Charge for Vacation Bible School?

[Gagirl69]

Well, our church isn't a big church but we do pretty good. We had our VBS in June this year (kinda early). The girls made pillows out of bluejeans. People donated old bluejeans, and you cut off the legs and stuff them with pillow stuffing, then they decorated with stencils and paint. Oh, the men donated old ties and we tied them around the waist. They turned out really cute. The boys decorated t shirts. Also, members from the church donated cookies and fruit punch so there was no expense there. If everybody does a little bit, it's not alot of expense, honestly. I would rather have it this way than having to charge people.

 

[emma'smom]

We have a big VBS that is sponsored by a group of 5 churches. Each church kicks in about 500.00 and that still doesn't cover all of the costs. It staffed by over 100 volunteers, but when you think about all of the expenses (and they do add up because someone has to pay for them), a small donation might not be unreasonable. The VBS covers crafts, snacks, a CD, a t-shirt, 3 hours per day of supervision. The hidden costs: air conditioning, extra custodial staff during and after (and extra time for them to clean-up each day for which they are paid), art supplies, props for drama activities, decorations, advertising in the newspaper, photocopying, background checks for all of the volunteers, etc.

Also, we do have families who sign-up and never show-up (because they sign-up for every VBS in town). A small fee/donation might be enough to deter the no-shows.

 

[Luv'sTink]

I paid $40 this year up from $30 last year. For 4 days drop off at 9 picked up at 12:30.

 

[My2Cinderellas]

Our church charges a fee for VBS and also for the church school during the year. Both fees are reasonable IMO and cover the cost of the purchased materials, craft supplies and snacks.

VBS - $15 per child, $30 family maximum, includes a tshirt for each child. CD's of the music are $3.

Church School - $15 per child, $30 family maximum.

I live in an area where most people can afford this, but no one is ever turned away if they can't pay.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

I am the director of our VBS and we do charge $15 per child. While it seems like a lot it does not cover the cost of the program. Our cost over and above the $15 per child is about $2000. Each child gets a tee shirt transfer, a picture, and a CD of the music. They do a craft and have snack each day. We order our program kit from a company which makes it easier to put together. All of our helpers including myself are volunteers. I started work on this program in January and VBS is next week. While our church would LOVE to do this free we just cannot. But if everyone shares the cost the church can put in the extra. I have had a couple mom's tell me the cost was difficult for them and we took care of making sure it was covered. If it is a problem please let someone know and I am sure they have a small fund to cover it for you.

 

[yankeechick]

our vbs does not charge it is mon-fri 8:30-12:00 on fri we have a program! vbs is a big deal at our church this yr. we had over 700 kids!! mon your child gets a letter sent home telling the parent what to bring everyday. tues-pennies and pencils wed-nickels and notebook paper thurs-dimes and glue fri-quarters and crayons. the change we raise goes to some charity this yr. it went to childrens miracle network and the school suppiles go to needy children in our schools. fri. after are singing program we all eat hotdogs w/ our family.

 

[Aimeedyan]

This is our first year to ask for a small fee - but ours goes from 9am-3pm and includes lunch all 5 days plus tshirt, music book, and backpacks so we haven't had too many comments made. That said, the fee is not mandatory and I have just as many kids not paying as kids that are paying.

VBS is very very expensive and some churches need extra help covering the cost of it in order to do it safely and do it well. In addition, the economy has hit everybody - esp churches. When people are having a hard time paying their bills, their tithe often goes down. Many churches are not meeting budget right now and asking for a small fee to help cover the thousands of dollars spent on VBS helps more than you'd think.

 

[goofy's friends]

Ours started charging church members only and it was nominal. Visitors didn't have to pay at all. The CD isn't included, but I always buy it at the little "store" set up. Our church makes quite a bit off of the "store" with all the goodies for sale. It is a very expensive undertaking and really neat for the kids. I never mind paying a little bit, but I do beleive it should be an outreach to nonmembers of the church.

 

[HunnyPots]

I've been involved in VBS programs for over 20 years and never have we charged for it. It is simply a line item in the church budget under outreach. If the budget is tighter than usual, we ask for donations from the congregation for things like refreshments. Never would we ask someone to pay for their child to attend; if they want to use us for free daycare then so be it. The point of VBS is to introduce children and their families to our church in a child-friendly manner. For so many of these kids, it is the only exposure to church (or anything family-oriented for that matter) they ever have.

 

[tonilea]

Add me to the list of those who had never heard of paying for VBS.

 

[Amy&Dan]

I have always paid for VBS and as I recall, the last time my kids attended it was $15 per kid, that was in 2001. I think its reasonable. In fact, it probably doesn't even come close to covering the cost of running a VBS program. They are very expensive. Also, think of the men and women and teens that volunteer for this, not only the week it happens but all the planning and prep beforehand. Whenever I did VBS, I spent a small fortune making up the supplies that the fee didn't cover. And I know all the other teachers did as well.

And I know that at my church, they had scholarships. Which basically were for anyone who was not able to pay. No questions asked, no one ever turned down. It was kept very confidential, I think only the Education Director of the church knew who had those scholarships. In the end, its outreach but churchs have limits as to what they can provide.

 

[Amy&Dan]

My church has VBS every year. We have never charged a fee. That's the first I've ever heard of charging for it. I personally do NOT believe in this. I volunteer my time to help during VBS so children who are not normally in church may come to know Jesus as their personal lord and savior. If they don't get saved, at least the seed has been planted. If the church can't afford to have VBS w/o charging then they shouldn't have it. IMHO

But then doesn't everybody lose? I can imagine that if you aren't used to seeing that fee, it would seem almost a tasteless thing on a church's part to ask for one. But is it really better to not have VBS at all? If people can't pay, almost all churches will still let those kids in. But if they dont' have VBS because they can't afford to and wont' ask for a fee, then think of all the kids who will miss out altogether.

I think it also depends on the area a church is in. My old church that I attended when I was first married was in a part of town with mostly older people and singles. Our VBS was free, and we had maybe 25 kids total. The church I attend now, is in a part of town full of families. We have several hundred kids that attend and its simply not feasible for our church to fund this. We do have free after care for middle schoolers all year long and there is no charge for youth group or Sunday school. But to do VBS would not be possible unless it was for church members only. Which defeats the purpose.

 

[Pixiedust34]

At our church, VBS is $12 for the first child and $6 for each additional child. Most churches around here have a VBS fee.

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

WOW! I have never heard of a church charging for VBS. This is so foreign to me. Our church had over 1200 people at VBS this week and didn't charge a penny. They did sell t-shirts for $8-$10. You learn something new every day.

 

[OceanAnnie]

Add me to the list too. I've never heard of charging for VBS.

 

[noodleknitter]

I cannot believe that churches charge for VBS! That is horrific.

 

[ICF]

I've never know it to be free....for the most part its cheap, around $10 per kid for the week, but I've always known them to at least charge a little.

 

[SydneyBristow]

Ours is free.

 

[alldiz]

I dont' think that is a lot of money at all. I have one child and donate 50-75 dollars to the VBS. It is a donation.....they didn't "charge" anything.
Kerri

 

[powellrj]

We go to a larger church and have never had to pay, but I can see how a smaller church would have a problem with funding.

VBS is nothing like it was when I was a kid. Crafts were cut-outs and refreshments were kool-aide in a dixie cup and graham crackers. Now they get those programs with the different themes, music cds and refreshments are things like fresh fruit and sandwiches! I can see how a small church would have problems coming up with the money for all of those things.