Description

Young children love to sing, clap, and dance. Each time we lead kids in worship, we instinctively call them to worship responsively: “Clap your hands! Sing out! Shout Hallelujah!” One of the dangers inherent in teaching kids to worship this way is that we sometimes call for responses without showing kids a clear picture of the Heavenly Father they are responding to. The Clap Your Hands Stomp Your Feet VBS Curriculum teaches children the “why” behind our worship and then leads them to respond to God’s grace and goodness through fun, active praise. Each of the five days of assembly time, Bible study, crafts, and games work together to engage kids in lively, responsive praise rooted in the truths of the gospel. Appropriate for use with churched and unchurched children alike, Clap Your Hands Stomp Your Feet teaches that proactive praise is a lifelong response to the good news of Jesus. Each day connects the truths of the gospel to real-life scenarios through a study of the life of King David, and is written with a heart to call children to contagious, demonstrative praise.

Clap Your Hands, Stomp Your Feet teaches children the “why” behind our worship and then leads them to respond to God’s grace and goodness through fun, active praise, a lifelong response to the good news of Jesus. It engages kids in lively, responsive praise rooted in the truths of the gospel. Written by a collection of pastors, teachers, and parents with a heart to make the gospel contagious to a range of excited, demonstrative children. It connects the truths of the gospel to real-life scenarios through a five-day study of King David.

The starter kit provides everything your church needs to plan, advertise, and run a successful, praise-focused VBS: a director’s manual, lessons, crafts, and games for preschoolers and elementary students, and a studio-recorded children’s worship CD. Clap Your Hands, Stomp Your Feet Includes branded silicone wristbands, t-shirt decals, and an evangelistic booklet, Are You Close to God? (which can be purchased in 10-packs).

Your VBS Starter Kit includes:

Complete Director’s Manual (on CD)—Director’s planning checklist starting ten months before your VBS; Detailed directions on every aspect of planning, recruiting, advertising, training volunteers, classroom security, and projection against child abuse;& Recruitment ideas and printable forms for volunteers to fill out; Decorating ideas
Printables (on CD)—Including advertising posters, bulletin inserts, invitations, and name tags
Worship Leader’s Manual (on CD)—Sample Schedule; Script for five days of opening and optional closing assemblies (including song lists and scripts for worship leader and emcee); Complete lead sheets including chords and lyrics for all songs; Videos of hand motions for each song
Preschool Classroom Manual (on CD) includes—Schedule, Supply list, five lessons based on the theme of praise, detailed instructions for teaching, instructions for story circle format, craft directions, and snack suggestions
Elementary (K-5^th grade) Classroom Manual (on CD)—Games guide with supply lists and directions; Bible study guide with directions on how to present the lessons; Craft guide with supply lists and directions
In addition to the items on CD, the Starter Kit includes one each of the following items— Clap Your Hands Stomp Your Feet music CD; Videos of hand motions for each song (on DVD ROM); One Clap Your Hands silicone wristband (sold in packs of ten); One Clap Your Hands iron-on transfer (sold in packs of ten)

The evangelistic booklet, silicone wristbands (pack of ten) and the iron-on transfer (pack of 10) may be purchased separately.

Jared Kennedy, MDiv, ThM, is the cofounder and managing editor of Gospel-Centered Family, a ministry that helps churches and families share Jesus with the next generation. He also serves as the Children's and Family Ministry Strategist for the Sojourn Network, and is an adjunct professor at Boyce College. He is the author of The Beginner's Gospel Story Bible, Jesus Rose for Me, Jesus Came for Me, and God Made Me for Worship, and has developed two VBS programs, Proof Pirates and Clap Your Hands, Stomp Your Feet. He blogs regularly at Gospel-Centered Family and contributes to @TGC, @ERLC, and @HeReadsTruth. You can follow him on Twitter @jaredskennedy. He and his wife, Megan, have three girls, Rachael, Lucy, and Elisabeth.

Mandy Groce and her husband live in Louisville, Kentucky with their four children. Mandy is an illustrator, former engineer, and second grade teacher.

Tessa Janes is an artist who resides in Louisville with her husband and two daughters, where she attends Sojourn Community Church. Tessa studied art at the University of Louisville and did graduate work at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Tessa does custom artwork and has illustrated five children's books with Christian Focus Publishing, as well as children's study material for Thistle Bend Ministries and Sojourn Community Church. Her illustrated books include: What is the Gospel?; What is the Church?; Our Home is Like a Little Church; The Bible's Big Story; and God's Royal Family: The Greatest Royal Family Ever.

