VBS 2020 has been cancelled
After prayerful consideration, the VBS Director team has made the decision to cancel VBS 2020.
Here are some of the considerations that we made:
- There is no real timeline for “re-entry” into normal rhythms, so we have no assurance that a time this summer will ever be available.
- Even after some of the stay-at-home restrictions are lifted, some families and volunteers will not be keen to participate in such a large-scale event.
- Whenever restrictions are lifted, people will work to get their “summer things” in during the truncated timeframe – therefore, there will be more conflicts than usual (including other ministries with which we don’t want to compete)
- VBS is an expensive event. With uncertain economic realities for many families that have already surfaced or will, we expect giving at Calvary to be affected. As such, a proactive approach to reduce spending is wise.
- VBS is also a complicated event and requires many, many weeks of preparation. Without any real timeline being given by government officials, even if restrictions are lifted, we may have little to no warning of when that will occur, and we can’t successfully prepare in that short of a timeframe, nor do we want to move ahead with the event, “wasting” time and money and not be able to have it.
All that said, while we are in some ways disappointed of course, we are actually not discouraged. God certainly doesn’t need Calvary’s VBS to accomplish His purposes in this world! We take heart that He has every resource and all the time that He needs!
We are also considering some alternatives. With such a great team of leaders, we are convinced that this may be a wonderful opportunity to explore alternative summer options. Namely, we are exploring the idea of training people to host “backyard bible clubs” this summer. More on that to come, but our team is exploring some options. This idea seems more plausible as it is simpler, smaller in scale, much less expensive, and has the additional benefit of offering a great opportunity for people to reach out in their own neighborhoods. We will wait a little while to see how things unfold before moving ahead with this.
For all the work you have already put into VBS, we genuinely thank you. For all of you who have to have a disappointing conversation with your own kids, we’re sorry that this will add to the cumulative loss they are feeling. For what it’s worth, we have not yet decided to, for example, cancel our week at Camp Victory, so as of now, VBS is the only summer cancellation.
Finally, our plan is to NOT use this VBS curriculum in 2020 in any form. We may or may not use it next summer, depending on what happens and what plans we have for the summer of 2021.
We will continue to be in touch in the coming weeks as the situation unfolds.
In Him,
The VBS Director Team: Jess, Laura, Amy, Kim, and Brian
