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Forms are a powerful tool to streamline various aspects of church administration, including planning and managing Vacation Bible School (VBS). A VBS form can efficiently collect participant information.
Create a form
There are two ways to start a new form. From the left-hand navigation, open Forms and click + Add New, or click + New at the top of any page and choose Form.
In the Add Form window, enter a clear, descriptive Name, such as "Vacation Bible School Registration Form."
Optionally, choose a Category to help organize your forms.
Click Save. You will be taken to the form designer to start building.
In the designer, type in the Type description here... below the form name to add a brief description that gives registrants context.
Ref: How do I add a form?
Add parent/guardian information fields
Click on the Person Profile Information field.
Check the following:
"Create new profile if submission cannot be matched to an existing person profile?"
If you would like the parent added to the guest list, check "Add person to guest list if form is linked to an event?"
Check the Email field and mark it as Required, then Update. This helps ensure you have the info you need for communication and confirmation.
Check the Phone field and mark it as Required, then Update.
Check any additional fields you would like to collect.
Click Done.
Optional: Add item/ticket field
Including an item/ticket lets you charge a fee per child if needed, for meals or shirts.
OR
If you need to set a limit on the number of attendees, you can limit the ticket quantity and set the price to free.
Add an Item/Ticket field and enter a Label, such as "Children Tickets."
Select Add item, enter the name, and then the total quantity if there is a limit.
If there is a fee, add the price. If the event is free, set it to $0.00.
Click Done to save the ticket.
Click Done to save the field.
Add a People field for children information
Choose the People field.
Label it "Children" and mark it as Required.
Set the Person Label to "Child."
Set the Position to "Child."
Check the box to link to the ticket you created.
Note: This automatically adds a ticket per child added to the form.
Click on the Name field in the Fields section.
Check the following: "Create new profile if submission cannot be matched to an existing person profile?" and "Add person to guest list if form is linked to an event?"
Mark the Birthday field as required, then Update.
Mark the Gender field as required, then Update.
Click Done to save the child information field.
Add other fields for each child
Allergies
At the bottom of the People field, click Add new field.
Select the appropriate Type — in this case, Paragraph.
Type "Allergies" as the Label.
Set the field as Required.
Click Done.
T-shirts
Click Add new field and select the appropriate Type — in this case, Dropdown.
Type "T-Shirt Size" as the Label.
Scroll down and click Bulk add to input the choices people can select, such as Small, Medium, and Large.
Set the field as Required.
When everything looks good, click Done.
Save the form
Click Save Now to finalize the form.
Review the form
Examine the form to ensure all fields display correctly. After you have created your form, you can share it with your congregation in a variety of ways, such as by embedding it on your website or sending a link to it in an email.
Keep in mind
Keep the form concise and user-friendly: Avoid overwhelming users with excessive questions.
Use clear and concise language: Avoid jargon or technical terms.
Connect the form to an event
You can connect the form to an event and pull the submissions from there. See How do I add a custom form to an event or group? for more information.