VBS Family Night Ideas – Compiled by Children’s Ministers in Oklahoma 
- We have a free dinner at 5:30 p.m., Open House at 6:00 p.m. and then at 6:30 p.m. the kids perform the songs they have learned that week. We have found we have a more well attended Family Night on Thursday Night and then in their music time the next day they get to watch the video of them performing
- Our “family night” actually takes place on the Sunday morning following VBS. Sunday morning we perform the musical, which has such a powerful message – especially because it is delivered by the children. Then we have a pot luck meal following the service, which allows us a chance to get to fellowship with the visiting parents and brag on their kids.
- FBC Tulsa rents a pool on Friday evening and has a pool party for all of the families of boys and girls who attend VBS. 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. We have the Jolly Trolley Snow Cones, bottled water and snacks.
- We do a sports camp and our Family night is like another VBS night. The kids’ do their songs, Have a life lesson and then we pass out sports camp awards. Afterwards outside on the grounds we have Jupiter jumps, hot dogs, snow cones, cotton candy, sack races and fun. Before the 1st-6th gr. do their program the preschoolers come up and sing their songs and tell their bible verses.
- After the Boomerang Express Musical, we have a guest speaker planned: Kolby King (from Owasso) to share the Gospel thru. Ventriloquism.
- The church I attend had age groups sit together for supper and the family night entertainment. Present in each group were the teachers and the outreach team that would be following up with those families. The benefit was that when families received a knock on the door they recognized the person visiting them.
- One of the things I do is I have collectible Bible heroes cards or Missionary cards, or something else that has a great variety. When we dismiss from the auditorium the teachers go to their rooms first. Every child can go to that room and get one of the cards or prizes from each room if they are accompanied with an adult. This gives the parents an opportunity to become comfortable to building and meet more of our people. This also shortens the line for the food we serve afterwards.
- We had Sunday morning during worship service we actually did vbs worship rally like you do during the VBX morning had the kids walk in and set in there groups like they do for the rally said the pledges and everything. Then the kids by grades each did a vbs song they learned from the week or said the motto or memory verse. When it was all over I wasn’t for sure how long we would take but the preacher had 25 minutes to preach then we invited the whole church to stay and have hamburgers and hot dogs with us.
- First, I heard about other churches doing a Wednesday night family night. We are going to try that this year.
5:30-6:00 Open House (tour the classrooms)
6:00-6:30 Opening Rally (Sanctuary)
6:30-7:30 Extreme Animals Inc. and Meal (Multipurpose Building; classrooms will also still be open) Second, the last two years we did a pre-VBS Block Party (Sunday night before VBS) and did not do a family night. According to the pastors in my VBS clinics, there are others that are also doing this. This year we are going to do both.
- Family Night on Thursday evening. We are providing a dinner (hot dogs & burgers) for families, opening up the classrooms for kids to show off to their parents & then doing the VBS musical.
- We are having a Friday hot dog dinner theatre. We are using the monolog of Peter that you did at the state clinic and having Peter walk among the people and use it in between songs. We are going to have to add a few things to pull it all together. After that our pastor will get up and tie in the theme how everything comes back to Jesus. We are taking family pictures and ask them to come Sunday to get their pictures.
- VBS family Sunday’ and tried to get families connected into our regular Sunday morning program. We would serve breakfast, have a special guest – a juggler or something like that, invite families to their appropriate Sunday school class and then have worship with the VBS music and the kids singing.
- We invite parent and grandparents to a Friday noon sack lunch (which we prepare). Each child has lunch with his/her parents and VBS teachers. The teachers are able to chat a bit with the families, show the VBS room and then we do a short program. It is amazing how many come despite work schedules. We also tell about upcoming events and hand out any fliers after the program.
- This year we are not doing a family night, but instead we are offering a parenting course throughout the 5 days of VBS. (Kevin Lehman’s “Have a Better Kid by Friday”.) So as we offer VBS to the community there will be a place for parents to come and have practical teaching for parenting skills. Hopefully, the relationships will be built during this time. Sunday Morning we will have a time of sharing testimony’s of what the Lord had done through VBS.
