd love your thoughts on is this idea of free versus paid. One thing that surprised me a little bit in my research for the book is realizing just how many churches offer it for free. And I noticed even as I was gathering a lot of that feedback that some of it is regional. Here in California, where I've done almost all of my ministry,
Amanda Peck (17:18)
Thank you.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah
KIDMIN U Team (17:36)
Almost every VBS out here is paid. Like that's just normal here on the West coast. But if you go into the Midwest, Bible Bell, maybe even the East coast, I'm not sure all of the regions, but it seems like that part of the country, it's very normal. It's very traditional to have it for free. So we're not trying to change anybody's mind if they already have a way that they do it. If it's been free forever, keep it free. If you've done a price, great. But for those of us who
Amanda Peck (17:39)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
Yeah. Yep.
KIDMIN U Team (18:04)
maybe are starting a VBS and we're trying to make that decision, do we offer this for free or do we charge money for it? What would you tell them?
Amanda Peck (18:12)
You know, I think you have to also look at what other churches of your size are doing in your area. Reach out and kind of see like, okay, what are other churches doing? Because it's not just what your church is doing, it's the Big C church, right? And so I think just looking out and seeing. And then I also have to think like, you have to think of like the staff that you have, the resources you have, like, do you have time if your craft requires toilet paper rolls? Like, do you have time to collect them and clean them and...
get them ready or do you just need to have space where you can go and purchase them? So I think it just determines on like the staffing that you have, the amount of time you have to put things together. Do you have a church that like, hey, like we are just gonna be donation based, like where you tell us the crafts you want and then we're gonna get all that for you. In a large scale matter, I have to have every craft look the same in order to have, just so it just makes sense.
with our leadership and with our teams that are putting it out for us. So it makes sense for us to not go the donation route. So I think it just depends on your church, on like, just what even like your leadership board, I think that's also a conversation you have with your leadership team at your church of what they recommend, what have they done in the past. And I think there's also, there's a buy-in, even if a family has to pay, you know, $5 for their entry to a vacation Bible school,
You're going to see that child and that family coming back every single day because the family has a buy-in as in compared to offering it for free. That has been my experience. If there's some buy-in. However, on the flip side, we will never let money be a reason that a child cannot come to Summer Splash. If a family needs a scholarship, we will most likely always scholarship at least half, if not more than half of the amount.
just because we want every child to be able to experience. So, it's at Catch-22. You also have to look like daycare is so expensive in Southern California, and people will pay hundreds and hundreds of dollars a week to put their kids in daycare or in a day camp. And so we want to be able to operate what we do really well and have really fun snacks and really fun crafts. And so we need to be able to ask a cost in order to do that.
KIDMIN U Team (20:11)
Yeah.
Amanda Peck (20:27)
⁓ But again, it depends on your region, depends on your church leadership and their vision. And so I would say just ask questions. If you're just starting out, just start asking questions of not just your leadership, but also the churches, what other churches do around you and go from there.
KIDMIN U Team (20:43)
Yeah, I think that's really good feedback. And I think one thing that's hard for kids ministry people to maybe accept is this idea of the value that parents are actually getting. I know none of us like to think about it as childcare because it's not, but that is the equivalent, right? When it comes to the price point and that whole equation is a parent is thinking if I were to take my kid anywhere else for three hours or for all day, what would I be paying?
Amanda Peck (20:45)
Mm-hmm.
Right.
Mm-hmm.
KIDMIN U Team (21:11)
And so again, even though we don't want to think about it that way, That is the thing that a parent's find that they're comparing a price to. And so if we feel like $50 is so much, it's like, my gosh, who's going to pay $50? Well, that family might be paying two or $300 for childcare on a regular day. to them, like that's actually a steal.
Amanda Peck (21:11)
Mm-hmm.
No, you're good.
Right.
Right. Absolutely.
KIDMIN U Team (21:32)
I think for those people who feel a little bit uncomfortable about a certain price point, try to just look at what else is out there and remember, you're not crazy. You're not charging too much. I will always be an advocate to keep it as low as you can for obvious reasons. You're not trying to make money. That's never the goal. your price, by the way, if your price point is set up so that you can make revenue, you're doing it wrong. At minimum, it's to break even.
Amanda Peck (21:33)
Exactly.
Mm.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. No.
Yeah.
KIDMIN U Team (21:59)
I think sometimes just recover some of the cost, know, if anything, just to have some skin in the game like you talked about. But it is okay to charge money. That's not evil.
Amanda Peck (22:00)
It is. Yep.
Mm-hmm.
Mm hmm. Yep. Yep. No, it's totally not.
And it's okay to not charge money. Again, it's like there's pros and cons to both sides. And I don't think one argument is more right than the other. You just have to kind of do what works for your region, your church. Yeah, but it's always a party no matter what. It'll still be fun.
KIDMIN U Team (22:19)
100%.
Yeah.
