Hi Guys! I want/need some opnions. I have been VBS director for 3 years now. My first year, it was dropped in my lap about a month prior and we used Lifeway - it was- I have forgotten the name of it.... Adventure's in Odyssey.... then we switched to Group - lat year Group was awesome (Lava Lava Island), this year it wasn't that great. I'm really liking Lifeway stuff.... have any of you switched from Group to Lifeway? How did the kids like it? What about the workers? Is it as easy or easier to use? Have you ever been to the workshops? How do they work? Are they worth it? Thanks so much for all of your help.

God Bless

Stacy in Alabama

Hi Stacy,

We are converted users. We used Group for 2 yrs and decided to try another program and liked the theme of LifeWay. Our kids are really enjoying it and we just started last night. The preschoolers are saying we need to stay on the road or we will get a ticket. A few workers have commented to my husband or myself, how they really like the materials better this year than even last year. Many people said that things ran a lot smoother this year as well.

The kids really got into doing the pledges which is not something we did in the past. I am really looking forward to next year's theme Arctic Edge and will be hitting sales later this year for things for that. I like that Lifeway gives you 3 craft options to find which one suits your VBS best. Also like that they have several snack options and that the program can go for more than just "little kids" it's for all ages. A thing I love is that the stories are not the same old stories that are always told at VBS. They really go broad and the material really is into Jesus more so than the other I think. Having themes spread apart is great, the kids get burned out seeing the same type of decoration each year and the decorators do as well. For us the last few years was: Jungle, Water, Jungle. Now we have Road Trip and then Ice for next year. (great theme for the summer months) Having the chance to do age ranges is realy nice. We split our groups as follows: We have our Pre-K 3-5, 6-10 yr olds (K-4th) use the 3-4th grader pack and than we have Pre-Teens: 11-14. It seems to be working out well.

Going to the preview conference last year was great, especially since we were first time users. I am already working on getting approval for going to the 2006 conference.