Group Publishing VBS 2017: Maker Fun Factory

Alright, alright… I can hear the outcry now… “aren’t we still in 2016?”.  Yes, we are, but for those VBS fanatics {such as myself} who like to know next year’s VBS theme 14 seconds after this year’s VBS finishes, I have some good news!

After a LONNNNGGGGG wait, Group Publishing has released their 2017 themes {okay, fine, it was only a week later than last year’s release, but still.}!

Group Publishing 2017 VBS Themes

The “Easy” VBS theme {emphasis on the quotes there – Group calls it easy, not me – haha!} is Maker Fun Factory: Created by God; Built for a Purpose.
The “Cross Culture” VBS theme is Passport to Peru: Discovering God’s Good Gifts.
The “Holy Land” VBS theme is Rome: Paul and the Underground Church.

These all sound like fun ideas, but I’m going to focus on the Maker Fun Factory because that’s the one most people {including our church} typically use.  Group literally released the themes half an hour ago {as I’m typing this}, so I don’t have tons of grand ideas yet.  Plus, I still have to finish posting tutorials on what we did for Cave Quest.  Rest assured though, I’m brainstorming 2017 ideas already!  It looks like Maker Fun Factory has used lots of gears and a scientist/lab tech angle on things {with hands-on everything, including decorations}.

The materials won’t be available to order until December 1, 2016, but there is a little information on the website now.  Here’s what we have so far:

Day 1
Bible Point: God made you.
Key Bible Verse: “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex.” (Psalm 139:14)
Bible Story: God lovingly creates people. (Psalm 139; Genesis 1:24-2:4)
Bible Buddy: Decker the Decorator Crab

Day 2
Bible Point: God is for you.
Key Bible Verse: “If God is for us, who can ever be against us?” (Romans 8:31)
Bible Story: Rahab believes in God’s mighty power. (Joshua 1-2)
Bible Buddy: Tina the Cathedral Termite

Day 3
Bible Point: God is always with you.
Key Bible Verse: “The Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)
Bible Story: God is with Gideon. (Judges 6:11-7:25)
Bible Buddy: Bubba the Humpback Whale

Day 4
Bible Point: God will always love you.
Key Bible Verse: “Your unfailing love will last forever.” (Psalm 89:2)
Bible Story: Jesus dies and comes back to life. (Luke 22:66-24:12)
Bible Buddy: Skyler the Bowerbird

Day 5
Bible Point: God made you for a reason.
Key Bible Verse: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
Bible Story: Abigail brings peace. (1 Samuel 25)
Bible Buddy: Abbee the Bee

There are some decorating pictures, an intro video and even the theme song available for download on the Group website!

It looks like they’ve used several bold colors in decorating, so any neon paints should easily transfer over and be re-used next year!  This should also be true for table cloths and other neon disposables.  One of the pictures in their decorating teaser shows a pool noodle, so you may want to hang on to those from Cave Quest.  Yay for frugality!

I started a Pinterest board today!  If you might be using Maker Fun Factory VBS, make sure to follow my new board on Pinterest for tons of ideas!

Thanks for visiting!  If you know others using the Cave Quest curriculum this year or who may be searching for 2017 curriculum, share this post with them using the links below.  Make sure to follow Borrowed Blessings at the top of the page for more VBS ideas!