Day 1: Checkpoint Opening Assembly
Note: Before the kids come into the assembly room, make sure the nose of the plane on the set is hidden. It comes out during the drama in today’s closing assembly.
Welcome
Come out saying hello in other languages from around the world. (Hola! Kon’nichiwa! Bonjour! Jambo!) Welcome everyone to the start of  and explain that each day, they will try to guess which continent we are racing to. 
Then play the daily Checkpoint Challenge Video found on the Digital Resources (30 seconds). This is the first challenge the racers will attempt each day in this year’s race-themed VBS that is filled with fun challenges. 
After playing the video, have each group (team) quietly confer, then tell their team leader which continent they think it is. On the count of three, have everyone shout out what they guessed. Announce the correct answer to the whole group. Any team that guessed correctly earns the first score of the day, which means the team leader circles a country on the score card of the day (South America on Day 1). 
Note: Team leaders will have the score cards. Assembly leaders don’t need to do anything regarding score cards except to say when it’s time to circle a country after the challenge.
Song 
“The Incredible Race” 
Song 
Contemporary: “Gonna Lift You Up” / Traditional: “God Made All”
Mission Moment 
SHOW: “Hope Explorers” slide
This week during , we’ll be learning a lot about the human race. God made every person special in God’s own image. He made all of us the same in many ways. Most importantly, he loves all people groups! 
Each day of VBS, we’ll have an opportunity to show God’s love to kids all over the world! We’re teaming up with Children’s Hunger Fund to help children whose families don’t have enough food to eat and who don’t know Jesus.
Each day, we’ll learn about a girl or boy in a different part of the world, and we’ll hear about the particular problems their family faces. And then we’re going to do something to help them! 
SHOW: “Hope Explorers—Julio” slide
Are you ready to get started? Today, we’ll be meeting a little boy in the country of Ecuador. His name is Julio. 
SHOW: Video 1—Julio
Child’s Name: Julio
Country: Ecuador
Problem: Generational Poverty
Julio was about the same age as some of you, wasn’t he? But in some ways, Julio’s life is very different from ours. One big difference is that Julio’s family has very little to eat. But as you saw in the video, people from a nearby church have been bringing Children’s Hunger Fund Food Paks to his family. They’ve told Julio and his family about Jesus and how much he loves them. That gives Julio’s family hope. That’s why we’re calling our Mission Project “Hope Explorers.”
So this week at VBS, we’re going to help get Food Paks to families like Julio’s. A Children’s Hunger Fund Food Pak is a box with about 20 pounds of food inside. That’s enough to feed a family of four for about a week.  Each meal in a Food Pak costs just 25¢! 
Each of you will be given one of these Coin Paks  to take home. You can show the Coin Pak to your family and friends and tell them about kids like Julio. Ask them to help you donate coins for meals. Remember, every 25¢ provides one meal for a hungry child! 
Starting tomorrow, bring back any coins you’ve collected. Each day, we’ll count how many meals you’ve given so far. Together, we can deliver hope to kids in need all over the world. Not only are we giving them meals, but also we’re helping them hear about the good news of Jesus, the Savior of the human race!  
Send each child home with a “Julio” profile sheet and a pop-up coin collection bank. Sturdy, pop-up collection banks are available for purchase from Children’s Hunger Fund. See Mission Moment page for ordering instructions. Printable sheets and banks are included on the Digital Resources.
Announcements 
Announce that you’ll be having daily challenges, which are an important part of this year’s race-themed VBS. Take time to explain the challenges for the week and how they will work. See the Cool Contests section in this guide for more details, and talk to your VBS director ahead of time so you know how you are structuring your particular VBS challenges. Also announce any other info pertinent to your situation.
Prayer
Dismissal
Song 
C: “We’re One Blood” / T: “Jesus Saves” / Memory Verse Song: “Revelation 7:9”
Note: One test church planned for a guest from the continent of the day to come out during either the opening or closing assembly and share about his culture for a couple minutes. For today, for example, someone from South America would visit.
