Podcasts about Vacation bible school

Our guest this time is Kay Thompson. As Kay says in her bio, she is a minister, TV show host, author, Realtor® and business owner. If that isn't enough, she has raised a son and a daughter. Kay grew up, as she says, a military brat. She has lived in a number of places around the world. Like others we have had the pleasure to have as guests, her travels and living in various places and countries has made her curious and given her a broad perspective of life.   After high school she went to college. This life was a bit of a struggle for her, but the day came when she realized that college would be a positive thing for her. She will tell us the story.   After college she and her second husband, her first one died, moved to Atlanta where she has now resided for over 30 years. Kay always has had a strong faith. However, the time came when, as she explains, she actually heard God calling her to go into the ministry. And so, she did.   Kay tells us about how she also has undertaken other endeavors including writing, selling real estate and working as a successful Television host. It goes without saying that Kay Thompson performs daily a number of tasks and has several jobs she accomplishes. I hope you will be inspired by Kays's work. Should you wish to contact Kay, visit her website www.kaythompson.org.     About the Guest:   Kay Thompson is a minister, TV show host, author, Realtor® and business owner. She is the founder of Kay Thompson Ministries International, a kingdom resource for healing, hope and spiritual development. Kay is also the founder of Legacy Venture Group, a consulting and media firm which has helped countless businesses, organizations and individuals to strategically maximize potential. Kay holds a BA in Art History from Rutgers University in Camden, NJ, and an MA in Christian Ministry from Mercer University in Atlanta, GA. She is the former program director of WGUN 1010 in Atlanta and hosted the Kay Thompson TV Show, which aired on WATC-TV 57 in Atlanta. She currently hosts for the Atlanta Live broadcast on TV- 57. Kay is a member of the staff for the Studio Community Fellowship at Trillith Studios in Fayetteville, and is a host for their weekly service. She also serves as a member of the Board of Advisors for the A.D. King Foundation and works with several other non­ profit organizations in the Metro Atlanta area. Kay has lived in Georgia for over thirty years and is a resident of Stockbridge. She has two wonderful children: Anthony (Jasmine) and Chanel; and one grandchild, AJ. Kay enjoys reading, bowling and spending time with her family.   Ways to connect with Kay:   Facebook (Kay Thompson Ministries) https://www.facebook.com/kaythompsonministries Instagram (@kayrthompson) https://www.instagram.com/kayrthompson/     About the Host:   Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening!   Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast   If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset .   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review   Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.       Transcription Notes:   Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:17 Hi, everyone. I would like to say greetings wherever you happen to be today, we have a wonderful guest today. This is a woman, I would say, of many, many talents. I've been looking forward to this for a while. Kay Thompson is a minister, a TV host. She's an author, she's a realtor, and she's a business owner. My gosh, all of those. I want to find out how she does all those. But anyway, Kay, I want to welcome you to unstoppable mindset. We're really glad that you're here.   Kay Thompson ** 01:54 Well, thank you so much for having me. I appreciate being here, and thank you for contacting me excited.   Michael Hingson ** 02:01 Well, how do you do all those things all at once?   Kay Thompson ** 02:05 Well, you know, definitely can't do them all at once. Oh, okay, well, so have to kind of parse them out each day. And as I get assignments, that's how it goes. And got to prioritize one over the other. You   Michael Hingson ** 02:22 know? Well, we will, we will get to all of those, I am sure, in the course of the next hour or so. But I'm really glad that you're here, and as yet, I've been looking forward to this for a while, and and I'm sure we're going to have a lot of fun. Why don't we start? Maybe you could go back and tell us kind of about the early K growing up. What about you? So people can get to know you?   Kay Thompson ** 02:44 Oh, yeah. So growing up with the daughter of a military father, military officer. As a matter of fact, he rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. So that was interesting. So it was kind of a privileged military life in that sense that, you know, he just was always, he was a very important figure in his time. So that was interesting, walking on the base with him. And, you know, people would stop and salute him, you know, it was, it was, and I was just a little caught, you know, just running alongside him and just real proud, real proud   Michael Hingson ** 03:28 of my father. Did you have any Did you have any siblings?   