By Reagan Hillier

Depending on location, an outdoor playground is often the most visible exterior feature of a church. It gives kids the opportunity to play outdoors, expend energy and build relationships through interaction. Before deciding on an outdoor playground, consider some key elements:

Multiple Uses. Do you have a preschool or daycare that could share the playground?

Weather. Does your climate allow for many days of outside play?

Community Accessibility. Would your park be accessible to the neighborhood or surrounding community?

Answers to questions like these will help you decide what type of equipment and layout would be best suited for your church. “The four main factors to consider are budget, the kids’ ages, how many you’ll need to accommodate, and the amount of space you have available,” explains Richard Standford of Richardson, Texas-based Child’s Play. “The typical playground project includes design, site preparation, play equipment, surfacing, installation and inspection.”

The play structure alone will take the bulk of your budget, but peripheral items also must be factored in. Site preparation for the new attraction can vary depending on the area allotted. This can often be performed by the playground company but could entail the services of a general contractor.

Additionally, safety surfacing (engineered wood fiber, pourin- place, etc.) will need to be included around all the features, and this can run between $5 and $20 per square foot. Installation typically runs about 30 percent of the cost of the unit. The total cost of a $20,000 play structure can quickly reach $40,000 with complete turnkey installation. Overall, the average-sized church playground costs between $30,000 and $50,000.

First, meet with a playground manufacturer’s representative. They can physically inspect the area, make recommendations and provide full turnkey installation. Customers also should inquire about factory specials as there are often units offered by the manufacturer at significant discounts.

Indoor play attractions (a.k.a., modular play or self-contained play) provide all-season, all-weather play for children. These innovative attractions aren’t just used on Sundays or Wednesdays, but throughout the entire week. They’re also safe, durable and make kids want to come back to church again and again.

“The whole reason for having this attraction is to bring families to church,” says Children’s Pastor Mike Ballard of Bethesda Community Church in Fort Worth, Texas. “It’s an entrance to the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

One benefit to installing an indoor play system is customization. Each church is unique, and, therefore, its play system should be as well. Some companies will even design a custom play system at no additional cost. Before discussing your play system with a manufacturer, make sure you collect the project information, including the amount of space available (if possible, a CAD plan); identify target demographics by age and target capacity; know your budget; and have ideas about your desired theme.

Incorporating innovative activities such as slides into a play system is a growing trend in the industry. Creating a slide that could transport a child from one area of the church to another — from the check-in desk to their worship room, for instance — is a prime example. Designed with bright colors and a variety of styles (tube, wave and spiral especially), working in slides is a wonderful way to give kids a great first impression, as well as immediately set the tone for their worship experience. Slides are also extremely flexible; customers can have them manufactured to fit a variety of layouts.

A broad formula for estimating the cost of a new play system is about $1,000 per child. To theme a unit, the price increases by 20 percent to 30 percent. As such, I recommend allotting a minimum of $30,000. In my six years with Koala Play Group, however, structures built for churches cost an average of $75,000. The minimum cost for a slide is about $10,000 for a single slide and $15,000 for a double slide.

By providing stimulating, fun and imaginative atmospheres for children and their parents, church leaders are realizing they can minister more effectively and increase their attendance. With careful planning and a better understanding of the process, your church can be the next place of worship used by the Lord to accomplish His goals and touch lives.

KoalaPlay Group’s Reagan Hillier consults with church leaders across the country about how to use play features and themed areas to reach this generation of kids and families. Contact him by e-mail at rhillier@koalaplaygroup.com, or call 817.379.0240.

Jumping Up and Down for Jesus
Themed Playgrounds Combine Religious Lessons with Good, Old-Fashioned Fun

By RaeAnn Slaybaugh

You might not be familiar with Bob the Tomato, Larry the Cucumber and Madame Blueberry, but they’re some of the most recognizable names around to the children in your church. That’s because they’re VeggieTales®.

Since 1993, VeggieTales creators Big Idea Inc. (Franklin, Tenn.) have sold nearly 40 million videos and more than 5 million chart-topping albums featuring these lovable veggies. And in 2002, the first-ever VeggieTales feature film — Jonah — A VeggieTales Movie — grossed in excess of $25 million at the domestic box office.

So, assuming you could take these characters back to your church, make them life-sized, and let kids play with them, wouldn’t you? Well, now you can.

Designed for the 2- to 5-year-old and 5- to 12-year-old age groups, this equipment line’s themes and principles offer obvious advantages for churches vs. the stereotypical elementary-school structures you might find in community parks.

First, they feature signature VeggieTales pieces and post-toppers for a very distinctive street appeal that lets passersby know religious education is a top priority. To further that message internally, the equipment gives kids access to VeggieTales musical instruments, complete with scale notes, percussion events and actual sheet music to teach them how to sing the songs and read the music.

Other elements include passive and interactive panels such as a see-through-face pane, which lets children look out onto the world through Larry the Cucumber’s eyes. And on this equipment, the typical tic-tac-toe spinner panels — which usually feature Xs and Os — have been replaced with popular VeggieTales characters’ faces.

“Playgrounds are an important part of what we’re doing for churches and schools,” says Big Idea Vice President of Licensing Bob Starnes. “VeggieTales combines Sunday-morning values with Saturday-morning fun. Replacing a playground with one that focuses on ‘God made you special, and He loves you very much’ is a pretty cool thing!”

VeggieTales Playgrounds start at $4,995 and are designed for quick, easy installation. More than 500 options are available, so each playground can be unique and feature each church’s favorite characters.

For more information and a free catalog, call 866.WOW.PLAY or visit www.wowplaygrounds.com.