Begin recruiting Ranch Crew Leaders. Ranch Crew Leaders are like older brothers and sisters in the Ranch Crew family. They aren’t responsible for teaching, and they don’t have to prepare anything. Ranch Crew Leaders can be teenagers, college students, parents, or grandparents. They need only to love the Lord and love children. For more information on recruiting, see the “Recruiting” section on page 98 of your Director's Manual.
Ranch Crew Leaders should plan to participate in Avalanche Ranch for the entire adventure. If they need to be absent one or more days, encourage them to find their own substitutes.

Begin publicity. Fill in your program’s dates and times on the Avalanche Ranch outdoor banner (available from Group Publishing and your Group supplier). Display the banner in a prominent outdoor location.
Hang Avalanche Ranch publicity posters (available from Group Publishing and your Group supplier) in your church and community.
Show the promotional segment of the Wah-hoo! DVD during a worship service or other church gathering. This brief segment gives people a glimpse of how Avalanche Ranch works and what kids will learn at this awesome VBS. You’ll find that the video helps build enthusiasm, recruit volunteers, and promote attendance for your program. Be sure to follow up the video by telling the congregation how excited you are about the program!

Begin gathering supplies. Use the handy supply list calculator in your Web Toybox to determine supplies needed for each station. Refer to the master supply list in the “Avalanche Ranch Daily Supplies” section. (Note: Some stations may not require all the supplies listed, since station leaders can choose which activities they would like to do.) Consult with station leaders to inform them of how you’ll handle supply collection. Will you gather all supplies, or will each leader gather his or her own supplies? You may want to ask church members to donate food supplies (such as M&Ms and crackers) or easy-to-find items (such as decorations).

Plan your Avalanche Ranch schedule. The average VBS program runs for up to three hours each day. Group’s Avalanche Ranch materials have been developed with these parameters in mind. For a three-hour program, Sing & Play Stampede and Showtime Roundup should last 25 minutes each, and every other station should last 20 minutes. See the daily schedules to see how this works. If your program will meet for more or less time than three hours each day, you’ll need to adapt these times accordingly.