Free Vacation Bible School
A free five-day VBS for ages 4 to 12 with a hiking and camping theme. Kids are hikers, their small groups are trail crews, and each morning runs about three hours: an opening, a Bible story, crew time, four stations (crafts, games, snack, and missions), and a closing. Every day has a simpler version for preschoolers and a deeper option for older kids. There's also a training session for the teens who help. Nothing to buy and no music pack: you use songs your church already sings.
| Day | Bible story | Memory verse (BSB) |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | God Made Everything, and He Made You Genesis 1:1-2:3; Psalm 139:13-14 | “I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Your works, and I know this very well.” Psalm 139:14 |
| Day 2 | Jesus Is With You in the Storm Mark 4:35-41 | “When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.” Psalm 56:3 |
| Day 3 | The Shepherd Who Comes Looking Luke 15:1-7; John 10:11 | “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” John 10:11 |
| Day 4 | Jesus Died and Rose Again to Bring Us Home Luke 23:33-24:8; Romans 6:23 | “He is not here; He has risen!” Luke 24:6 |
| Day 5 | Go and Tell: Jesus Sends Us Out Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8 | “Go and make disciples of all nations... And surely I am with you always.” Matthew 28:19-20 (short form) |
The week builds on itself: God made you and knows you, Jesus is with you when you're afraid, Jesus comes looking for you, Jesus died and rose again for you, and now Jesus sends you out. Day 5 ends with a short program for families.
The week before: run the teen helper training. It's an hour on serving like Jesus, what helpers actually do, and the safety rules. Many churches start helpers at grade 7 so they aren't the same age as the oldest kids.
Times vary a little by day. Here is Day 1 with a 9:00 start.
| 9:00 | Opening assembly (everyone) |
| 9:25 | Bible story (everyone) |
| 9:45 | Trail crews: small-group talk |
| 10:10 | Four station rotations, 20 minutes each |
| 11:30 | Transitions, restrooms, cleanup |
| 11:40 | Closing assembly and memory verse |
| 12:00 | Check-out: each child goes only to an authorized adult |
With four crews, each crew visits every station once. Add crews by doubling a station or running two crews together.
| 10:10 | 10:30 | 10:50 | 11:10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew 1 | Crafts | Games | Snack | Missions |
| Crew 2 | Games | Snack | Missions | Crafts |
| Crew 3 | Snack | Missions | Crafts | Games |
| Crew 4 | Missions | Crafts | Games | Snack |
About 40 kids in 5 crews: 5 crew leaders, 4 station leaders, 2 floating adults (so a crew is never left with one adult during a restroom trip), 1 storyteller who also leads the big room, 1 person at sign-in, and 1 on first aid. That's about 14 adults, plus 5 to 10 teen helpers.
A smaller church, about 18 kids and 7 adults: run 3 crews whose leaders also run crafts and missions at their own tables, put 1 adult on games and snack, keep 2 floating adults, and let the storyteller lead the big room.
Every crew needs a screened adult leader. Teen helpers are never alone with a child, and sign-in and check-out are adult jobs.
Each day's plan has its own materials list. Most of it is ordinary: cardstock, washable stamp pads, markers, glue sticks, craft sticks, cotton balls, paper footprints, a blue sheet, a toy sheep, cones, beach balls, beanbags, water jugs and cups, and a shade canopy or an indoor backup space. For 40 kids we'd guess roughly $150 to $250 for the week, mostly crafts and snacks, if you borrow the props. Your costs will vary.
Preschoolers (ages 4 and 5) often do best as their own track, joining the big room for songs and the closing. A quiet corner and a small fidget bin help kids who get overwhelmed. If families in your church speak Spanish, have parent forms and pickup notes in Spanish too.
DiviNav AI drafted these plans for an evangelical statement of faith, and its automatic review checked each one for Scripture, theology, sensitive topics, and borrowed writing. Then we had AI review the whole week a second time, role-playing VBS directors, a children's pastor, a preschool teacher, a child-safety officer, parents, and a teen helper, and we fixed what it found. We haven't run this VBS ourselves, and no pastor has read it line by line. Read each day through before you use it, and change whatever doesn't fit your church.