Kay Thompson ** 03:31 I do? I have two brothers. Yeah, they both lived in Arizona. I was in the middle, so smashed right in the middle between two very muscular, very had a very demanding, commanding, excuse me, commanding presences. So in between the two brothers there, yeah, and then my mother, she was an English teacher, and very, you know, did excellent in her own right. She did a lot of drama, just a lot of teaching. She ended up in her 60s getting her doctorate degree, and, you know, just really excelled in education. And so she was the one that was really big on education. You know, go to school, go to school. Go to school. I don't want to go to school. Well, you need to go to school anyway. So I went to school anyway. That's how I can say my life was. Now, where did you grow up? All over,   Michael Hingson ** 04:32 okay, you did. I was going to ask if you did a lot of travel, since your dad was in the military.   Kay Thompson ** 04:38 Yeah, we certainly did. I was born in Tacoma, Washington. Oh, I don't remember any portion of it, because we were the only there, basically, so I could be born. I feel like, I know that's not the reason. But we went to Washington so I could be born, and then we lived there about a year, and then we moved to New York City. Then. We moved to. Now, by this my brother was already born, because all of us are three years apart. So my brother was born in Verdun, France, okay, and then they moved to, I can't remember where they were before that. I don't know if they went straight to from there to Washington State, and then we moved to New York, and then we went to Aberdeen, Maryland, and that's where my younger brother was born. And then from there, we went to Germany. We stayed there for about three years. From Germany, we went, I can't believe I remember all this. And from Germany, we went to Ohio. We stayed there for a couple of years. And actually we were there when they had that tornado. Was like in the 70s, there was a tornado Zenith Ohio. Well, we weren't far from zenith at the time. So we were there. Then we moved from there to Virginia, and it was there for three years, then to New Jersey, and then that's where my father retired. So we were all over the place.   Michael Hingson ** 06:10 You were, my gosh, well, did you, did you learn any of the foreign languages when you were in Germany and France, or, yeah,   Kay Thompson ** 06:23 in Germany, we could only, I only remember vaguely, you know, hello, thank you to know what it is now off beat is saying goodbye, Danka and bitter, thank you. You're welcome and good, yeah. But tight. But, no, no, we didn't do that at all   Michael Hingson ** 06:47 so, but you, you certainly did a lot and you had a lot of adventures. How do you think that all of that travel affected you as you grew older? What? What did it do that helped shape you?   Kay Thompson ** 07:03 Well, I know that, you know, of course, traveling. You know, you hear the story about kids all the time they travel, and because if they're if they're moving a lot, it's hard to create lasting, long term friendships, because you're just constantly moving. And you know, never mind moving to another city, but when you go to another state, even from another country. Now, I did happen to have a friendship with a young lady. Her name was Audrey, and I met her in Germany, and I was between the age of about three to five. I met her in Germany, and we stayed friends till I was in Virginia. So you're talking from Germany, wow, to Maryland, to Virginia. We were friends until Virginia, but then once I left Virginia and went to New Jersey, and I was there for my part of my middle school and then the rest of my high school, we fell out of touch. So that was one of the things I would say is difficult, you know, just having lifelong friends, yeah, that was, that was probably one of the more difficult things. But one thing on the other side is it made great being that person that was a world traveler. It was great when you're in school and they, you know, they ask you in your classroom, hey, you know, tell us something unique about you. Oh, well, I've been to Germany because my parents, when we were in Germany, they wasted no time traveling. They were always traveling. We were on the road all the time. I mean literally, and you know, they, they were just great world travelers. We went we went to Italy, we went to Spain, we went to France, we went to Switzerland. We went everywhere in Europe that they could get in that Volvo that they had. We had a nice little Volvo, and we would pitch out at, you know, campsites, you know, just any way they could to get where they needed to get, because they wanted to see these sites, and especially because my mother was an English teacher, she did a lot of plays, she directed a lot of plays, a lot