Day 1: Checkpoint Closing Assembly
Song C: “Build Your Life” / T: “Babel, Babel, Babel”
Song 
“The Incredible Race” / Memory Verse Song: “Romans 3:23”
Creature Feature: Anaconda PRESENTATION SLIDES: See Digital Resources 
SHOW: Creature Feature title slide
It’s Creature Feature time, so let’s get started! Every day we’ve got a special animal pal we’re highlighting. 
SHOW: Bo the anaconda slide
Today’s animal pal is Bo the anaconda. An anaconda is a snake that lives in the Amazon rain forest of South America.
SHOW: Anaconda slide 
Did you know that anacondas are the thickest and longest snakes in the world? 
Use your hands to make a circle to show how wide around you think a telephone pole is.  That’s how thick around an anaconda can be! When you pass a telephone pole today, think of the anaconda! 
One leader stands at one end of the stage. The other leader moves about five feet away from the first leader who is staying in place. Ask the kids if they think the anaconda is about this long—five feet. NO! The moving leader moves a bit farther. Ten feet? NO! Move across the stage until the leaders are about 30 feet apart and tell the kids the anaconda can be as long as 30 feet! That’s one huge snake!
SHOW: Anaconda head slide
The anaconda lives mostly in water. God designed its head with some amazing features that work well in water. Each of its eyes has a see-through scale over it, which works sort of like swim goggles. Its eyes and nose holes are positioned on the top of its head, so it can keep its head above water, but the rest of its body below water. That makes it tricky for other animals to see it, which helps the anaconda catch its food. When it catches food, it coils around it and squeezes, then uses its special jaws to eat it.
SHOW: Anaconda mouth slide
Everybody, open your mouth. Wider! Wider! Not even close to the anaconda’s. God designed its jaws to come unhinged, allowing its mouth to get absolutely huge! It doesn’t bite its food. It swallows its food head first and eats food bigger than the snake itself, like deer and alligators.
You’d think it would choke eating something so huge! But it doesn’t because God designed a special tube that runs from its nose holes to the tip of its mouth that keeps it from choking when it is swallowing large animals.SHOW: Bo the anaconda slide
Snakes are creepy crawly creatures, right? And we associate them with a serpent from long ago that tricked the first woman, Eve.
So Bo the anaconda can remind us that we all sin, and we all need Jesus to save us from our sin.
Drama See the Drama Production section starting on page 27 for details.
Announcements 
Cool Contests 
Announce winners of today’s challenges if having winners, and give updates on the ALL VBS challenge goals. Announce whatever pertinent info they need to know about tomorrow’s contests/challenges. For instance, if you are doing the individual challenges, explain how it works, and make sure every child leaves with a Day 1 Individual Challenge sheet. If doing the team challenges, remind them to do their Go and Do sheets, learn their memory verses, and come up with a team cheer.
Prayer
Dismissal
Song 
“The Incredible Race” 
Day 2: Checkpoint Opening Assembly
Welcome Welcome everyone back to  and see if they can remember what continent we visited yesterday. 
Then play the Day 2 Checkpoint Challenge Video. 
After playing the video, have each team quietly confer, then tell their team leader which continent they think they’re traveling to today. On the count of three, have everyone shout out their guess. Announce the correct answer to the whole group. Any team that guessed correctly earns the first score of the day. Have the team leaders circle a country on today’s score card (Asia).
Song
C: “Build Your Life” / T: “Babel, Babel, Babel”
Song 
“Jesus Saves” / Memory Verse Song: “Genesis 11:9”
Mission Moment 
SHOW: “Hope Explorers” slide
Hey kids, as we learned yesterday, our mission project for the week is called Hope Explorers. We’re working together to raise meals to help children who are hungry and hurting all over the world. 
