Months before children fill your church for Vacation Bible School, preparation begins. You choose from two dozen VBS themes produced by various curriculum providers. You purchase items, decorate the church, recruit and train volunteers, and invite families. Then the big week arrives. Your church fills with children singing, eating snacks, making crafts, and learning about Scripture. Kids have fun. The gospel is shared. And then the week ends. Many of the children walk out the door and disappear until next year’s VBS. For too many churches, this scenario plays out year after year.

Vacation Bible School is often one of the most intense weeks in the life of a church. For many churches, it is the largest outreach event of the year. But if VBS ends for your church as soon as everything is cleaned up for next Sunday’s service, you’re missing out on a world of potential.

No children’s minister wants to spend loads of money and countless hours preparing and leading VBS only ...