VBS 2027 Class Estimator
Estimate what a church would spend on PROCLAIMERS compared with Lifeway, CPH (Concordia), Answers in Genesis, Group’s Crave and Kingdom of David, Regular Baptist Press and Cokesbury. Enter how many people you expect in each grade level, from Preschool through Adults, and the tool figures the starter kit, teacher materials for any classes beyond what the kit covers and student materials for each person.
Order PROCLAIMERS for this VBS
One click adds everything this setup needs to the Bogard Press cart: the Starter Kit (all teacher materials and one student book for every grade level) plus student materials for everyone else.
Opens the Bogard Press checkout in a new tab with these items already added. Shipping and tax are figured at checkout.
Estimated total cost
| Publisher | Starter kit | Extra classes | Students | Teens, adults | Total | Per person |
|---|
What’s in each starter kit
Checked October 22, 2026, on each publisher’s product page. Every kit includes samples of student take-home items. Only Bogard Press lists a value for its kit; the other publishers don’t state one.
| Kit | Teacher materials included | Teens and adults | Director, leader and media | Not included |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PROCLAIMERS Starter Kit $229.00 (Bogard Press) Value: $409.29 You save $180.29 (44%); 53 items |
A Teacher book and Visuals for every grade level (Preschool/Kindergarten, Beginner, Primary, Junior, Young Teen and Teen), plus a student book for each | Young Teen and Teen Teacher, Visuals and Student; Adult Lessons | Director’s Plan Book, Craft book, Game book, Songbook, Skits book, Bible Teaching Posters, Station Signs, Daily Theme Posters, publicity pieces and an adult XL T-shirt. One sample of every packaged item ($409.29 value). | Media (sold separately as a download or flash drive) |
| Lifeway (2026 kits; 2027 not posted) Kids $118.99 + Preschool $118.99 (Concordia Supply) + Directors Kit $39.99 Value: not stated |
Kids Starter Kit: Leader Guide and Leader Pack for Grades 1–2, 3–4 and Preteen 5–6 (Christianbook). Preschool Starter Kit covers babies through Kindergarten and is sold separately. | Not included. Student and Adult Starter Kits are sold separately ($30.99 each). | Missions, Music and Crafts rotation guides, Snack and Recreation cards. The 2027 Directors Kit adds the Administrative Guide, Decorating Made Easy, music CDs and a promotional poster. | Worship Rally Pack (sold separately) |
| CPH Safari Expedition $224.99 (Concordia Supply) Value: not stated |
One Site Leader Guide for each site, including one Early Childhood and one Elementary Storytelling guide (CPH) | None listed | Director Guide, Director USB, decorating helps, Bible Story and promotional posters, skit, song and memory verse videos, music download card, craft samples | Extra guides for more than one leader per site |
| Answers in Genesis Spy U $109.00 (Answers in Genesis) Value: not stated |
One Teacher Guide each for Toddler (2–4), Pre-Primary (4–6), Primary (6–9) and Junior (9–12), plus a Student Guide for each | None. The Teen & Adult Teacher Guide is sold separately ($14.99). | Director, Assembly, Snacks, Games, Science and Crafts, and Missions/Music/Memory Verse guides, Helper Handbook and resource download | Printed posters and music (the Music Download is sold separately) |
| Group: Crave $314.99 (Group) Value: not stated |
13 Leader Manuals, one for every rotation station, in Elementary and Preschool editions; digital Crew Leader Guides | None listed | Director Go-To Guide, Preschool Director Manual, training DVD, music CDs and DVD, Bible video DVD, decorating download | Posters, printed student books |
| Group: Kingdom of David (Holy Land Adventure) $279.99 (Group) Value: not stated |
6 Leader Manuals (Celebration, David’s Throne Room, Kingdom Games, Deeper Bible, Food Market, Shopkeeper), a sample Tribe Leader Guidebook and a sample Deeper Bible Tribe Teaching Kit (Group) | Made for Preschool and Elementary, but it can be run as an all-ages family experience (Concordia Supply) | Ultimate Director Go-To Guide, training DVD, music CDs and DVD, clip art and forms, and student and marketplace samples | Student books, Bible Memory Makers and marketplace supplies; a Tribe Leader Guidebook for each tribe of 5 (not counted); ships January 11, 2027 |
| Regular Baptist Press, Return to Camp Moose on the Loose Director’s Kit $184.99 (RBP) Value: not stated |
Teacher Guides for Pre-Primary, Primary and Junior, plus Student Activity Sheets for each (RBP) | A sample Youth & Adult Bible Study; extra copies are $9.99 each in 2026 (RBP) | Director Guide, resources download, decorating ideas, music, crafts and promotional samples | Visual Packets ($32.99 each in 2026, not counted in the estimate); 2027 teacher and student items are coming soon |
| Cokesbury, On the Boardwalk Ultimate Starter Kit $274.99 (Cokesbury) Value: not stated |
Director Guide and 9 Leader Guides, including Preschool/Kindergarten and the elementary rotation stations (Bible Storyteller, Craft, Music, Science, Assembly, Recreation, Reflection Time), plus a digital download card (Cokesbury) | In 2026, a free youth/adult PDF came with the kit’s download card (Concordia Supply); not yet confirmed for 2027 | CDs, DVDs, sample promotional items and a sample Scripture lanyard | Student books (sold in packs of 6); ships February 2, 2027 |
Prices used
You can change any price below, and the totals update right away. 2027 means the price is posted for the 2027 program. 2026 est. means the 2027 item isn’t priced yet, so the 2026 price is used as the estimate.
| Publisher and program | Starter kit | Each extra class (teacher materials) | Per child (student materials) | Teens and adults |
|---|
How the estimate works
- Total = the starter kit + teacher materials for any classes beyond what the kit covers + student materials for every person. Shipping, tax, decorations, crafts, shirts and extras are left out for every publisher.