One meal costs just 25¢. That means every quarter we raise for Children’s Hunger Fund will provide one meal for a kid just like you! Have you started to collect coins to raise meals already?  Fantastic! We’re already off to an amazing start. I’m so proud of how many meals we’ve already raised—and we’ll hear that number . . . after we travel to our next destination for the day!
Remember yesterday’s video, where we learned about Julio in Ecuador? Well, today we’re meeting another child, this time from a country called the Philippines. Her name is Bonita. 
SHOW: “Hope Explorers—Bonita” slide
Bonita’s family lost their home in a huge tropical storm. Life has been very hard for them ever since. Let’s join Thurston and Nathan in their hot air balloon and find out more about Bonita and her family.   
SHOW: Video 2—Bonita
Child’s Name: Bonita 
Country: Philippines
Problem: Disaster
When the storm hit Bonita’s island, her home was destroyed. The place her father worked was destroyed, too, so he didn’t have a job. When people from a church began delivering Food Paks, it really helped Bonita’s family! And when her family began going to church with their new friends, she learned that she can always have hope in Jesus, no matter what happens.
There are many other kids like Bonita who need our help! That’s why we’re collecting coins that will give them meals and the chance to hear about the love of Jesus. 
But first, did I forget something? Was I supposed to tell you something? Oh, that’s right! Who’s ready to hear how many meals we’ve provided for kids like Bonita so far? Well, we counted the coins you brought in, and so far, we’ve raised ____ Food Pak meals!
SHOW: Progress Tracker slide Day 2, with current meal count filled in. 
Awesome! Don’t forget to bring your coins tomorrow so we can keep delivering hope to hungry kids around the world!
Send each child home with a “Bonita” profile sheet.
Announcements 
Prayer
Dismissal
Song 
“The Incredible Race”
Day 2: Checkpoint Closing Assembly
Song 
Memory Verse Song: “Genesis 11:9” 
Song 
“LOVE”
Creature Feature: Arabian Camel PRESENTATION SLIDES: See Digital Resources
SHOW: Creature Feature title slideToday’s animal pal is Jamal the camel.
SHOW: Jamal the camel slide
 “Jamal” means “camel” in Arabic. Arabian camels live in a part of Asia called the Middle East, which is where the tower of Babel was built.
Arabian camels may look a little unusual, but they are truly amazing creatures made by God! 
SHOW: Camel slide
Did you know Arabian camels have one hump on their back? Guess what’s inside it? FAT! This fat is used to give them energy, which comes in really handy when traveling for days in the desert without food! It’s like having a built-in picnic basket or cooler with them all the time. Because of God’s design of their bodies, they have thrived in the desert, with their built-in food source!
Have you ever been really thirsty? Well, God made camels so they can go a long time without water. Don’t you think that would come in super handy for long treks through the desert?SHOW: Camel nostrils slide
Pinch your nostrils closed like this.  Did you know God gave camels the ability to close their nostrils automatically to help keep the desert sand out of their noses?
Blink a couple times.  God also gave them bushy eyebrows and long eyelashes to protect their eyes from the sand.
SHOW: Camel mouth slide
Pucker your lips like this.  God gave them big, tough lips so they could eat the small number of plants that do survive in the desert, which tend to be dry and thorny and hard to eat.
God gave camels a thin, clear eyelid that they can close to keep sand out of their eyes. Kind of like those swim goggles we talked about yesterday with the anaconda!
SHOW: Camel foot slide
How many of you have walked on a sidewalk or somewhere that was really hot without shoes on? Did it hurt your feet? God gave camels thick, tough pads on their feet to protect them when walking on the hot, hot sand. God thought of everything when he made the camel!
SHOW: Jamal the camel slide
Today, we learned about what happened at the tower of Babel, and Jamal the camel reminds us that God used that incident to move people all over the world. Maybe they even rode on animals like camels or loaded up their supplies on them as they were moving to other parts of the world. Because of what happened at Babel and how the people scattered over all the earth, we now have all the many cultures of the world! 
