Harderwyk Ministries, a Christian Reformed congregation of about 800 members in Holland, Mich., which has been producing gospel-centered Vacation Bible School curriculum for a decade, is making its database of programs available to smaller churches as an alternative to “boxed” curriculum to better fit their communities' needs. Hopkins (Mich.) Community Church has already used it.
Becky Visser, now children’s pastor at Harderwyk Ministries, started off volunteering in the children's ministry several years ago where her passion for meaningful and engaging biblical teaching for children was ignited. “I've previously worked with a lot of boxed VBS programs. Though a lot of them are good, they do not (always) hit the gospel message. That’s when I thought to write my own program,” Visser said.
The church appreciated how the homegrown curriculum fit the congregation’s needs. “From the songs, to the skit, to the craft, to the story of the evening, we are able to present the takeaway lesson to reach all learning abilities,” said Nicole Johnson, an Adventure Week (VBS) committee member at Harderwyk. “The curriculum Becky writes does an excellent job of tying the weekly theme to the gospel message over a variety of activities,” Johnson said.
After some interest from churches in and around Michigan to use Harderwyk’s past programs, Luke Joyce, director of the church’s ministry operations, wanted to share it more widely, especially to CRC churches. “Any sharing about this on the denominational level would be welcomed by us,” Joyce said.
Visser noted, “Many congregations are looking for alternatives to the traditional ‘boxed’ VBS programs, which are expensive, and are interested in customizable options. Hopkins Community Reformed Church (once Reformed Church in America and now associated with the Alliance of Reformed Churches) requested to use my materials from previous years, and I was more than happy to share them.”
Caleb Nykamp, pastor of discipleship at Hopkins Community Church, confirmed it. “We used one of Becky’s VBS curriculum in 2024 and absolutely loved it,” he said. “We just adapted some of the material to our specific context.”
Harderwyk’s library of past VBS resources is in a digital database ready to be shared on USB drives upon request, Visser said. She hopes to share these resources with churches of all sizes that want to create unique VBS programs or need materials for their own children's ministries. Visser has also helped to coach staff of another church to develop their own homegrown material, with the ultimate goal of drawing more people into the saving faith of Jesus Christ.
About 200 kids attend VBS at Harderwyk Ministries each year, with more than half coming from outside the church community.