of Shakespeare. And so a lot of these places were in these books, in this literature that she taught, and I'm sure that's probably one of the major reasons they did all this traveling, all these places that she had studied about, and, you know, taught about, she actually got to go see now, I must say, the only place I didn't go to that I wanted to go to that for some reason, she took my older brother. She didn't take any, noone else went, but my mother and my older brother. And I can't understand that trip to this day they those two went to. Greece. We didn't know. No one else in the family went to Greece. And I meant to ask, I'm going to, you know, when I finish this interview, I'm going to call my brother and ask him, What, what? What did you and mom go to Greece? You know, because nobody else got to go. But I would have loved to go there as well, but, but at the time, you know, new kid, it was okay. Mom and mom and Chuck are going away. Okay. But now that I think back and look back, maybe it was, I never, I never asked about that, but I'm going to ask, Did   Michael Hingson ** 10:34 it help you, though, develop a sense of adventure and and not create any kind of fear of of traveling around. Did it make you a more curious person? Because you got to go to so many places? Oh, I asked that in the on the basis of as you grew older and thought about it.   Kay Thompson ** 10:52 Oh, yeah, I'm a very curious person, curious person, and at times that can be a little nosy, right? And so, yeah, so that, to me, was, I think, one of the ways that built expanded my mind in terms of wanting to know about people and about things, because I've worked in public relations for many years, and so just being able to understand the perspective of other people from different cultures and different mindsets, being open to people from different cultures, different races, different religions, wanting to hear their point of view, interested in you know how they feel about things, because you can have a subject, or You can have something come up, and you have so many different perspectives from people. And you can see the very same thing, they can be shown the very same thing, but one person sees it from their lens, you know, from where you know, yeah, whether it's how they grew up or their external influences, and then someone could see the very same thing, and it interpret it totally different. Yeah. So   Michael Hingson ** 12:08 one of the one of the things that I've noticed in talking to a number of people who came from military families and and others as well, who did do a fair amount of travel to various countries and so on. They do tend to be more curious, and I think that's a very positive thing. They they have a broader outlook on so many things, and they tend to be more curious and want to learn more and wish that more people could have the same experiences that they had.   Kay Thompson ** 12:40 Yeah. I mean, not afraid to try new things too, for things that other people would would not like. I remember in Germany being very young, being fed octopus and snail. You know, these delicacies over there in Germany, I remember that at this my where my father was stationed, in Germany. The street, it was in like a court area. It felt like a court area, big apartments set up in a U shape, and then right across in a U shape in the in the middle of a field, like an open space, not a field, but an open space. And then right outside of that open space, we could jump out of that open space right into a busy street called Roma Strasse, and right on the other side of that busy street was Old Town, Germany, literally stepping there were no fences and no bars and no gates. We're stepping straight from our backyard into Germany, because the base was more Americanized. So you really felt Americanized on the base. But once you stepped into Germany, the houses were these. You know, cobble it was cobblestone streets. And I remember me and my brothers used to walk out of our backyard, that big open area, and go across the street into Germany and get the authentic gummy bears. That was our weekly trip. And these gummy bears, I'm telling you now, for gummy bear enthusiasts out there, the gummy bears in Germany looked nothing like these gummy bears that we see here. They were huge. They were the cutest little bears. I almost felt guilty eating them, but we just had a great time. I remember great memories from our exploits, our visits, the life was different. You know, toilet paper was harder. I just remember now that was years ago. I don't know what it's like now, but   Michael Hingson ** 14:49 yeah, but does the gummy bears taste better?   