Drama  
AnnouncementsCool ContestsAnnounce winners of today’s challenges if having winners, and give updates on the ALL VBS challenge goals. Announce whatever pertinent info they need to know about tomorrow’s contests/challenges, and send home the Day 2 Individual Challenge sheet if doing that challenge. If doing the team challenges, remind them to do their Go and Do sheets, learn their memory verses, and participate in Dress-Up Day tomorrow by wearing something to either honor a culture around the world or to look like a racer.
Prayer
Song 
Memory Verse Song: “Revelation 7:9” 
Day 3: Checkpoint Opening Assembly
Welcome Welcome everyone back to  and see if they can remember what continent we visited yesterday. 
Then play the Day 3 Checkpoint Challenge Video.
After playing the video, have each team quietly confer, then tell their team leader what continent they think it is. On the count of three, have everyone shout out what they guessed. Announce the correct answer to the whole group. Any team that guessed correctly earns the first score of the day. Have the team leaders circle a country on today’s score card (Africa).
Song 
C: “Incredible Grace” / T: “Only One” 
SongC: “We’re One Blood” / T: “Jesus Saves” / Memory Verse Song: “Acts 17:26”
Mission MomentSHOW: “Hope Explorers” slide
All right, Hope Explorers! It’s time for another Mission Moment! In just a couple minutes, we’ll join Thurston and Nathan on another day of adventure. And we’ll meet our third friend.
Every day this week, we’re working together to collect coins that will raise meals for children in need all over the world. These meals will be packed in Children’s Hunger Fund Food Paks and delivered by local church volunteers to the homes of kids across the globe. And, every meal is a chance for a child to learn about the gospel of Jesus Christ!
SHOW: “Hope Explorers—Tambo” slide 
Today, our hot air balloon takes us all the way to the other side of the world, to Africa. Let’s join Thurston and Nathan. They’ll introduce us to a boy named Tambo. He lives in a village in the country of Kenya. 
SHOW: Video 3—Tambo 
Child’s Name: Tambo
Country: Kenya
Problem: Extreme Poverty 
Tambo lives in a small hut with his mother, his aunt, and all of their children. His father had to leave the village to look for work. Tambo helps his mom carry water a long way every day. They don’t have much food, and many times Tambo and the other children are still hungry when they go to bed at night.
Every 25¢ you put into your Coin Pak provides one meal for a child like Tambo, who doesn’t have enough to eat. When pastors and church volunteers bring Food Paks, they also tell the family about God, who hears their prayers and cares about all their needs. The coins you’ve been putting in your Coin Pak are making it possible to send help and hope to children all over the world. 
But, before we set out to collect more meals, who wants to hear how many we’ve raised so far?! Okay, in just two days’ time, you’ve all raised ___meals!  That’s incredible! These meals will go directly to kids all over the world who need food and hope. 
SHOW: Progress Tracker slide Day 3 with current meal count filled in.
We’re making a difference in the lives of kids, who are all related to us, all over the world! We still have time to make an even bigger difference! Keep up the great work as you collect more coins to give meals to children in need.
Send each child home with a “Tambo” profile sheet.
Announcements 
Prayer
Dismissal
Song 
C: “All Across the World” / T: “I Need a Savior” / Memory Verse Song: “1 John 4:11”
Day 3: Checkpoint Closing Assembly
Song 
C: “Gonna Lift You Up” / T: “God Made All” 
Song 
C: “All Across the World” / T: “I Need a Savior”
Creature Feature: Pup Patrol PRESENTATION SLIDES: See Digital Resources
SHOW: Creature Feature title slide
Today’s animal pals are some dogs from Africa we’re calling the Pup Patrol. 
SHOW: Pup Patrol slide
The one on your left is called a Boerboel The one in the middle is a Basenji  And the white one is called a Coton de Tulear 
SHOW: Boerboel slide
God gave Boerboel dogs dark skin under their fur. This helps protect them from the hot African sun.
