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Jesus is well known for welcoming the little children - and his churches ought to be as well.

That's a big reason countless churches organize an annual Vacation Bible School (VBS) for their communities. And anyone who's ever been a part of this ministry knows there's a difference between running a good VBS and running a great one. The great ones have a few things in common: they're well thought-out, well-planned, and well-executed.

Dorothy Linthicum knows all about this. She has counseled countless VBS organizers and reviewed even more VBS curriculums in her years as a program director at Virginia Seminary's Center for the Ministry of Teaching

In this class Dorothy delivers four lectures, here are the titles:

Essential Questions I
Essential Questions II
Curriculum Selection
How to Keep Organized

This class is ideal for those who are new at organizing or volunteering at a VBS. It can also serve as a helpful refresher for seasoned VBS veterans.

Here's a video preview:

Frequently Asked Questions

How long will it take me to complete this course? It will take an average student about 45 minutes to complete this course. You can pause at any time and come back. You can even re-take lessons. Each course features 3-6 video lectures that are from 5-7 minutes in length. Also included are downloadable Mp3s of each lecture plus Discussion Questions and a one-page synopsis of the course called The Takeaway

Who’s teaching this course? Our instructors come from a variety of traditions, mostly mainline Christianity - Baptist, Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian. They meet two criteria: 1) they are well-studied, even experts, in their fields, 2) they offer a moderate viewpoint

How long will I be able to access the course material? Those who purchase individual courses (for $10) can access all the course materials for 6 months from the date of purchase. Those who purchase individual subscriptions ($15/mo unlimited) can the course materials for all of our courses as long as their membership is current.

Is this course downloadable? Parts of the course are - Mp3s of the lectures, the Takeaway, and the Discussion Questions. However, the course is designed to be an online learning experience and the video lectures, quizzes, and discussion are only accessible online. However, if you'd like to take the course in a small group, feel free to hook your computer up to a projector or big screen

Can I cancel my subscription anytime? You bet. It's easy, click here for instructions as well as answers to more Frequently Asked Questions.

Also, a technical note: This platform works best on Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, which are both free downloads. Internet Explorer 9 and above also works well. However different computers have different anti-virus and spam filters installed that can inhibit the downloading of lots of different materials, so if one browser is not working for you then try another.

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Video lectures with Dorothy Linthicum.
Downloadable Discussion Questions for groups and The Takeaway, for personal study.
Interaction with other students through discussion questions and sharing notes.

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