Kay Thompson ** 14:53 Well, now I can't remember, because then, when you're a kid, any candy, you know, if you say candy, I say, yeah. Much, you know. So when I was that young, I couldn't tell, but they probably did, you know. But then again, for those people that like because I don't drink, but the beer there is much darker, too. So some people don't like that. So better to them. You know, could be, you know, we don't like it to us. So   Michael Hingson ** 15:25 I've never been to China, but I've been to Japan twice, and there's a food in China called dim sum. Are you familiar with dim sum? Okay, I'll tell you dim sum in Japan is I and I think better. It's different and tastes better than dim sum in the United States. Now I have to go to China one of these days and try it. Yeah.   Kay Thompson ** 15:48 Well, if you ever go to the buffets, have you ever gone to the Yeah? Yeah. Okay, so if you notice the people that work there, they do not eat the food that the buffet. Yeah, they so one day I'm going to do this too. I'm like, hey, you know, can I have some of which   Michael Hingson ** 16:09 you guys eat? Yeah, yeah, yeah, well, yeah, but it is, it is interesting. It's fun to to investigate and explore. And I haven't traveled around the world much. I have as a speaker, had some opportunities to travel, but I think my curiosity came from being a blind person who was encouraged by my parents to explore, and the result was that I did a lot of exploring, just even in our house around our neighborhood. And of course, when the internet came along, and I still believe this is true, it is a treasure trove of just wonderful places to go visit. And yeah, I know there's the dark web and all that, but I ignore that. Besides that, probably the dark web is inaccessible, and maybe someday somebody will sue all the people who have sites on the dark web because they're not accessible. But nevertheless, the internet is just a treasure trove of interesting places to visit in so many ways. Yeah,   Kay Thompson ** 17:17 and then a virtual reality. So one of the places that I wanted to go to was, I've always wanted to go to Egypt. I haven't had an opportunity yet, and personally, right now, don't know how you know how good an idea that is right now. Yeah, but I went to a recent VR exploration of the pyramids in Egypt. And I'm telling you, if that was how it seemed, it's definitely was a way to help me to, you know, live it out, so to speak. Because there's, like, for instance, there's a place in Florida called the Holy Land, the Holy Land, you know, the whole just like a theme park. And they say it looks, you know, there are areas where it looks just like Israel, parts of Israel. So, you know, in that respect, I've been able to realize some portion of the dream. But yeah, I have been love to get there.   Michael Hingson ** 18:16 I have been to Israel, and I enjoy happy. I was in Israel two years ago. Oh, well, so what did you do after high school?   Kay Thompson ** 18:30 Oh, after high school, interesting. So remember when I was telling you about the school thing? So I was in and out of school. I went to I started college in New Jersey. Where did you I went to Rutgers University. Rutgers, yeah, well, first I started in New Brunswick. Then I came back because we lived closer to Camden. We lived we lived in New Jersey, closer to Philadelphia. Philadelphia was about 20 minutes away.   Michael Hingson ** 18:57 Mm, okay, I lived in, I lived in Westfield, New Jersey. So we were out route 22 from New York, about 15 miles. So we were in the north central part of the state, okay, South North part, or whatever, of the state.   Kay Thompson ** 19:11 Okay, okay, yeah. Well, yeah. First it was in New Brunswick. I was there. And then after I did that, I went for about a semester, and then I transferred over to Hampton University, because both my parents went to Hampton, so I said Hampton didn't stay there, and then I ended up coming back and going to Rutgers in Camden, and there I completed my degree. Took me eight years to complete it. What   Michael Hingson ** 19:42 did you get your degree in?   Kay Thompson ** 19:43 I got my degree in art history and sculpture. So, okay, yeah, and I love what I did. I you know, I had a museum work. Loved working in a museum, and could tell you about all the i. You know, the art, the sculpture, just loved it. But it took me a minute to get that then. And then, after that, I went to, I moved to Atlanta in 92 the end of 92 so after high school, you know, just a lot of challenges, just trying to figure out who I was and what did you do. You know, how I wished I would have, now, looking back on it, I wish I would have, maybe when I got out of high school, just taking some time off first. And because in my heart, I knew I, I knew I, I knew I didn't want to go to school, but I knew I needed to go. I knew there was something in me that said, you you need to go to school. But mentally, I don't think I was mentally prepared for it, for for the you know, because when you get out of high school, and you go into college, it's a unless you take AP courses in high school, you're not prepared for the amount of work you're going to get inundated with. And it was just overwhelming to me. It took all my time. I felt like I was that person. I had to keep reading things over and over again just to get it, I used to have to, not only did I take, you know, what friend of mine calls copious notes, but then I also had to put it over in index cards. And you know, it just took me a long time because my heart wasn't in it at the time. So I ended up meeting a gentleman, my first husband. We were married, we had a son, and then, but he passed away, I think, when my son was about three, and then that's when, okay, okay. Now, you know you now, now, now. I wanted to go. Now I wanted to finish. So it was   Michael Hingson ** 22:00 your it was your husband that passed away. Yes, yeah, okay, yeah, all right, so then you decided you really needed to to do school.   