SHOW: Basenji slide
The Basenji is a dog that has lived in Africa for a long time. There are even pictures of them in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.
It’s known as the dog that doesn’t bark. It does make noise, but it sounds kind of like a yodel. 
God gave Basenjis a curled tail, but while running, their tail straightens out. This helps them have better balance.
SHOW: Coton de Tulear slide
These cute little guys are believed to have survived a shipwreck off the coast of Africa and ended up on the nearby island of Madagascar.
SHOW: Pup Patrol slide 
These pups look a bit different from each other, don’t they? One has short brown hair, one has pointy ears, and one is white and fluffy. But we would all agree they’re still dogs, right? Dogs are dogs, even if they look a bit different from each other. Our animal pals remind us that dogs are dogs and people are people. We may look a little different from each other, but we’re still all people, precious to God, made in his image, and part of the same human race. In fact, we’re all related, as we learned today! 
Drama  
Announcements 
Cool Contests 
Announce winners of today’s challenges if having winners, and give updates on the ALL VBS challenge goals. Announce whatever pertinent info they need to know about tomorrow’s contests/challenges, and send home the Day 3 Individual Challenge sheet if doing that challenge. If doing the team challenges, remind them to do their Go and Do sheets, learn their memory verses, and see if they can find three places in the Bible that have the phrase “love one another.”
Prayer
Dismissal
Song 
“The Incredible Race” 
Day 4: Checkpoint Opening Assembly
Welcome Welcome everyone back to  and see if they can remember what continent we visited yesterday. 
Then play the Day 4 Checkpoint Challenge Video.
After playing the video, have each team quietly confer, then tell their team leader what continent they think it is. On the count of three, have everyone shout out what they guessed. Announce the correct answer to the whole group. Any team that guessed correctly earns the first score of the day. Have the team leaders circle a country on today’s score card (Europe).
Song 
C: “Incredible Grace” / T: “I Need a Savior”
Song 
“LOVE” / Memory Verse Song: “1 John 4:14”
Mission Moment 
SHOW: “Hope Explorers” slide 
Hasn’t it been fun exploring the world from a hot air balloon and meeting kids from different countries? They speak different languages and live in different places, but they’re part of the human race and are created in the image of God. They are all part of our family! 
The coins we’ve been collecting don’t just give children a meal to eat. They also allow them to hear about God’s love. We can be thankful that he loves every tribe, tongue, and nation. 
Before we join Thurston and Nathan, I have a couple questions for you. First, how much does it cost for one meal? That’s right! 25¢! Okay, second, if you have five dollars, how many meals does that provide? Yes! 20 meals! Isn’t that amazing?
Now, let’s set off on another Hope Explorers adventure and learn how our coins can help a little girl who lives in Romania, a country in Eastern Europe.
SHOW: “Hope Explorers—Roxanna” slide
Her name is Roxanna. She has a bunch of sisters! Are you ready to meet her?  
SHOW: Video 4—Roxanna
Child’s Name: Roxanna
Country: Romania
Problem: Injustice
Roxanna’s family is part of a group of people called gypsies. Roxanna and her sisters aren’t allowed to go to the same school as the other kids, just because they’re gypsies. Her dad has trouble getting a good job, just because he’s a gypsy. Treating people differently just because of the group they belong to is called injustice. And injustice can lead to poverty.
But God loves all people groups in the human race. He sent Jesus to die for their sins, no matter what group they belong to. People from a local church brought Food Paks to Roxanna’s family. They also told her that Jesus loves her. Roxanna is learning that she is important and precious to God, just like every other person in the human race. 
Do you want to know how many meals we have raised for Food Paks to give to children like Roxanna? A lot of time has passed, and we have one more day to collect coins. So far, we have collected enough coins to give ___ meals to kids in need! Praise God! 
SHOW: Progress Tracker slide Day 4 with current meal count filled in.
