Helping people take the NEXT STEP in their relationship with JESUS

Statistics show that approximately 25% of all baptisms in Southern Baptist Churches occur as a result of Vacation Bible School. This statistic is used to hype the importance of VBS in local churches. But what does this statistic say about the weekly ministry environments that our churches create? Does the fact that ¼ of our baptisms come from a one week period of time each summer indicate that there is a problem with our weekly ministry environments?

I’m not knocking VBS. I just want to submit to you that this statistic should greatly disturb those of us who are responsible for the weekly ministry environments in our churches. This statistic should cause us to re-evaluate what we are doing in our weekly children, student, and adult environments. What can we change to make them more effective? What can we do to make them more engaging? What can we do to make them irresistible and life-changing?

Here are three key questions that I have learned to ask:

*Is the physical ENVIRONMENT appealing to your target audience?

*Is the CONTENT that you are presenting perceived as helpful to your target audience?

*Is the PRESENTATION of your content engaging to your target audience?