Kay Thompson ** 22:12 Yeah, I needed to complete it. So that's what pushed me to complete it, leaving   Michael Hingson ** 22:17 the major aside of sculpture and art and his art history and so on. If you were to summarize it, what did college teach you?   Kay Thompson ** 22:30 Oh, that's a great question. What did college teach me? Well, you know, it taught me that, you know, I think we just need to, well, you need to know how to focus. It's really was a disciplining moment in my life. I was an Army brat. You know this bottom line, I was an Army brat even though I felt like I didn't get a whole lot of things that I wanted. In reality, I had a, like a kind of a spoiled mentality. And when I got to college, I realized that this stuff is not going to be handed to me, you know, you're not going to be handed an a you know, I'm not going to do your studying for you, you know. And so helping me to kind of detach from things I had just depended on for so long. But in that transition, it became very lonely. College was very lonely. I mean, even when I left, because I got out of when I first went to Rutgers and cam in New Brunswick, right out of high school. I had, I was at the dorm, and I wasn't ready for a dorm. I wasn't ready for that life because, you know, I left almost before the semester was over and I had to go and make up the classes. And, you know, thankfully, they allowed me to make up some of my you know, majority well. As a matter of fact, they let me make them all up, but I still had to put in the work. And that was my thing, putting in the work, putting in the work and doing things that I didn't necessarily like. Because even though I liked art and I like sculpture and all that. There were other classes that I had to take, like humanities and algebra, you know, and history, you know, not not art history, but you know, American history, European history, and all these different other subjects, these other prerequisites or curriculum that you have to take. And I didn't always enjoy those and other I don't want to do that, but no, you actually have to do it. So I'm going to say that college really helped me learn about disciplining myself to do things that I don't necessarily like, but they are required of me,   Michael Hingson ** 24:58 and I. But I would tell you, if you asked me the same question, that would be my answer. It really taught me a lot about discipline. It taught me also to realize that I really did like inappropriately so adventure and exploration and being curious and so on. I also found that my best college courses were the ones, no matter what the subject was or whether I really enjoyed it or not, were the ones where I had good teachers who really could teach and who were concerned about students and interacting with students, rather than just giving you assignments, because they then wanted to go off and do their thing. But I liked good teachers, and I went to the University of California at Irvine, and had, very fortunately, a lot of good teachers who encouraged discipline and being able to function in unexpected ways and and they also pointed out how to recognize like if you're doing something right, like in physics, when my Masters is in physics, one of the First things that one of my professors said is, if you've got to get the right answer, but the right answer isn't just getting the right numbers, like if you are trying to compute acceleration, which we know is 16 feet per second squared, or 9.8 meters per second squared. That's not right. Anyway, 3232 feet per second, or 9.8 meters per second, it isn't enough to get the 32 feet or or the 9.8 meters. You've got to get meters per second squared. Because that never mind why it is, but that is, that is the physics term for acceleration, so it isn't enough to get the numbers, which is another way of saying that they taught me to really pay attention to the details. Yeah, which was cool. And I'm hearing from you sort of the same thing, which is great, but, but then you went to college, and you majored in what you did, and so did you work in the museum part of the time while you were in college?   