What are good outdoor games for VBS?

Relays (Red Sea crossing, Jericho march), parachute games and water games are VBS favorites because they work for big groups and mixed ages.

What do you do for VBS games if it rains?

Keep 2–3 indoor games ready, like Four Corners review, Noah's animal match, and a beanbag Goliath toss, that work in a classroom or fellowship hall.

20 minutes is typical: 2 minutes to explain, 15 minutes of play, and 3 minutes to connect the game to the Bible story.

Red Sea crossing: two lines of volunteers wave blue sheets as "waves"; kids run through when "Moses" raises his staff (Red Sea).
Jericho march relay: teams march around a cone "city" seven times, then shout and race back (Jericho).
Goliath target toss: beanbags at a giant cardboard Goliath; smallest kids stand closest (David and Goliath).
Fishers of men tag: "fishers" link arms into a growing net to catch the rest (Jesus Calls His Disciples).
Manna gather: scatter cotton balls or popcorn; teams gather "manna" with spoons into a basket (Manna).

Noah's animal match: silent animal pairs (Noah's Ark).
Four corners review: run to the corner with the right answer.
Lost sheep hide & seek: hide paper sheep around the room; find all 100! (The Lost Sheep).
Tower of Babel cup stack: build the tallest tower without talking (Tower of Babel).
Zacchaeus up a tree: a "Simon says" where "Zacchaeus" climbs, sits and comes down (Zacchaeus).

Fill Noah's ark: sponge relay to fill a bucket "ark."
Calm the storm: squirt bottles make the "storm" while a team carries a toy boat safely across (Jesus Calms the Storm).
Jonah's big splash: water balloon toss with a "big fish" bucket target (Jonah).
Walk on water relay: carry a cup of water on your head across a "sea" of pool noodles (Jesus Walks on Water).
Living water fill-up: teams pass water cup to cup into a "well" (Woman at the Well).

Rec leader tip: always end with a 2-minute huddle: "How did this game remind us of today's Bible story?"