Tomorrow will be our last day here at  So let’s have a fantastic finish to our Hope Explorers mission project and raise as many meals as we can. Remember—25¢ equals one meal—so give it your best, collect those coins, and be sure to bring them with you tomorrow!
Send each child home with a “Roxanna” profile sheet.
Announcements 
Prayer
Dismissal
Song 
“The Incredible Race” / Memory Verse Song: “Romans 3:23” 
Day 4: Checkpoint Closing Assembly
Song 
“The Incredible Race” 
Song 
“Jesus Saves”
Creature Feature: Polish Mute SwansPRESENTATION SLIDES: See Digital Resources
SHOW: Creature Feature title slide
Today’s animal pals are two Polish mute swans that we are calling Agape and Phileo.SHOW: Swan animal pals slideThe words “agape” and “phileo” are two Greek words that mean “love.” SHOW: Polish mute swans slideMute swans are among the largest flying birds. They can be five feet long, which is about this long.SHOW: Mute swan flying slideWhen they open their wings, guess how wide their wing span is?Now raise your hand if you’ve ever turned on a TV with a remote control. Have you ever hit the mute button? When you hit the mute button, it makes the sound go off, right? Well, the mute swan is called “mute” because it is a quiet bird. It isn’t completely silent like your mute button, but it isn’t noisy like other birds.
And mute swans are very smart—so smart that they remember certain human faces and how those humans treated them. So you better remember to be nice to them!SHOW: Swan flying slideTouch your wrist bone.Our bones are heavy, but God designed mute swans with hollow bones. This helps them stay up in the air when they fly, and it also helps them stay afloat when they swim.
Click your teeth together a couple times.  Now touch your jawbone.  Teeth and jawbones are very heavy, so God didn’t give them to birds like swans. Instead, he gave them something called a gizzard that helps them grind up their food.
And God also gave them the see-through eyelid that works like swim goggles. God thought of everything!
SHOW: Swan animal pals slide
What shape do you see the two swans making with their necks? Yes, a heart! The Polish mute swans remind us that God loves people from every tribe and nation. He sent his Son, Jesus, to be the Savior of the world!  
Drama  
Announcements 
Cool Contests 
Announce winners of today’s challenges if having winners, and give updates on the ALL VBS challenge goals. Announce whatever pertinent info they need to know about tomorrow’s contests/challenges, and send home the Day 4 Individual Challenge sheet if doing that challenge. If doing the team challenges, remind them to do their Go and Do sheets, learn their memory verses, and bring in their final mission money.
Prayer
Dismissal
Song 
C: “Incredible Grace” / T: “I Need a Savior” 
Day 5: Checkpoint Opening Assembly
Note: One test church added in an extra little fun challenge to today’s opening. It was a good follow-up to the Day 4 drama when the characters were eating bugs. If you want to do this, wait until today. 
First, ahead of time, buy a package of edible bugs online. During the opening, ask for volunteers who want to try a bug, and have them come up on the stage. (Be aware if you need parental permission.) Before eating, explain that in many cultures around the world, bugs are an important food source. The practice of eating bugs for food is called entomophagy. (Share this caution: People shouldn’t just pick up bugs and eat them, however, because some may not be safe to eat. You have to know what you’re doing.) 
With fanfare, have the volunteers try their bugs. Those watching can enjoy their reactions! 
Welcome Welcome everyone back to  and see if they can remember what continent we visited yesterday. 
Then play the Day 5 Checkpoint Challenge Video.
After playing the video, have each team quietly confer, then tell their team leader what continent they think it is. On the count of three, have everyone shout out what they guessed. Announce the correct answer to the whole group. Any team that guessed correctly earns the first score of the day. Have the team leaders circle a country on today’s score card (North America).