Okay. So this is going to be a broad question and I'm curious where you'll take it. It's been probably, I don't know, we, I don't even know what the math is. Probably like 10 years maybe since I've seen what summer splashes really like and what you're up to and what that, ⁓ how it might have shifted over time. What's different now? How have you shifted and evolved? And then we talked about age ranges, but you know, when you even just think about the experience that or how you operate or how you plan.
Amanda Peck (22:31)
Okay. Okay.
Okay.
Yeah.
you
Yeah.
KIDMIN U Team (22:56)
What is the big difference now as opposed to maybe 10 years ago?
Amanda Peck (22:59)
Yeah.
Yeah, I would say the biggest difference is less is more. Less is so much more. ⁓ Keeping the storyline or whatever you use as close, simple, close to the gospel as you can, because it really like has the, you know, Summer Splash is always like, or Vacation to Public School like hype and crazy and it's just always fun. But I think just that less is more, keeping it simple because
KIDMIN U Team (23:04)
Mm-hmm.
Amanda Peck (23:23)
I really don't want just the kids to have their best week of the whole year. I want my volunteers to really have their best week too. And so how do I make it fun and enjoyable for them? So even just some things that we've been trying to be really intentional about how we translate like what's happening on stage and the skit and the Bible story to now how does it, is it cohesive to what's happening in small group time? Because I remember 15 years ago it was like, my gosh, this is two separate things. They don't even fit together or that's our
KIDMIN U Team (23:31)
Hmm.
Yeah,
Amanda Peck (23:52)
That's a stretch. so,
KIDMIN U Team (23:54)
sure.
Amanda Peck (23:56)
like trying to be really intentional on how does the story, the Bible story for the day connect to what's happening in small group to what's happening in the craft room to what's happening out on the game field. Is it intentional where all ties in together where we're coming back to that same bottom line every single day. And so at the end of the day, the kids can go home and be like, I learned this today. ⁓ even just simplifying it to like, we don't need to do like,
of them reverse every single day to like, let's just focus on one verse for the whole week that we could all say really well. And that's going to stick more, I think, in trying to squeeze so much in and trying to keep them busy, you know, all those little hours where it's like, less is more, allow time for relationships to build, to have space to breathe, where it's not just like just so, I mean, it's jam packed, but just allowing more simplicity.
more room for relationships and more room for even just the volunteers to breathe and connect with their kids. So I think that is something that I have, I've seen a huge shift in it from 10 years ago, being really intentional even with that storyline too, and just trying to bring it as close to the gospel as I can so that every child, whether they're churched or unchurched, they're gonna come away knowing how much Jesus loves them that week. And that hopefully they have an adult who
KIDMIN U Team (25:04)
Mm-hmm.
Amanda Peck (25:16)
has poured into them and is going to build that relationship with them from here forever. So that has been something that's been really exciting to see it evolve over the past 10 years.
KIDMIN U Team (25:28)
That's so good. Yeah, I love that type of alignment too, because even in the silly things, there are ways to line things up, right? So if you've got a day where your topic is on fear, for example, right? Even your game or your icebreaker question might sort of allude to that idea or kind of be a setup. You know, it doesn't have to just be something silly and unrelated. It actually can be something in anticipation and in total alignment with the rest of the day. think it's powerful when you can accomplish that.
Amanda Peck (25:34)
Mm-hmm. Yes. Yes, absolutely.
Yes.
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
KIDMIN U Team (25:57)
As you were talking about less is more, I'm reminded of there's a book called Essentialism by Greg McEwen, think it's probably somewhere behind me. And it's a wonderful book. And I remember I was going through it with my staff back at Sandals and the one phrase that kind of became a rallying cry was this idea of less, but better. And he had a whole section in there and his whole idea was not just less is more, but
Amanda Peck (26:03)
that.
Mmm.
KIDMIN U Team (26:21)
the things that you do choose to keep, the things that you do still have that are priorities for you, how can you take that energy that you were spending on other things and now make the stuff that's still there even better? And I think when I hear you talking, I just imagine that everything is probably leveled up as a result, right? You're not worrying about a million other things. Now you're saying, okay, what really matters most to us and how can we make those things great? I think that's amazing. I love that.
Amanda Peck (26:24)
Mm-hmm.
Yes. Yes. Yes, absolutely.
Mm-hmm, yes. Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Yeah. And then even like last year, we ran into some shipping issues and it was like, oh my gosh, we don't have the lanyards and the buttons and stuff that like, really love the detail stuff. But it was like, no one missed it. No one was asking, where's my budget? So it's just like, okay, we can even dial that back again. So it's just even how like we continue to simplify and funnel it through that. Like what is gonna make us even better year after year?
KIDMIN U Team (26:55)
Okay.
Sure.
Yeah. Speaking of simplifying, there is an idea that I stole from, I think it was Bayside. have, they call their VBS breakaway. They're up in the Bay area in California, amazing church. They have thousands of kids who come every year. ⁓ They're just like VBS on steroids. have like go-karts and zip lines and archery. I mean, it's pretty wild what they do. But one of the things that I learned from them when I went up to visit is when they do their
Amanda Peck (27:23)
Okay.
Okay.
