Neighborhood Bible Club - picking a curriculum

While meeting with various experts in the field, I took time to look at their curriculum and evaluate it in action as well as in theory. I liked what I saw, but also saw room for improvement.

So, I set out on a curriculum search. Not satisfied until I had found the best (in my opinion).

Child Evangelism Fellowship puts out a time tested curriculum that you can purchase from them for use out of your own home. It is a quality product. Large, colorful pictures. Song Lyric books readable from a good distance. Bible stories. Games. Songs that were fun to sing and simple to learn. And, the missionary story (I had forgotten how much I loved these!)

The nearby church produced their own curriculum which  included all of the above, except a missionary story, and also crafts and an object lesson, and it was also a strong product.

However, I saw areas lacking in both.

CEF had oversimplified their program to make it pretty much completely non-consumable. While this makes it easy to reuse and inexpensive to produce and replicate, it takes away some of the fun. You could carry the whole curriculum in a messenger bag and be set from start to finish. Easy, but kinda boring (again, my opinion).

I want stuff for the kids to touch and interact with. Game supplies, pictures, take home crafts, hands-on activities, etc.

As with most things, I kept what I loved and tossed the rest. But, I still needed a curriculum.

In googling, I came across Lifeway's Backyard Bible Club curriculum. Ordered a set and never looked back.

It is excellent -- Made for use on a residential lawn (low tech, not based on videos like most VBS curriculums for sale); full of truly fun game ideas and a variety to last throughout the week; program includes a version for school age as well as one for preschool.
 
My biggest criticism is that they seem to be moving to a digital format except for their most current year, and they do not seem to have as many back versions available (I assume they are not replacing as they sell out). This is fine as long as you plan to get the new one each year, but I was hoping to have the option to buy older products  as well.


I do truly love these kits. Let me open them up for you with some pics . . .

In each kit is a folder to distribute to other members of your team. These give step by step instructions to each point person on how to fill their role with excellence.

These folders answer a million and one questions and help everyone prepare for the expected and the unexpected.

 

Vivid, full color 11x17 posters are included to make story time memorable. 

And, cards for the Game leader help in organization and give lots of inspiration to last the whole week and for a variety of ages. 

 

 Craft samples are also included and can be purchased for an additional fee 

(in packs of 10 for $5 - $6 each). We ended up making our own with supplies we had on hand, but even these are an affordable add on.

And, last but not least, the music. Easy to pop in and enjoy with the group and a choreography DVD can help your song leader learn the motions ahead of time.

Really, what could be simpler? 

You can do this. Just about anyone can do this (with a couple friends). If you are an introvert, find at least one extrovert for your team. If you are an extrovert, find at least one introvert for your team. Just another observation that seems to be true of the best teams for these at home bible clubs. One person to spread the word and another to reign in the details.

We used this kit last year with a group of about twenty kids and the week just flew by. They had fun, came back excited each day, and learned more about Jesus's love for them and their friends.

Remember, less than two hours a day! You can still fit lots of your own summer into each day while having an impact for eternity.

Prayerfully consider hosting your own this summer. No excuses. If you live somewhere not conducive to this kind of outreach (too rural, too urban, townhouse, etc.) find someone with a house in a neighborhood full of kids that needs you to help them run it. I would love to see and hear about more people bringing the gospel right into their neighborhood in the years ahead.