Song 
Memory Verse Song: “1 John 4:11” 
Song 
“The Incredible Race” 
Mission Moment 
SHOW: “Hope Explorers” slide 
Can you believe it? Today is the last day of our Hope Explorers adventure! We have learned so much about the human race and how God loves every nation. We’ve learned that kids in every country are just like us in many ways. We’ve also learned that many kids live in poverty. They need our help, and they need the hope that’s found in Jesus Christ, who is the Savior of all mankind. 
Today on our final Hope Explorers adventure, we’ll meet a boy named Jackson.
SHOW: “Hope Explorers—Jackson” slide
Jackson lives in the United States, in the city of Los Angeles. His mom and dad both worked in the same factory, but they lost their jobs when the factory closed down. Since then, it’s been very hard for them to provide everything their family needs. Let’s find out how we can help.
SHOW: Video 5—Jackson
Child’s Name: Jackson
Country: United States 
Problem: Invisible Poor
Isn’t it great that a church in Jackson’s neighborhood was able to share the good news of Jesus with Jackson and his family? Thanks to Food Paks, Jackson’s family was able to save money to pay for their bills, and they came to know the hope of Jesus.
Did you know there could be kids like Jackson living right in your own neighborhood? Kids whose families are facing poverty? That’s why Children’s Hunger Fund Food Paks are such a great way to help. When a church finds out that a family needs meals, they deliver Food Paks. After a few visits, they get to know the family better. They tell them about God’s love and invite them to church. 
Every 25¢ you’ve collected this week provides a meal. You are really making a difference for children whose families need help and hope. 
All right! Who wants to see how many meals we raised this week? 
The grand total for the number of meals we provided this week is __ meals! 
Wow! God has used you in such an amazing way to help children in need.
You have done such a great job helping feed children all over the world this week. I can’t believe that our time together is over! But, you can keep making a difference in the lives of children by helping Children’s Hunger Fund. Ask your parents about more ways you can share a meal and the love of Jesus with children in poverty. 
Send each child home with a “Jackson” profile sheet.
Announcements 
Prayer
Dismissal
Song 
Memory Verse Song: “Acts 17:26”
Day 5: Checkpoint Closing Assembly
Song“LOVE”
Song 
C: “All Across the World” / T: “Babel, Babel, Babel”
Creature Feature: Roadrunner  
PRESENTATION SLIDES: See Digital Resources
SHOW: Creature Feature title slideToday’s animal pal is Racer the roadrunner. 
SHOW: Racer the roadrunner slide
Have you ever seen the cartoon with Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner? Beep! Beep!
SHOW: Roadrunner slide
Did you know there’s a real bird called a roadrunner? It lives in the deserts of North America and it’s called a roadrunner because it likes to run along roads.
It’s a very fast bird. Let’s compare it to a person who is running. I need a volunteer to come up and run across the stage for me. That was great, but you’ve got to picture a roadrunner going about twice that fast! People can sprint about 10–15 miles per hour. But roadrunners can run about 26 miles per hour, which is about twice as fast! 
SHOW: Roadrunner with lizard slide
They use their speed to catch food, which can be lizards. Another favorite snack is rattlesnake! To catch a rattlesnake, two roadrunners often work together. One creates a distraction for the rattlesnake, while the other attacks it. But, an individual bird can also kill a rattlesnake with its quick reflexes.
Since water is hard to come by in the desert, God made these birds with the ability to get enough water just through their food, but they will drink if they find water.
SHOW: Roadrunner head slide
God also gave them special glands near their eyes where extra salt comes out. This is another way God helps them to be able to keep the water in their bodies.
SHOW: Roadrunner with tail slide
And he gave each roadrunner a long, wide tail, which helps it steer and stay balanced while it is running fast. God thought of everything!
SHOW: Racer the roadrunner slide
Racer our roadrunner reminds us to run and be quick to share God’s love with others! 
Drama 
Announcements 
Cool Contests 
Announce winners of today’s challenges if having winners, and give final updates on the ALL VBS challenge goals.
Prayer
Dismissal
Song 
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