Yeah.
I love that.
KIDMIN U Team (27:44)
craft rotation, they don't do individual crafts, they do team crafts. So what they do is, let's say you're spending a dollar per kid on your craft, and maybe that's like $15 per group. They said, well, what if we take that money, and we get something that's bigger and more exciting to them, and something they can all work on together. And there were a ton of benefits from it that I love, by the way, which one is kids are working together, which is amazing.
Amanda Peck (27:48)
Mm-hmm.
KIDMIN U Team (28:11)
The other is you don't have as many like moving pieces and supplies and materials. Like it just simplifies a lot. But as soon as I heard that, was like, this is amazing. And I think the next year, the very next VBS that I had after hearing that we implemented that and it was amazing. So instead of like making tiny little trinkets for each kid, was like, Hey, we're all going to work together to make one big fort or something. Yeah, totally. Yeah. And it's going to get lost.
Amanda Peck (28:15)
Yes. Yes. Yes.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Yes, well that is gonna get thrown away. Yes, I mean we never want to our crafts are ever
thrown away. It's putting them off and throwing away. So what is meaningful? Yes. No, they're not.
KIDMIN U Team (28:43)
course not. They're gonna keep them for a year. Yeah. But that one's totally free
for our listeners. You can steal that just the same way I stole it from Paysa Church. Okay. ⁓
Amanda Peck (28:53)
You know, it's never stealing.
It's borrowing. It's borrowing. Okay? And we all, we're all part of the church. Yes. Exactly. We're better together.
KIDMIN U Team (28:57)
100%. We're learning from each other. Yeah, that's what it is. Okay,
so one thing I think is fascinating about the trajectory for the growth is there was a time where everything that we did from a theme perspective was completely original. And I remember it was super fun coming up with themes and names and writing our own dramas. We had people who really owned all of that stuff and it's so fun to watch.
Amanda Peck (29:14)
Mm-hmm. Yes.
Yes. Yes.
KIDMIN U Team (29:24)
And I know there was a time where you shifted away from that and used a kit. And then I think now you sort of came all the way back. Take us into maybe the value of creating your own stuff versus using a ready-made kit. Like, how are you guys thinking about all of that?
Amanda Peck (29:28)
Yes. Yes. Yes.
Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah,
yeah, so it's fine because I've done both. So I think if you have the creative people on your team who have the desire and the time to write something from scratch, because really it's just, it's a simplified, you know, it's A plus B is equal to C. You know, like it's pretty simple every year. Where there was a season that we didn't have someone on our staff who had the time and the resources to do that. So we started going with a kit. But then what we found with the kit,
⁓ Is that we're like, well, we're using like five things from this kit and basically still writing it on our own So I think whatever you have to do whether you're buying a kit or doing it from your own nothing either is good or bad There's pros and cons of both But I think either way you have to make it your own even when you buy a kit you have to put your churches stamp on that kit because God bless you There is no
KIDMIN U Team (30:26)
You
Thanks.
Amanda Peck (30:32)
No church is the same. You know your kids, you know your volunteers. So even if you're buying a kit, you have to put your church's stamp of like, this is our identity and who we are as a church and what we're going to put out as a vacation Bible school. And so when we bought that kit, we were kind of using it as a springboard because it usually comes with like all the tools, like the backgrounds, the banners, the even like a store. For us, it was also a beautiful time during COVID of like
my goodness, what do we do for a vacation Bible school when we're all in lockdown? And so it came with a community for us too, which was so nice when it was like, I don't know which way to turn during COVID, but I had this beautiful community that I could look and kind of see like, what are you doing with this craft? What are you doing with that? How can I box it up and send it out to my kids? And so I think if you're starting out, I think a kit is almost the way to go.
Just because it does come with that sense of community and like people you can ask questions to and then as you like get more Comfortable and like okay. I know which where we're going like maybe you want to experiment and start writing Something on your own or you have those people in your church who can do that But no matter which way you go It's always putting your stamp of approval on it of your your church's identity on your vacation Bible school That's going out and we're I love that. We have kind of circled back
is that our church has a theme for the year that our whole church is focusing on. And now our Vacation Bible School, our Summer Splash, is also focusing on that theme, which is so cool because you have the buy-in from the church members and the volunteers. And it's something we've now, as a church, been learning about for a full year. And now our kids get to experience it. It was just such a special, sweet spot that our kids ministry got to experience the past couple of years. And so
KIDMIN U Team (32:05)
Hmm.
Amanda Peck (32:19)
It's really exciting to now see when the big church theme reveal comes. It's like, OK, which way is our summer splash going this year? And to be able to take that theme and run from it, or run with it. Not run from it, but with it. But I think, no. I might be running from it, to be honest. No, I'm just joking. Yeah. Yeah.
KIDMIN U Team (32:33)
Yeah.
sure. Okay, I'd actually love to get specific on that because I think people are hearing
that and they're like, okay, how do I take a theme that probably works for adults and the rest of the church and make it fit with kids? So maybe give us an example of what the theme was for the church and how you adapted it for your own needs.
