Five years ago I was extremely frustrated. Go Fish was doing well, but we were not being effective. We were selling records but our mission of "fishing for men" was falling short. We were sincere in our passion for sharing the gospel but we subscribed to the theory that the best way to evangelize was to be subtle. We'd share tidbits of the gospel here and there, and just hope that our joy, happiness, encouragement, and music would somehow entice people to seek out the gospel on their own.
As a result, our work became just that...work! I felt we were just going through the motions and getting burnt out along the way. You know what they say - the definition of going crazy is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting to get different results.
So we decided to repent and start over. We decided to get bold with the gospel and if it meant our career in music tanked, then so be it. We came to the conclusion that families with young kids were being ignored and that the Bible spoke clearly to the fact that we were to pass along the gospel to kids. We stopped being subtle and began to truly "fish for men".
What happened? Life got exciting. We started to see results. AND because we didn't want to present the gospel incorrectly we were motivated to dig into the Bible for ourselves. Not to mention that we knew we'd be attacked from those who disagreed with Christianity, so once again were motivated to arm ourselves with knowledge from the Bible so that we'd be prepared for these attacks. And as far as our careers...let's just say we've never been more blessed and motivated to continue on. There's a reason that Jesus left us with the command to share the gospel. It not only blesses those who hear it, but when you trust God enough to help you share it you are blessed as well. It is so exciting to be obedient and to see people respond time and time again to the truth of the gospel. All you have to do is share it and watch the Holy Spirit do the work. It is the BEST!
So let me ask you a question. Why do you do Vacation Bible School? Has it turned into just another thing to cross off your list? Are you tired of having to "outdo" last year's program? Do you ever feel like you're just going through the motions? Do you feel like you have the kids, but you're not seeing results?
Maybe it's because you're making the same mistake we did. It's time to be bold! We have these kids (many of them unchurched) for 5 days...we can't waste a minute of it!!! We need to present them with the truth unapologetically. It may be scary, but I can promise you this - Vacation Bible School won't be boring!
On day 4 of the curriculum don't chicken out. It is our prayer that your leaders will be bold enough to look every kid in the eye and ask them the question they'll be getting prepared for all week - "Are you saved?". You'll see in your leaders manual that it may be a good idea to have the rest of your pastoral staff on deck for that day to help out because you better believe that all summer long, the Go Fish Guys will be praying (especially on Thursdays) for your Vacation Bible School.
Whether you use our curriculum or someone else's just be sure to remember why we have Vacation Bible School to begin with. It's not just to entertain, it's to impact lives. Nothing impacts lives more than God's Word and His truth contained in it!
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