FAQ's

What is site rotation?

In a site-rotation program, students spend most of their time with a small group of same-age or mixed-age children. A Circle Guide leads a group of six children to seven rotation sites with specialty leaders. Preschoolers have separate classes.

Friendship Trek sites include:

• Trailhead (Openings)
• Campfire Bible Stories
• Buddy's Bible Challenge
• Wilderness Crafts
• Backpack Snacks
• Survivor Games
• Friendship Summit (Closings)

(We recommend you recruit one person as site leader for openings and closings.)

Site rotation uniquely addresses the challenges of staffing, recruitment, and space usage.

• Recruitment is easier because jobs match volunteers' interests and strengths, such as crafts, music, or snacks. Volunteers do what they love best.
• Volunteers have less prep work. Site leaders have one job. They prepare 20 minutes of activities and repeat them several times throughout the day. Each site leader has a Leader Guide for easy, creative, and fun planning.
• Circle Guides have little prep work and enjoy building relationships. They lead small groups of six to every site. Circle Guide Books give them everything they need to lead small-group activities.
• Space usage improves because you only need six areas for one to 150 kids. (Remember, opening and closing share space.) If you have more than 150 kids, simply add another set of the five rotation sites to make 10 areas plus a space for opening and closing. The Director Guide offers detailed information to plan programs of different sizes.

What does site rotation look like?

At each Friendship Trek site, kids hear and explore the Bible story, Main Idea, or Bible memory verse. As they encounter God's Word, the Holy Spirit works faith in their hearts, minds, and souls.

Site-Rotation Chart

Who makes a great site leader?

Site leaders should be experienced teachers who have

• the interest, skills, and abilities to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with children and their families.
• a commitment to Christian education and outreach.
• an eagerness and joy to share the Christian faith.
• the ability to teach Bible stories, truths, and concepts to children of different ages.
• love for children and their families.

What are 6 reasons site leaders love Friendship Trek?

1. Site leaders get to do what they do best.
2. Site leaders have one job, not multiple parts of a lesson.
3. Everyone works together to teach the whole lesson.
4. Site leaders prepare less content (about 20 minutes) and repeat it several times throughout the day.
5. Site leaders have a Leader Guide that makes planning easy, creative, and fun.
6. Four of the seven site leaders have convenient Leader Packs with multimedia resources and other leader essentials!

Can the Concordia Publishing House VBS be used as a same-age (traditional format) program?

There are several ways you can use our VBS materials in same-age groups.

NOTE: Remember, preschoolers are not included in these small groups. They explore VBS in the comfort and safety of their own preschool groups. 

1. Assign kids to same-age small groups and same-age rotation groups.

   Let kids experience learning in same-age groups by assigning them to small groups with others of similar ages. For example, a small group might include 3-6 first and second graders with a teen or adult leader.

   When you assign small groups to a group that goes through the rotation sites together, a Rotation Group, put all the groups with kids of the same age together. Each Rotation Group can have up to 30 children in five small groups. Doing this lets children of the same age rotate to each site together so site leaders can adapt their activities to fit younger or older children. Most Leader Guides give adaptation ideas for older or younger children.

   This is a more inexpensive way to accomplish your goal since you will only need one of each of these items: Campfire Bible Stories Leader Guide and Campfire Bible Stories Leader Pack, Buddy's Bible Challenge Leader Guide and Buddy's Bible Challenge Leader Pack.

2. Put same-age children in classes with teachers for Bible stories and Bible challenge activities

   If you want kids to experience the Bible story in self-contained classrooms, divide children into groups of same-age kids, perhaps up to about 20 kids with one or more leaders.

   Give leaders 40-50 minutes to lead Bible story and Bible challenge activities. Leaders also could escort their kids to other areas for crafts, games, snack, opening, and closing.

   Leaders of each age-divided group will need a Campfire Bible Stories Leader Guide, Campfire Bible Stories Leader Pack, Buddy's Bible Challenge Leader Guide, and Buddy's Bible Challenge Leader Pack.