Amanda Peck (32:52)
Yeah.
Absolutely. Yeah, so last year, our church was walking through Acts and how we were to witness the power of the church and what the church did. And so we gathered, we even took people from our adult creative team to just come and help us brainstorm. And so it just, it started about a year in advance of just like, okay, what does this look like? How do we take the book of Acts and make it translatable to children? And so it just became like, okay, like it could be like,
this and so became the greatest showman. Hey, this is the greatest story ever told. You know, kind of you just kind of run with it. It became like this fun circus theme where we walked with Paul through his different journey and saw different witness how he was able to witness God's power. And so then translating it is how do kids learn how to witness the power of God in their own lives, in their schools, in their neighborhoods? What might that look like for a child? And so
⁓ It really just took a team of like, let's just sit together and collaborate and take what the church is learning kind of like our expertise as kids ministry and collaborate all together. And we came up with something just super beautiful. And we just really got to see like, I think what I loved about last year's was it was about telling the gospel. We got to teach the kids how to tell the gospel to their friends and how to spread the gospel. And so it was just so sweet listening to kids like.
KIDMIN U Team (34:13)
Hmm.
Amanda Peck (34:17)
We'll have our characters from our skit walk around during the day and how the kids are witnessing to the bad guy in the skit, trying to get them to believe who Jesus is. And so I think that was just such a sweet spot that we got to really witness the Lord just doing amazing things through what our church had learned. then even, I think it was the weekend before our vacation Bible school, it was where we culminated.
KIDMIN U Team (34:25)
Yeah
Amanda Peck (34:42)
at the end of our vacation Bible School week. And so it was just cool. Like all the volunteers are like, ⁓ I remember this story. I'm confident in telling the story because I just heard it at church this past weekend. Yeah, so I think that's kind of how we translated it from what the adults are learning to kind of bringing the magic of kids ministry to the just the art of storytelling to kids. yeah, it's just I don't know, it was really it's a really fun process to do. And
It takes time and energy and people, but I think if you have those people, then you just run with it. And even last year, was like, okay, we learned next year we have to have less people in the skit. We can't have 20, you know, maybe we need more like 10. You know, so just you learn as you go and every year you're going to make it better and better. You're never going to hit it 100%. Even though you could try. And the effort is there, but it's okay. Whatever you don't do this year and you're like, oh,
KIDMIN U Team (35:20)
hehe
Amanda Peck (35:38)
Next year, we're going to make it even better by doing this. And so think you learn as you go.
KIDMIN U Team (35:44)
Yeah, thanks for taking us into that. Cause I think that probably makes it way more applicable and practical. People can kind of see how you did that. And I love it too. Cause it's like, listen, the core is the book of acts. The core is what you're teaching across your church and what you're teaching your kids. But the packaging of all of that can be adapted in an age appropriate way really easily. And I think it's so funny that last year you guys were doing acts because we did the same thing for our VBS. We had a different theme, but it was.
Amanda Peck (35:47)
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Yes.
You think?
That's so funny.
KIDMIN U Team (36:13)
the journeys
Amanda Peck (36:14)
Okay.
KIDMIN U Team (36:15)
of the missionaries in the early church and stuff like that. We called it the trail. So it was this hiking, outdoorsy theme. And in the same way that kids were going on an adventure. Is it really?
Amanda Peck (36:17)
Yes. Yes.
Okay.
That's our theme this year.
Well, that was asked. We're in Genesis. We are the adventure begins. Explore God's goodness this year. Yeah, because we're in the book of Genesis. Seeing the goodness of God. That's so funny.
KIDMIN U Team (36:28)
What are you calling it?
You know what's so funny? If you
do this stuff long enough, you realize it's the same like six different things that we all rotate through. It's like space, nature. ⁓ I don't know. Olympics is always going to be a thing. Yeah. Yeah. yeah.
Amanda Peck (36:46)
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yep. The jungle, the ocean. We love the race car version. Stay away. I remember we did
a Star Wars version one year and our children's pastor literally thought we were going to get a sea synthesis every single day. We did it, but don't tell them. Yes, we did it. Feel off of Star Wars.
KIDMIN U Team (37:00)
⁓ my gosh, yeah.
That was great. What was it called? Galactic Hope? Is that what it was? Yeah, wow.
Okay. So I don't know if I mentioned this in the book or not, because I think I did reference that like the very first thing I did as an intern was basically support people on the weekend and then help with VBS. Like that was my whole job. And I remember at some point, my boss gave me his name is pastor Carrie shout out past Carrie. he gave me the job to come up with like team signs. And I think collectively.
Amanda Peck (37:14)
Yeah, no, it was good time
Yes.
We love you, Pastor Kerry.
Good days. Yes. ⁓
KIDMIN U Team (37:39)
We came up with a lot of team names together, some of them I came up with, but I got to make the signs. And I remember the Star Wars year, which I'm already a Star Wars nerd, but we would come up with the funniest and silliest names. ⁓ They weren't even like short, easy to say names. They were just funny to us. And I would come up with like a fun picture or meme that I would put on each team sign. It probably was aesthetically horrible, but it was so much fun. I have such great memories of Galactica.
