Every time I see a Vacation Bible School Course I seem to see the same five themes over and over again and I wish the people that created these themes would just be a little more creative! Here is a list of those five themes.

1. Game On!

https://www.lifeway.com/en/shop/vacation-bible-school/game-on

This is the current theme that my church is doing now and a theme I have seen several times in the past. This theme just consist of relating bible verse through sports such as basket ball, baseball, football, etc. Now I may be just speaking for myself, but I know that not everyone is a sports fan. Maybe choose something that is more generally liked by the public?

2. Beach Bash!

http://www.planetreg.com/E61621352174

As soon as you think of Summer you think of the beach! You will see the sanctuary filled with blow up beach balls and plastic palm trees. This theme was a lot of fun to me and I remember doing a lot of pretend surfing while learning some bible verses!

3. Hero Central!

http://www.southernmadesimple.com/superhero-craft-ideas-hero-central-vbs-theme/

Get ready for capes and masks because we are going to learn how God saved the day! This overplayed theme has not only been in several of my VBS's but it also is a overplayed theme for any five year old boys birthday party. At least swinging from skyscrapers is a lot more fun than kicking some deflated sports ball.

4. Shipwrecked!

http://kiskipby.org/shelocta-vbs-shipwrecked-rescued-jesus/

ARGHHHH me matey I am tired for searching for God's treasure! This pirate map is so old and overused that I don't know if I ever will find me booty. You might even find some of the kiddos sword buckling with the devil. Eye patches and Styrofoam swords are fun and all, but if I hear the word argh one more time I might just flip.

5. Over The Moat!

http://2017.rbpvbs.org/

Ok so maybe yours wasn't exactly named "over the moat", but it did happen to include themes of castles and knights. And you can bet that the "shield of God" reference was used about 100 times. Once the camp ends you are knighted and let over the drawbridge to the kingdom of God while reciting those catchy VBS tunes that you learned everyday during that week of VBS.

In conclusion, I love VBS and it really taught me a lot about the bible and several other morals that I live by still to this day, but after a little while you start to notice that the same themes are being recycled over and over again. So all I am saying is maybe switch it up and chose a theme that the children aren't expecting this summer!