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Forum Expert
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Last Login: 9/22/2009 7:40:20 AM
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ok I justreread my post. It may not be clear: We did not charge in the past. This year was the first year we actually had a registration fee
Gwen with  kid's minitry, OH
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Forum Newbie
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Last Login: 9/23/2009 2:43:35 PM
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| Our VBS is truly an ecumenical event. Our churches- 2 Presbyterian, 1 Episcopal, and 1 Lutheran - pool our money together - each church has VBS as a line item in the budget, it allows us to reach many more children in our community and we do not have to charge for VBS. Maybe there are other churches in your town you could pool resources with so you wouldn't have to charge anyone to attend it. 
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Forum Member
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Last Login: 11/3/2009 8:32:08 PM
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| Unfortunately, we have to charge, since our church does not give a budget. We ask $30 and that includes buddies, Bible books, t-shirt, music CD, nice crafts, and items such as the God sighting bracelet. Multiple kids in the family are less, we give scholarships, and we never turn away due to finances. Judi
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Forum Newbie
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Last Login: 9/30/2009 7:50:42 PM
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All the Vacation Bible Schools I have been apart of have been free to the kids. We always have raised money for our VBS. One year however someone came up with this idea at our church and I thought it be be very good. Our VBS Assistant Director took the time to figure out about how much it would cost for a child to particapate in our one week VBS program. ( Note we did not do crafts at this time due to cost and the amount of kids we had) She then Made Paper Monkeys and wrote on them $15.00 and a blank line. She then had a large paper tree on the wall in the hallway of the church with these monkeys dangling all over. Then different people from the church could sponsor as many kids as they liked for VBS. We actually made money on this. There was never a fee for anyone set person to pay. If you expect maybe 60 kids make 60 monkeys and hang them on the wall as the are paid for then the family who pay for it can write their name on the monkey so you know how many have been paid for. Note some people also did not want to be know so then we would put a Bible Buddy Name on it. Some people would sponsor the same number as they had kids particpating others who had no kids still would help out and donate towards the event also. It was fun and well worth it. The monkeys at the time went with the theme so if using it for this year I would suggest maybe making some sail boats and for the bullentin board having water for them to float in. Be creative anything will work.
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Forum Newbie
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Last Login: 10/16/2009 11:45:28 AM
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We ask for a $5 donation per child, max $10 per family...if they cant pay it or don't offer, we don't ask..Many people ask if that's all??? THey don't think it's enough.. When you figure that they are getting 5 snacks, Bible Buddies, multiple crafts, one cd per family, and the other goodies that go along with it, it's a good deal - again it's a donation, not mandatory.. We also sell the Group t-shirts as an optional thing..We have had some offer to pay extra to sponsor another child too - it always works out and at least covers the cost of the Bible Buddies...
Becky
Central NY
Becky
Oneida, NY
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Junior Member
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Last Login: 11/7/2009 3:49:10 AM
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We are a small church with a group of children that has grown from 33 two years ago to over 80 this year. We charge $15 per child and $25 per family, regardless of number in family. This year we instituted a change which helped us immensely in our planning. The fee doubled after July 1. Our event is usually in August and so many families waited until the last minute, along with walk-ins. With the change in price we had only about 8-10 register after July 1 and we had no walk ins this year. We found this to be an acceptable price to charge as many parents were willing to either pay additional or provide us with volunteer time. We have a very small budget and all the cost of decorations are donated so this fee covers the student supplies and some of the snack food.
mcf
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Forum Newbie
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Last Login: 11/12/2009 2:29:07 PM
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I agree that it is totally geographical. When I pastored in Anderson, IN, it would be an insult to charge for VBS. Now I serve in an extremely affluent area of the eastbay (San Francisco) and charge $60 for each kid. Parents here are so appreciative of the inexpensive cost. Thank goodness my kids get to go free.
Rev. Joel Bullock
Director of Ministry to Children and their Families
Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian Church
www.lopc.og
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