- What each kit covers: All PROCLAIMERS teacher materials (Teacher books and Visuals for every grade level) are included in the Starter Kit, so there’s no extra teacher cost for any class. Lifeway’s two kits cover 2 preschool classes (3s–Pre-K, Kindergarten) and one each for grades 1–2, 3–4 and 5–6. Answers in Genesis covers 2 preschool (Toddler, Pre-Primary) and 2 elementary (Primary, Junior) classes. CPH has one storytelling guide each for early childhood and elementary. Both Group programs use station leader manuals that cover every class.
- Student samples in each kit: Every kit’s sample student items are subtracted from what a church has to buy. PROCLAIMERS includes one student book for every grade level, Preschool through Adult. Lifeway’s Kids kit has 3 Activity Books (grades 1–2, 3–4 and Preteen), according to Christianbook. CPH has Early Childhood and Elementary leaflets (CPH). Answers in Genesis has 1 Student Guide for each of its 4 age groups (Answers in Genesis). Regular Baptist Press has Student Activity Sheets for Pre-Primary, Primary and Junior plus 1 Youth & Adult Bible Study (RBP). Cokesbury includes Student Book samples, counted as 1 each for its 3 student books (Cokesbury). Group’s kits include one child’s set of samples (Group).
- Teens and adults: PROCLAIMERS has its own Young Teen (grades 7–9), Teen (grades 10–12) and Adult materials. Teen teacher materials and one Young Teen Student, one Teen Student and one Adult Lessons are included in the kit. Each additional teen gets a Student book ($3.95) and each additional adult gets Adult Lessons ($4.95), all from the Bogard Press store. Lifeway sells separate Student and Adult Starter Kits ($30.99 each in 2026, according to Christianbook); the estimate counts one kit per teen or adult class. Answers in Genesis has one Teen & Adult Teacher Guide ($14.99) on its order page, counted once per teen or adult class, with no student book listed. CPH and Group’s Crave don’t list teen or adult materials, so their totals don’t include teens or adults. They’d need to buy something else for those people.
- PROCLAIMERS: Starter Kit $229.00, which includes all teacher materials and one student book for every grade level; each additional child gets Activity Pages ($4.10). Prices are from the Bogard Press store.
- Lifeway, Take Flight (2027): Only the $39.99 Directors Kit is posted so far; the rest comes out in December, according to Lifeway. The estimate uses 2026 Illumination Station prices: a full Lifeway setup needs the Kids Starter Kit ($118.99) and the Preschool Starter Kit ($118.99) from Concordia Supply, plus the 2027 Directors Kit ($39.99), for $277.97. Extra classes get a Leader Pack ($29.75) and a Leader Guide ($8.99) from Christianbook, and each child gets an Activity Book ($3.60, the price on Lifeway’s site) for each child.
- CPH (Concordia), Safari Expedition (2027): The Starter Kit is $224.99 at Concordia Supply and ships in January 2027, according to CPH. Separate 2027 items aren’t priced yet, so the estimate uses 2026 Tropical Trek prices from CPH: a Storytelling Leader Guide ($24.99) for each extra class and Leaflets ($3.49) for each child. CPH uses rotation sites, so some churches need fewer guides.
- Answers in Genesis, Spy U (2027): All prices are posted on the Spy U order page. The estimate uses regular prices: the Starter Kit is $109.00, a Teacher Guide for each extra class is $14.99, and Student Guides are $12.99 for a pack of 10, or about $1.30 per child.
- Group, Crave (2027): The Ultimate Starter Kit is $314.99 on Group’s shop and includes a leader manual for each station. Crave student items aren’t priced yet, so the estimate uses 2026 prices: Bible Memory Buddies at $33.49 for 10 children plus a Buddy Pack at $10.99 for 10, or about $4.45 per child.
- Group, Kingdom of David (2027): The Starter Kit is $279.99 from Group, and its leader manuals cover every station. Student items aren’t priced yet, so the estimate uses last year’s Holy Land Adventure (Rome): a Postcards from Rome Student Book ($5.49) and Bible Memory Makers ($29.99 for 10 kids) for each child, according to Concordia Supply. Because it can run as an all-ages family experience, teens and adults are counted with the same student items. Tribe Leader Guidebooks for each tribe of 5 aren’t counted.
- Regular Baptist Press, Return to Camp Moose on the Loose (2027): The Director’s Kit is $184.99 on the RBP store. The 2027 teacher and student items say “coming soon,” so the estimate uses the 2026 program’s prices from the RBP store: a $8.99 Teacher Guide for each extra class, $3.99 Student Activity Sheets per child and a $9.99 Youth & Adult Bible Study book for each teen and adult. The kit covers one Pre-Primary class and two elementary classes (Primary, Junior). Visual Packets ($32.99 each in 2026) aren’t counted.
- Cokesbury, On the Boardwalk (2027): The Ultimate Starter Kit is $274.99 from Cokesbury. Elementary children rotate through stations, so the kit’s leader guides cover every elementary class. Extra preschool classes get a Preschool/Kindergarten Leader (from $13.99 in 2026, according to Cokesbury). Student books were $17.99 for a pack of 6 in 2026, or about $3.00 per child (Concordia Supply). Youth and adult lessons were a free PDF with the 2026 kit (Concordia Supply), so they’re counted at $0.
- D6: We couldn’t find a VBS program from D6 (Randall House). It sells Sunday school and family discipleship materials, so it isn’t included.
- Prices and kit contents were checked October 22, 2026, and can change.
Bogard Press · Prices checked October 22, 2026, and can change.