Jamie the Go Fish Guy

Why Didn't I Write This?

Lately I've been on a Southern Gospel music kick.  (Don't worry...we're not heading that direction with our next cd!)  Jason's brother Tyler told us about this quartet that sings at Dollywood in TN and personally, I can't stop listening to them.  I just downloaded their latest album and there is a chorus on there that makes me laugh every time I hear it.

I couldn't agree more with the lyrics, but I've never heard it put quite this way.  Enjoy the clip!

Download Fire Away Clip

If this type of music happens to be your thing, check out the group at www.kingdomheirs.com!

"A Little About Jesus" Would Be Better

Every so often I google things like "Go Fish VBS" just to see what's floating around out in cyberspace.  Today I did that and the first thing I found was an interesting comment posted to a blog.  To me this illustrates the damage we've done by watering down the Gospel in so many churches.  This woman has obviously been a part of several "safe" VBS programs and now she's freaked out by the fact that at this BIBLE school they might actually learn about the BIBLE.  Reading things like this is all the confirmation I need that we're on the right track!

Here is her post.  (Spelling errors are hers by the way!)

A church that I am considering putting my kids into VBS at is doing the latest Go Fish Guys VBS, and after checking out the webiste and talking to the VBS coordinator, I'm actually scared to put my kids into it. (She really emphasized  that VBS nowadays is too "fun and soft" ??? Huh??? It's KIDS!!! It's supposed to be fun!) And one of the taglines for the Go Fish Guys is "It's Time To Put the Bible School back into Vacation Bible School!". Not cool with me. If I wanted to indocrinate my children, I'd indoctrinate them. I want them to have fun, make friends and learn a little about Jesus.

Kudos to this church for not backing down from the truth to tickle the ears of a wishy washy mom.

A Rockin' VBS Craft

A church in Sioux Falls, SD got custom guitar picks made for their VBS craft on day 3. I thought they looked pretty sweet!

Imposters!

Our friends in North Carolina decided since we couldn't be at their Vacation Bible School...they'd take matters into their own hands!  Seriously folks, we're not that chunky!!!

You guys are hilarious! We got a kick out of this picture.  Thanks for sending it our way!

What People Are Saying

DISCLAIMER: As I share these comments I want to clarify again...these Vacation Bible School programs are successful not because of the Go Fish Guys.  They are successful because when God's Word is used, you get results!

We just completed our VBS. It was wonderful! Many kids and parents said it was the best VBS we’ve ever done! Congratulations! People were already asking if you had more curriculum for next year. We really appreciated the clear presentation of the gospel every day.
Shelley - Sheldon, IA

Most amazing event (meaningful) we have ever had in the history of First Woodway!
Heather - Waco, TX (1400 kids attended their VBS!)

All  I can say is  WOW!  What a great opening night we had.  We are a small Presbyterian church who normally run between 70 and 80 on a Sunday morning.  We had 60 kids show up tonight!  They love the music and the videos and so did the adults.  Our largest attendance ever  for VBS was about 45 kids so  we only  ordered 60  CD’s and nametags. Now we are having to make a rush order for more.  What a great problem to have!  The Lord is really working here. This is the best VBS curriculum we have ever had by far.  It was well thought out and  really easy to use.  I think you guys  better start now on next years Curriculum!
Johnny - Fayetteville, NC

I just had to write to you after our week of VBS.  Please keep doing what you are doing.  I was so impressed with your VBS curriculum.  You state the truth in an open, fun way without any hesitation and the kids love the honesty.  We loved each day!
Becky - Roseville, MN

I just wanted to say thank you for such a great VBS program.  We had 22 kids signed up on Monday and by Friday we had 50 in attendance!  The kids just loved the program.  It was nice to be able to provide them with a progam that was so biblically sound and got to the heart of what the gospel is all about.  It was easy to understand and I think it really touched their lives.  We had to make photocopies of the backstage passes because we ran out of the extra's we ordered by the end of the second day.  What a wonderful experience.  Thank you!
Jennie - Tower, MN

I enjoyed watching the kids interact with you today but most of all, it blessed me to hear you share the gospel with the kids. And- you did it using the Law, helping them understand our "sin nature" which as you put it, "it is necessary to understand the "bad news" before you can understand the good news of the gospel." And you didn't promise that the life of a Christian is a rose garden but most likely there would be trials and troubles along the way. It was amazing to hear the gospel presented in a simple , straightforward "not watered down" way to kids. Unfortunately, many adults need to hear the same message.