Amanda Peck (37:44)
Yeah.
Yes.
So, yes.
Yes. You know, we still
have those crazy fun names that are hard and way too long, but we simplify it to you're in 1A pew, pew, pew, pew, pew, pew, pew, pew, pew, pew,
KIDMIN U Team (38:20)
Okay, let's talk about that for a second because I think what you talked about there is a total hack for people. This can be really, really helpful for people. So maybe not everybody's VBS is going to be quite as big as the Grove with 12, 1300 plus kids, but you're going to have a lot of groups in the same auditorium. And especially on day one, parents are trying to find their way around and you know, they may be looking at those team signs, but they can be hard to read.
Amanda Peck (38:30)
Hmm.
Yeah.
KIDMIN U Team (38:50)
Maybe tell us about that solution we came up with back in the day that sounds like you're still using that made it a little bit more user friendly.
Amanda Peck (38:50)
Right.
Yeah, we are.
And we are still using the map too. So basically what we kind of did instead of having like, where is like the coyotes and this and they're looking for all these letters, it was like, you're simply we're going to label it like first grade, we're going to have one A, one B, one C, one D, one E, and all of first grade signs are going to be red. And so I know as a parent, I'm looking for red in the auditorium and I'm looking for ABCDE.
And so you can still have like the crazy fun names, but just kind of simplify it where it's like, okay, if I'm a first grader, I know they're one and I'm looking for A through L or what have you. And then also that color coding too, I think was also really helpful of like, I'm going to put first grade all in one area in the auditorium where they're going to be all along the front and second grade is in this section. And then we give parents, actually we give them maps in their email.
the week before of like, hey, like little Johnny is gonna be in 2B and his team name is the Coyotes. And so everything is colored for needed to blue for second grade 2B. And I put that on everything so that when parents walk in, they usually have their map open on their phone and they can kind of see like where they are going. And then we also have a lot of our staff will come over from that just that first day for the first 20 minutes.
With maps, we'll give all of the staff maps and just kind of like, okay, here's a rundown and they help walk our families to where they're gonna go to hopefully make this large church that's like, I don't know where I'm going to easier for them. And every day for checking and check out their child's in the same place for checking and check out so they know where to go. So that is something like we color coded grades. We did like one day we have codes for the grades.
⁓ but just to try to make it as simple as possible for parents. So they're not just looking for like, where's the coyotes and where's the owls and where's this weird name that I can't even pronounce and who came up with that name. ⁓ But we still have fun with that as well.
KIDMIN U Team (40:54)
Yeah.
Yeah, 100%. And I think the beauty is in the details for a lot of this stuff. I think these are tiny little things that some people might be listening to and they're like, my gosh, they're totally overthinking this. But this is the sort of stuff that really makes a big difference, I think, for a parent. And even with fun details, I remember at another church, our day one parent handout, I put the map of the seating chart on the back.
Amanda Peck (41:03)
Yes.
Yeah.
Yeah.
KIDMIN U Team (41:23)
So every parent had it in their hand when they walked in too. So it was there. And even with like the types of names and categories, like the details do matter. Like last year when we did the trail, I remember each age group had their own type of name. So for instance, ⁓ we had a preschool experience and they had names like acorns and twigs, like really cute, adorable names. But then when you got to elementary, we had animal names.
Amanda Peck (41:24)
Right.
Yes.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Yes, yes, really simple. Yep.
Yep.
KIDMIN U Team (41:50)
So, you know, the coyotes or things like that. And it made it so much
Amanda Peck (41:51)
Yep. Yep. Yep.
KIDMIN U Team (41:55)
easier to know, hey, if it's a twig or an acorn, I know that's preschool. If it's an animal, it's elementary. So it's the little details that I think really do help parents and they help your staff too. Like it becomes a little bit of shorthand too, like some coding as well.
Amanda Peck (41:57)
Yes.
Absolutely.
Mm-hmm. Yes. really have, sorry.
I think you just also really have to like walk through, like really imagine of what that day one experience looks like and feels like for a parent. Are they waiting in long lines? Do they know where they're going?
What does your signage look like? So I think you really have to imagine, like, if I have three kids that I'm carting and I'm not sure where I'm going, what does that look like? And so I think just in that planning stage, just starting to brainstorm what that looks like for the experience of the parent, because you don't want the parent to leave frustrated and frazzled. They've already had a frazzled morning trying to get their kids there. So I think just trying to make it when they arrive that the parents can even breathe a breath of fresh air going,
Okay, I my kids are in good hands and I could walk away and enjoy my morning or maybe they'll stay to volunteer next year, hopefully. Great.
KIDMIN U Team (42:56)
Yeah. I love that you added a note about just signage and wayfinding and things like that, because that makes a huge difference for a family. And we have to remember what it's like when they're getting all their kids together. They're trying like crazy to show up on time and to go to the right place and do the right thing. And I think the real test of knowing if you're doing this well is imagine no team members are around, no people are around. If somebody just parked in your parking lot, would they know
Amanda Peck (43:03)
Mm-hmm. Yes. Mm-hmm.
