Summer of Change

This summer we're trying something a little different.

The CFM team has really looked hard at VBS these past few months and at what we wanted to get out of it. What we found is that while we’ve got great goals in mind for VBS, our current program is not achieving them. From the outside, VBS is polished and pretty, but the reality is that we’re exhausting our resources. It takes 3 people other than the DCFM to spearhead VBS, and all 3 of those people resigned last year due to burnout. Additionally, every time CFM committee members approach people to volunteer for Sunday mornings or for events, we hear the same excuse repeatedly: “I did my time at VBS.” It’s a one stop shot for people, and that’s not what VBS is meant to be.

One of the things we looked at in our meetings was that VBS should be an outreach, but in reality, we haven’t gotten ANY new people from VBS. We cap our numbers at 200, and most of those kids are already CLPC members or have churches of their own. Every January, the Clear Lake DCFMs call each other to schedule out the summer, so that our VBS weeks don’t coincide. What happens, then, is that kids travel from VBS to VBS, and sadly, we become babysitting services.

So what are our goals, then, and how are we meeting them this summer?
· We want to reach out to friends and neighbors (Hangin’ Out will reach out to all ages, not just kids, and Super Sloppy Summers brings in new kids who DO return in the fall).
· We want to have multi-generational events (Hangin’ Out will focus on babies through older adults).
· We want more family involvement (Many dads and working parents who have heard about Hangin’ Out have approached me about how excited they are for the family time it will provide).
· We want our kids to be spiritually nurtured (all of our programs are Biblically strong).
· We want our kids to have a smoother transition into youth group (Summer Safari)
· We want more mission activities for kids (Summer Safari and CLPC zoo).
· We want our kids to have good music (Passport to Adventure and Summer Safari will have great music, and we hope to have CDs for kids to take home).
· We want Tshirts (almost all the programs will have tshirts, I promise)
· We want to give our burned out volunteers a chance to recharge (simplify) and other volunteers a chance to do something new for a summer, so that we can enter Fall with a full team.
· We want to bring different program areas together to function as a church body and not in silos (Summer Safari and Hangin’ Out both meet this goal)

There’s our plan, and we will re-evaluate at the end of the summer to see if we meet our goals. I’m excited about collaborating with other ministry areas and about the needs that will be met within and without. More posts to come about what all the hype is about!