05 May
Case Studies – Community Baptist Church
For churches around the country, Vacation Bible School (VBS) programs are more than just weeklong summer traditions — they’re high-impact ministry opportunities that blend spiritual formation, joyful learning, and outreach in one powerful experience. These multi-day events are often the highlight of the year for families and volunteers alike, combining scripture-based teaching with music, crafts, food, and fellowship in a vibrant, youth-focused setting.
But with growing attendance and increasing expectations from families, planning a successful VBS now requires more than bulletin announcements and signup sheets. From collecting medical and safety information to managing volunteers, check-in, meals, and communications, today’s VBS directors need the tools to streamline operations and create a welcoming, professional experience for guests — many of whom may be visiting the church for the first time.
That’s where RSVPify comes in. As a secure, mobile-friendly event platform, RSVPify empowers churches like Community Baptist to modernize their VBS registration process, reduce administrative stress, and focus on what matters most: creating meaningful connections through Christ-centered programming.
With that in mind, RSVPify sat down with Cassandra Blake-Little of Community Baptist Church in Irving, Texas, to learn more about how RSVPify helped to streamline VBS registration, logistics, and day-of check-in.
About Community Baptist's VBS Program
Vacation Bible School (VBS) is a cornerstone event at Community Baptist Church, bringing together over 100 attendees each evening for faith-filled learning, fun, and fellowship. As the church’s VBS Director, Cassandra Little-Blake manages every aspect of planning — from content development and staffing to registration and logistics — all while balancing a busy full-time life outside the church.
With growing attendance and an increasing need for structure, Cassandra turned to RSVPify to bring organization, professionalism, and scalability to their multi-day VBS experience. Here’s what she had to say about the program:
“I’m orchestrating a lot of moving parts. We’ve got 60 kids, 40 adults, dinner every night, plus volunteers. I needed a tool to bring it all together.”
“This will be my third year running VBS, and each year we’ve grown. With that growth, things just had to be more streamlined.”
“People come to these events looking for ease and joy — RSVPify helps me deliver that.”
Challenges Before Using RSVPify
Before using RSVPify, registration was a manual process. Sign-ups were handled via paper forms or at best, Google Forms. Check-in? Pen and paper or Excel printouts:
“It was just paper sign-up or someone saying ‘Hey, I’ll be there.’ I knew there had to be a better way — not just to register people but to check them in, too.”
Cassandra wanted a platform that could offer seamless registration, an integrated check-in experience, and support for communications and data tracking — all while being accessible for a church community unfamiliar with digital tools.
“I come from a corporate environment where we have project plans and deliverables. I needed a system that brought that structure to this event.”
“We had to train our congregation on QR codes — what they are, how to use them. But once we did, it clicked.”
“I didn’t want to spend nights manually typing info from forms into spreadsheets anymore. It just wasn’t sustainable.”
Why RSVPify Was a Good Fit
Cassandra implemented RSVPify in the lead-up to their 2023 VBS and immediately saw the difference:
- Streamlined Registration: Using custom forms, she was able to gather emergency contacts, allergy info, transportation needs, and more — all in one place.
- Returning Guest Convenience: Parents who signed up in 2022 could easily re-register with pre-filled information in 2023.
- Ease of Use: Despite initial tech hesitancy, QR codes and digital sign-up links quickly became familiar tools for parents.
- Powerful Communication Tools: Cassandra sent targeted reminder emails through RSVPify, including messages only to people who hadn’t registered yet.
“It made my job easier. People just put in their name and everything from the year before was already in the system. Easy peasy. Once I logged in again the next year and saw that previous data was saved — I was sold. It saved me hours.”
“Even those who resisted at first eventually said, ‘Oh wow, this is actually easier than what we used to do.’ That was a big win.”
“I love that I can send emails to people who didn’t open the first one or didn’t register. That follow-up ability is so helpful.”
“I’d send reminders weeks ahead of time, then again closer to the event. The system tells me who opened, who clicked — that’s gold for me.”
The RSVPify Factor
Even with limited budget constraints, Cassandra has remained loyal to RSVPify for its registration and data features — citing ease of use, consistent attendee experience, and the ability to export useful reports to share with church leadership:
“I export totals each night and then share final stats with our secretary and pastor. We use that data to understand engagement, growth, and where we can improve. We want to know how many people we’re really reaching — kids and adults. RSVPify makes that easy.”
“We ask if someone is a member or guest when they register. That way we can follow up personally after the event and invite them back.”
She has also started segmenting the audience — capturing whether attendees are members or guests — in hopes of leveraging future invitations to church events.
“We haven’t fully tapped into that yet, but it’s something we plan to do — start inviting guests back for other events now that we have their info.”
Cassandra plans to use RSVPify again this year for VBS and appreciates the improvements on the horizon. With a growing community and a high standard for organization, she’s excited to streamline even further.
“I wish I could use RSVPify for everything. It’s just so easy to use. People need consistency, and this platform delivers that. We’re growing, and RSVPify is part of how we’re managing that growth well.
Partner with RSVPify for your events
Are you looking to save countless hours planning VBS programs or other church events like Community Baptist? Have questions about how RSVPify can partner with your organization to provide a custom suite of event planning tools designed for youth programs, services, fundraisers, classes, or other events at your institution?
You can contact our Sales team here to book a demo and learn more about features, pricing tiers, and features specifically designed for higher education users.
RSVPify is proud to partner with hundreds of religious institutions from around the world, to help these organizations continue to build their communities and congregations without wasting unnecessary time on mundane event planning tasks. We’re excited to meet you and help tailor a solution to fit your organization.