Yep.
Mm-hmm. Yes.
Right.
KIDMIN U Team (43:25)
where to go and what to do. That second part is important too and I think the Grove does this really well but sometimes when we think about our signage we're just like saying hey go here go there this is this age group this is that age group here's the restroom but also like when people are registering or checking in even having some signage it says here's how to check in punch in the last four digits of your phone number it seems obvious but the more you can plaster that everywhere
Amanda Peck (43:28)
Mm-hmm.
Right.
Yes, exactly. Yes.
KIDMIN U Team (43:53)
better it is for parents. It's a great way to honor them and make things easy.
Amanda Peck (43:55)
And I think even, yeah,
and I was gonna say even like stealing from Chick-fil-A, how they have the people in the line that take your order, having the people like in your lobby from like your staff or your volunteer team, like, hey, like, do know what you're waiting in line for? Can I answer a question? You know, save you time. And that really helps you just having people just there to like check in, especially on day one, if you like, hey,
You have a volunteer, I can only help you on day one. Great. I'm going to have you come and help me with check-in and I'm going to have you float somewhere. Because you just need all that communication to help everyone get to where they need to go for that start at that nine o'clock hour. So I think lots of signage, lots of communication and lots of people ready to just have hands on deck, ready to show people where to go. Because I think that's where that magic happens is being able to show them and not just be like, hey, I'm going to point you over there, but let me walk you to where you're going to go to your next destination.
So I think that is where a lot of the magic happens too.
KIDMIN U Team (44:54)
I remember, I think I developed this training bit while I was at the Grove and I would teach people on our team not to point and say, just go that way. Go over this, go down the hall.
Amanda Peck (44:59)
Yeah.
Yes.
KIDMIN U Team (45:06)
way that you actually honor people as you go with them, you walk with them, you connect with them along the way. It's actually a really bad look when you just point over there and say, good luck. That is not great hospitality. Yeah.
Amanda Peck (45:07)
Yeah. Absolutely.
Exactly. Good luck. Yes, yes.
So I think that translates not just on like a vacation Bible school, but also like put that first guest time experience at your church as well is let me walk you, let me show you where that is because not only are you going to help them feel more at ease, but you're going to build a relationship along the way of like, how did you get here? How did you come to come? And then you see the people returning back because it's like, wow, I had a really great experience doing that. So I think I might try it again.
Because people are going to decide, you know, that's the conversation for another podcast I get of how fast they decide if they're going to come back to your church or not. But I want to say what it's like 10 seconds in walking through the doors, I think is what I have read. But yeah, that's my own stat, I'm sure.
KIDMIN U Team (45:56)
Yeah.
No, I've heard all kinds of numbers, but I think the thing we all agree on is it's way shorter than you think. Like people just pick up on things instinctively. And there's just like a subconscious reaction. Do I feel safe here? Do I feel like I belong? Do I trust these people? Does it feel comfortable? Those are things that are just intuitive. They're like survival instincts that just happen way faster than we think. So yeah, I think that's great. And it's something that
Amanda Peck (46:07)
Absolutely.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Yes. Yes.
KIDMIN U Team (46:27)
I feel like the Grove does really, really well when it comes to hospitality and just being first time friendly. I think that's, I don't know if that's a value that's on a wall anywhere, but it's one of those values that's just kind of embedded in things. That's really, really cool. Okay. So we talked about the decision of people coming back and with VBS, that's the big key, right? We don't just want them to come to VBS. We actually want them to come back to our church. We actually want them to hear the gospel. We want them to start a relationship with Jesus.
Amanda Peck (46:30)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Yes. huh. Yep.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah.
KIDMIN U Team (46:57)
find your community, all these things. What do you do after VBS to make sure that, you know, a lot of people think day five, day four, whatever's your last day, it's all over, hard work is done, now we can celebrate, but there's still more to do. What are the things that you're thinking through to actually get people connected afterwards?
Amanda Peck (47:03)
Yeah.
Mm-hmm. Right.
Yeah.
Yeah. And so I think for me, from the beginning from my registration, I'm finding out like, are you already an attender here? Do you attend another church? Have you not have a church? So I'm going to target those people who don't attend another church. And I'm going to actually follow up with them by sending them a postcard or letter saying, hey, we loved having you for vacation Bible school. Here's our service times. We value families. And I'm going to put that vision out to them of like, hey, I want you to come out.
