Learn About Power Lab
Community
Tools
Four Weeks Before Power Lab
Recruit additional volunteers.
In addition to station leaders and Lab Crew Leaders, you may want to recruit volunteers to help with registration, transportation, and child care for the staff. Refer to the "Recruiting" section for more ideas.
If you're planning to offer a nursery program or child care for staff, be sure to check out the Baby Beakers Infants, Toddlers, and Twos program. Even the littlest learners will love learning about God's love!
Get your congregation excited about Operation Kid-to-KidT.
Check out the Operation Kid-to-Kid section of the Director Manual to find easy ways to get everyone involved with this missions project.
Continue publicity.
Mail Power Lab invitation postcards to children in your church and community. Distribute Power Lab doorknob danglers in your community. Write your church's name and when Power Lab will begin. (Invitation Postcards and Doorknob Danglers are available from Group Publishing or your Group supplier.) Be sure to direct people to your Power Lab Web site for easy registration.
Continue preregistration.
Photocopy the "Power Lab Registration Form" from the Director Manual. Insert copies in your church bulletins, distribute copies in Sunday school classes, and keep a supply in your church office. Encourage parents from your church to preregister their children and their children's friends. (Remember, when families register online, they'll automatically be put into crews, making your job even easier.) This will make your first day more manageable.
Preregistration really does make things run more smoothly. To get more kids preregistered, you might offer incentives. For example, provide a Power Lab T-shirt or a Sonic Sing & Play Music CD for each child who registers early. Or fill a large jar with Atomic Fireballs candy. Children who preregister can submit a "guess" as to how many candies are in the jar. (The winner gets to keep the entire jar of candy! Yum!) These incentives will build enthusiasm for your VBS, too.
Hold the scheduled leader training meeting.
Plan to meet in a large room where you'll be able to try out some Power Lab snacks and activities. Before the meeting, set up a TV and DVD player, and decorate the room using the suggestions provided in the staff training outline. Bring the station leader manuals, Crew Leader Pocket Guides, and photocopies of the "For Lab Crew Leaders Only" handouts.
Meet with each station leader.
It's a good idea to touch base with each station leader on a one-on-one basis. Take each person to lunch or out for ice cream, or simply go for a walk together as you discuss what supplies the leader needs, what concerns he or she may have, or any aspects of the program that are not clear. This will not only prevents miscommunication but also help your volunteers know how much you appreciate them.
Provide Power Lab information to your church office.
Fill in your church's information on the community flier in the Director Manual, and photocopy a stack of completed fliers on brightly colored paper to put in your church office. Someone in the office can refer to the fliers if people call with questions about your program and can distribute fliers to people who stop by the office. If your church has a phone answering machine, you may also want to include Power Lab information in your recorded message. If your church has its own Web site, be sure to add Power Lab information there, too.