I pray that many little ones will come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ through your ministry. God bless you and keep you safe while on the road and we pray for your families and their needs while you are touring.
Regena - Martinez, GA

Just returned from your concert tonight at our home  church, First
Baptist Woodway.  Thank you for making me feel like a kid  again.  Loved the
concert but most importantly have loved teaching your  curriculum this year in
VBS.  No fluff just the Bible.  It is obvious  that God had His hand in
helping with this curriculum.  It is so vital for  this day and age.  We get so
busy trying to make the Bible entertaining  that we tend to hide and
camouflage the basics.  I teach High School  in the same area that our Church is in and after a long year, I was revived and  renewed to face another difficult
year with a smile on my face in hopes to make  a difference in my students
next year.

My only regret is that I didn't have your hip, cool, and  entertaining
songs for my kids as they were growing up.
Diana - Woodway, TX

Waco, TX

We are in Waco, TX today and this church has got it goin' on!  We are doing a concert tonight to wrap up what has been a great week of vacation BIBLE school.

They've had over 1300 kids in attendance and according to their children's staff, the response by leaders and kids to the curriculum has been amazing.  Today they played our gospel presentation video and were EXTREMELY excited by the response.  One children's worker was so excited she turned to two maintenance workers standing next to her and said "Can you believe how many kids are responding?".  She was equally as excited to hear that one of those maintenance workers had just accepted Christ right alongside the kids!

You know why this whole thing is working?  It's not because of us I can guarantee you that.  It's because when the Gospel is presented the Holy Spirit does the work and things get exciting!  If these first few weeks of June are any indication, the fishing is going to be great this summer!  Thank you to everyone who continues to pray for us, the kids, and the leaders going "Backstage With The Bible".

Here are a few pics I took as I wandered the halls today.  They did some really fun stuff with the graphics provided in the starter kit and web
site.  I was especially excited to see the room marked for kids with special needs.  My wife (who wrote a lot of the Backstage Bible Studies) is a special ed teacher and so I took this picture for her!  It's good to know that churches are ministering to ALL kids.

The rest are just random pics I thought were kind of fun.

Backstage With The Bible...Literally!

Here is a picture from one of our many "backstage" meet and greets this week!  I can't begin to tell you how much fun we're having with these Vacation Bible School concerts.  To see all these kids learning about the Bible is simply remarkable.  Kids are happy.  Leaders are thrilled.  Children's pastors are ecstatic!

In many churches the Bible is hard to find during vacation BIBLE school.  That is just lame.  If you could see how proud these kids were to show us their Bibles today, you would never NOT use the Bible in your children's program again.  Simply AWESOME!

Fremont, NE

Last night we had our first official Vacation Bible Scool concert with kids who had gone through our curriculum. Wow!

It reminded me a lot of the first time we did a kids concert after our Splash cd came out. We thought we knew what to expect but we had no idea! It's hard to put into words how awesome it was to see all the kids singing along with every word, wearing their t-shirts and backstage passes, and so ecstatic to see the guys they've been watching on video all week long!

This community had five churches come together from different denominations to put on VBS and the concert for their kids. They worked together with the common goal of sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with these kids. What an honor that they would use us and our VBS as part of this mission!

I was simply amazed at the size of the crowd and equally thrilled at how pumped the VBS staff was about how the week was going.

I will shout this from the rooftops until the day I die: When you boldly share the Gospel amazing things happen!!! Way to go Fremont, NE. After all of your hard work you can rest assured that every kid heard the Gospel. They know the truth. Let's pray they never forget it.

Here is a huge stack of thank you cards the kids made for us. One in particular caught my eye and reminded me again of the heartbreaking things some of these kids are going through. Another reminder of why they need the hope of Christ...not watered down "happy thoughts". We're off to Georgia today to do it all again. I can't wait!

Who Brought Their Bibles?

Mission Accomplished