We also have what we call bridge events during the summer. Actually, we have them throughout the year. We have like a pumpkin patch in October. In the summer, we might have like a water day. And so we connect those to like our Saturday night service. So it's like, hey, like we do have this next fun event coming up, you know, in just a month, we'd love to have you come back. And so I think people start seeing like, wow, this church really values families. They value my children. Look at all these things they're doing.
and they're more apt to come back and try us again. So one, bridge events are amazing. Like having some sort of like follow up, whether it be the weekend after or like in a month time, like we're going to have another event and you advertise it during Vacation Bible School or even also then doing like a follow up and targeting those people that you know don't have a church. And so doing like a handwritten postcard, I'll have my volunteers.
handwrite postcards and we'll mail those out to the students, just inviting them like, we'd love to have you back and come bring this postcard and you'll get a little price type thing. And so I think that helps people come back. But also like in the follow-up Vacation Bible School, I'm really big of thanking our volunteers. Our volunteers are where the magic happens. They're the ones putting the legwork on the ground, so I'm sending thank you cards, we're sending out surveys, we're like,
What can we do better next year? Because although we feel that we haven't mastered, there's always ways we can tweak and refine what we do to make it even better the following year. So those are just a few things we do post follow-up, plus all the cleanup. I feel like this is never ending.
KIDMIN U Team (49:19)
Yeah, I love that postcards are part of the plan. I think if you have a handwritten postcard, that is one of the most valuable tools that we have. And for VBS, but also, you know, if somebody just comes for the first time to your church, you know, it's so much better than an email or just something generic that's pre-printed from the church. know, somebody took the time to write something to you, or in this case, a lot of times, we're writing it to those kids.
Amanda Peck (49:28)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Yes. Yep. Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
KIDMIN U Team (49:46)
Those kids are getting mail. Now they're super excited because they never get mail. So it's so fun for them. And I, you know, one year we, we shifted a little bit and instead of having staff write it, we actually had the small group leaders write it. So they wrote letters to their own kids, which it sounds like you do as well. And that was such a, an upgrade for us because it was more relational. It was like, Hey, I'm so excited that my leader took time to write me a card. Like that's so meaningful to me. And so.
Amanda Peck (49:47)
Absolutely. We love mail. We love mail. Yes.
Yes.
Yeah. Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
KIDMIN U Team (50:15)
That is such a simple little thing that any church can do. That's a powerful tool, especially for those kids who don't have a church home, So last thing I want to talk about, is the leadership structure. So you have an event that's very, very, very large and to pull it off. Yes, you do need.
Amanda Peck (50:17)
Yes. Yes.
Okay.
Yeah.
KIDMIN U Team (50:36)
You know, a great staff, know, awfully large staff. but you also need key leaders, high level volunteers who are owning parts of the events and whatnot. Maybe give us an overview of like what the leadership structure looks like and what sort of things you actually hand off to other people. You know, if it's rotations or certain parts of the event, however you do it, I think it'd be valuable to get a little sneak peek.
Amanda Peck (50:38)
Mm-hmm. Yes.
Yep.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah, so I think like how we kind of umbrella it is like I'm kind of up here with our preschool director. We're kind of the top and then from there we have the staff and we will give the staff like, OK, you're in charge of first through third grade guides. You're in charge of the craft room. You're in charge of the game field. And then from there we have those high level volunteers of people that we know can lead teams well who are good leaders and that be like, OK, you are like the game captain. And so
we're going to have the volunteers report to you every single day and you're going to give them that powwow and the direction and we're kind of putting that torch in your hand. And so we'll have like a game captain, we'll have a snack captain, and then we'll have like a craft captain where it's like, we're empowering them as volunteers to kind of lead at a higher capacity. And then you have the volunteers just under them, like whether they be a rotation guide or they're just helping in the craft room or snack room or.
Even my daughter who likes to be the DJ in the craft room. That's her thing is but it's finding those people who can lead people well, who can communicate well. And also it's like if you have an issue in the craft room, you're gonna go talk to this craft captain. So not everyone is coming to me with their problem. Okay, the craft captain can't handle it. I'm gonna go to that next level, that staff member who's in charge of that. If it can't be solved there, that's when I'm brought in.
to help. I think kind of having that hierarchy, so it's not I'm being constantly bombarded with problem after problem and I'm having to put out fires, but empowering the people that we put in those positions to put out those fires for us. And so delegating to them is so huge when you're operating an event like this, but also having like communication with everyone. So everyone kind of understands the hierarchy. Everyone understands what's happening that day. We even have every day a pre
Vacation Bible School huddle where we gather all the volunteers and it's like, okay, this is what's happening today Here's what's happening in this room in this room in this room. Here's like our like Point what we're gonna keep our focus on for the day. Here's how we're gonna pray for each other during the day We'll even do like volunteer shoutouts. Here's who we caught doing an amazing job On time raffle, you know, you're trying to get those volunteers there to buy in But just also really trying to get everyone on the same page
for that day and excited about what God is doing. Hey, listen to what God did yesterday. We had five kids except Jesus. Let's celebrate that. And how do we go forth today? Or maybe I had an issue yesterday. Let's be transparent and share like, hey, we had a kid get checked out without ID being checked. We really need to make sure we're all on that same page because we don't want a breakdown to happen. So I think it's just kind of high levels of communication.
So we're doing that in a meeting, we're even sending out emails, we use apps like Remind or Band to communicate to the leaders constantly of what is happening. Yeah, but I think that covered more than your question, I think. But that's just kind of how we run an event. And I think that can translate to your event no matter how big or how small.