Kara Jenkins is the wife of Crockett and mother of three children. She has a B.S. in Children and Family Ministry from John Brown University, has authored curriculum for Ministry-To-Children.com, and is currently a Family Photographer in Tyler, TX and Sseko Fellow with Sseko Designs.

Fletcher Lang and his family live in Boston, Massachusetts where he is currently serving as the Executive Pastor for City on a Hill Church in Brookline, Massachusetts. He is married to Megan and has one daughter named Kennedy.

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Endorsements

"When churches select a VBS curriculum, they implicitly trust the people who wrote the material, created the games, composed the songs, and developed the other elements. I personally know Jared Kennedy and the members of the Clap Your Hands, Stomp Your Feet team. I wholeheartedly vouch for their integrity, gospel-centeredness, passion for Christ, and love for children!"
Gregg R. Allison, Professor of Christian Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; secretary, the Evangelical Theological Society; pastor and author

"The Clap Your Hands Stomp Your Feet vacation Bible school curriculum provides everything you need to host an awesome VBS that kids will love. With rocking music, creative crafts, and solid Bible lessons, your students will sad when VBS is over. In the midst of the fun, Clap your Hands Stomp Your Feet highlights the gospel in a clear, easy to understand way. The support materials and instructions are comprehensive, providing everything you need to pull off a successful event. Jared Kennedy and the folks at Sojourn Community Church have given us a gift in creating this VBS."
Marty Machowski, Family Pastor and author of Dragon Seed, The Ology, Long Story Short, the Gospel Story Bible and other gospel resources for church and home

"VBS is still one of the most relevant and important forms of outreach annually in most churches. Sadly, many of those same churches overlook the importance of the content being taught. We know that we don't just learn our theology from great preaching, but also from great gospel-centered songs and praise. This is especially true of children, who naturally love music and song. The theme of disciple-making through worship is powerful and the 'Hook, Book, Look' approach is clear, easy-to-use, and gospel-centered. Use this resource to lay a foundation for developing life-long worshippers in your church!"
Jay Strother, Campus & Teaching Pastor, The Church at Station Hill

"This curriculum is fantastic. Theologically rich and thoroughly engaging, these lessons clearly communicate that we serve a wondrous God who is worthy of our praise. Clap Your Hands! Stomp Your Feet! is a great resource for any Vacation Bible School or backyard Bible club setting."
Scott James, Author of The Littlest Watchman: Watching and Waiting for the Very First Christmas, The Expected One: Anticipating All of Jesus in the Advent, and Mission Accomplished

"Clap Your Hands, Stomp Your Feet is a great VBS for most any church! New Growth Press has created a comprehensive package which gives kids a big view of God and why we should all praise Him with joyful worship. Each day of VBS has been laid out with fun activities, thoughtful lessons, and creative crafts that communicate how praiseworthy is our great God."
Susan Wall, Children's Curriculum Coordinator, Capitol Hill Baptist Church

"Every week, children's worship leaders work up a sweat keeping younger kids engaged and older kids from being 'too cool' to sing or dance. While we may feel successful as leaders when kids are singing along, God is more interested in the posture of children's hearts than the actions of their bodies. If you want your kids to stop going through the motions of worship and start to truly worship God, use this curriculum!"
John Murchison, Managing Editor, Austin Stone Resources, Children's Director at The Austin Stone for 12 years

"The most effective curriculum ignites the imagination of the teacher as well as the student. I love Clap Your Hands, Stomp Your Feet because it does exactly that. Is there anything more exciting than teaching children how to know God and worship Him with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength? These gospel-centered resources are perfectly designed for that purpose. They are clear, creative, and complete – a teacher's dream!"
Laurie Aker, Executive Director, Thistlebend Ministries; author and speaker

"Kids have a lot of energy and love to engage in activities with their whole bodies. Helping them to see they were created to worship God is what Clap Your Hands, Stomp Your Feet: Make a Joyful Noise is all about. Through engaging lessons and activities, children will learn to worship with their whole being (body and soul), in response to the gospel of God's grace."
Bland Mason, Pastor, City on a Hill Church and Chaplain to the Boston Red Sox

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