KIDMIN U Team (54:04)
Yeah, I think so too. And the key here, I know some people are listening and they might think, well, that's really great, Amanda, but I don't have that many staff members. Remember, all of these things can be done by volunteers. Like this past year, I was working with a church plant, a church of maybe five or 600 on a Sunday. It's very different. We don't have a gigantic staff. So what we did is we had key volunteers who would own the craft rotation or the game rotation, which by the way, I usually just put the youth pastor in charge of the game rotation.
Amanda Peck (54:12)
Yeah.
Absolutely.
Mm-hmm.
Yep. Right.
Yes. Yes. Yes.
Yes.
But they also have to remind the youth pastor it's not youth games. You can't spray the children in the face. They're still my babies. ⁓ We love our youth pastors. Yes. No.
KIDMIN U Team (54:34)
just to give them something to do. You don't bring all those teenagers over and they can run that thing. You just got to make
Yes, it's true. Yes. Yeah, I feel like youth pastors just thrive on chaos. They don't think about safety like we do. You know, I remember one year
at summer camp in high school, we played steal the bacon on a slip and slide with like vegetable oil or something. And I remember one year there was there's a kid who was like a running back on his high school football team. And a student like a junior in high school took out another
Amanda Peck (54:58)
Yeah. Yes. Yes.
my gosh.
No.
KIDMIN U Team (55:10)
counselor and Torres ACL. And
Amanda Peck (55:11)
No. No. Yep.
KIDMIN U Team (55:14)
the youth pastor was like, wow, that was so epic. And the rest of us are like, no, no, that's not.
Amanda Peck (55:19)
You're
But I like what you're saying. It doesn't have to be staff. Get those high capacity volunteers that you can give buy into and treat them and love them well. I know I'll take them like, hey, let's go out to dinner and talk about Summer Splash or, you know, like even a gift in kind of like, hey, like here's like a small token or a special t-shirt or something just to show that love and.
appreciation to those people because they want to keep coming back and doing it, but you have to be able to interest them to do it too.
KIDMIN U Team (55:46)
Yeah, I think so too. Love it. Okay, so any final thoughts, tips, tricks, things that you would throw out there? Like what's your best piece of advice to leave our listeners on when it comes to doing VBS well?
Amanda Peck (55:48)
Yeah.
⁓
⁓
you know, we all know that vacation Bible school is a lot of work. It's a lot of blood, maybe not so much blood, but like sweat and tears and a lot of detail that go into it. Maybe the blood from the paper cuts from counting papers, you know. But the one thing that I always have to keep at the forefront of my mind, if just one child or one family comes to know who Jesus is and has their lives changed,
KIDMIN U Team (56:08)
Hopefully not.
Amanda Peck (56:25)
then it is all worth it. It doesn't matter what it is. And so I think that's when it's hard, when I just want to give up or I don't want to do the late nights. It's one child comes to know who Jesus is or their family has a life change, it's all worth it. And so think keeping that as your forefront, I think we'll get you through it, no matter how hard it is.
KIDMIN U Team (56:46)
What a great way to wrap things up. Amanda, thank you for coming on the show. There's been so much wisdom that's being shared. The funny thing is you probably just think it's like normal and you're like, this is just, everybody knows this, but I guarantee you people are listening to this, taking notes, thinking, wow, I'm going to steal that. And that's going to make our event so much better this year. So thank you for taking us into how you do things. Thank you for just using your gifts to build the kingdom. This has been such a fun little treat for me getting to bring somebody on who
Amanda Peck (56:48)
Thank you for having me.
Yeah.
Mm.
Yeah.
Yeah, bringing
it back. Thank you. That's kind. Thank you.
KIDMIN U Team (57:15)
was my mentor. This is the person I learned from. all these things that you're
looking at in the book, so many of them are really things I saw Amanda doing. Like I have just taken that and run with it. And so thank you for being such a great example for me and others. So.
Amanda Peck (57:28)
Yeah. And
I just want to say if there is anyone listening out there that does need help or just needs to like, hey, I just need to like bounce an idea off someone. I know life is crazy, but I would love to just partner with anyone that really just needs help. That's my hope in the kingdom is us as kids leaders that we could just come together and help each other and for each other forward. so I mean, Jeremy, you're welcome to put my information in the notes or wherever.
⁓ But I'd be happy to help any leader who feels like they're stuck or just needs someone to talk to you. Or maybe that's why they go to you, because you're getting paid the big bucks to do this, right?
KIDMIN U Team (58:03)
I don't know about that. I don't
know about that, but we'll definitely put your social security number in the episode description just in case people need it. Yeah
Amanda Peck (58:07)
Great. Yeah, could you put credit card information
by Venmo? Awesome. Thanks, Jeremy. Yes.
KIDMIN U Team (58:12)
Yeah, totally. Well, Amanda, thank you for coming on. This has been so fun. And for everybody who
is tuning in, thank you for joining us. We'll see you next time.