Kay Thompson ** 27:31 Well, what happened is, I had an art history teacher who just took a, I guess, a liking to me, because I was very enthusiastic about what I did, because I love what I did. And I had a writing background, because I had a mother who was an English teacher. So all my life, I was constantly being edited. So I came in with pretty good grammar and pretty good way to I had a writing I had a talent for writing in a way that the academic were looking for, that art history kind of so I knew how to write that way, and she hired me to help her. She was a professor that did, you know, lectures, and she hired me, paid me out of her own salary, kind of like a work study. And so I worked for her about 20 hours a week, just filing slides and, you know, helping her with whatever she needed, because she was the chair of the department. So that was a great opportunity. I was able to work with her and and maybe feel good to know if somebody thought, you know enough of you know what I did to to hire me, and feel like I I could contribute, and that I was trusted to be able to handle some of these things. I mean, you know, and I don't know how difficult it is to file slides, but you know, when it teacher wants to do a lecture, and back then they were these little, small, little, you know, square slides. Square slides drop into the projector, right? And she's looking for, you know, the temple of Nike. You know, she wants to find it in order. You know, you pull that slide and you put it in your projector, right, carousel, right, yes, yes. So that's what I did, and it was great. I loved it. I learned college. I loved I loved the college atmosphere. I loved being in that vein, and I think I really found my niche when I was when I went to Rutgers in Camden.   Michael Hingson ** 29:48 Well, there's a history lesson sports fans, because now, of course, it's all PowerPoint. But back then, as Kay is describing it, when you wanted to project things you had. Slides. So they were pictures, they were films, and they were all these little squares, maybe two inches square, and you put them in a carousel, and you put them in the projector, and every time you push the button, it would go to the next slide, or you could go back the other way. So PowerPoint is only making it a little bit more electronic, but the same concept is still there. So there, there I dealt with slides. So after college, you, you did time at the university, at the museum, I gather,   Kay Thompson ** 30:31 okay. So what happened with the museum after I graduated from college, immediately I moved to New Jersey, yeah, you know, right? I'm gonna say probably about six months, six months to a year before college, is when my first husband died, and then after I graduated, um, I moved to New Jersey first. Where did you graduate from? Again, Rutgers University in Camden. Okay, so   Michael Hingson ** 30:59 that's New Jersey so you, but after college, you moved,   Kay Thompson ** 31:03 I moved to Georgia, Georgia that   Michael Hingson ** 31:06 that makes more sense. Okay, okay,   Kay Thompson ** 31:08 okay, sorry, yeah, so I moved to Georgia, and immediately, when we came to Georgia, you know my I came with a gentleman who I married shortly after, I moved to Georgia and we opened a art gallery. We were entrepreneurs. We came because, you know, there was, we felt like there was more opportunity in Georgia for small business owners, or would be potential small business owners, or people who wanted to realize their dream. And we know that in Georgia now, I don't know if you know this, but Georgia is a great place for entrepreneurs, so definitely better than where I was at the time. So we packed the U haul and just threw everything in there and came to Atlanta. Now my the gentleman who would be my husband. So I just say my husband now, then he, he had a sister here, so we visited first with her, and that's how we got to really see the scene, check out the scene, and then we came back and moved and found our own place and everything like that. So but when we came, I opened it, I had an art gallery for about a year or so, little bit longer and but that didn't work out. Didn't, you know, just, you know, some things you tried. Just yeah, just didn't work. But then my husband and now just FYI for you, this person, the second person, I married, the second man. He passed away too, but that was in 2008 but so he's my late husband too. So I have two, two husbands that passed away. One was the first one was much younger, and my second husband. We were married for 16 years. This is early on in our relationship. We he he opened a brass outlet, a just all kinds of beautiful black brass vases and animals and just anything brass you wanted. But also, after I shut down the museum I had or the gallery, it was an art gallery, I moved my pieces into his brass outlet, and there I was able to kind of display them and sell them. We had pieces that range from, you know, $25 to $500 so we I found a little space there that I could do my work. So it was a nice little coupling.   Michael Hingson ** 33:43 Yeah, I'm with you. Uh huh. So so you, you have obviously moved on from from doing a lot of that, because now you have other endeavors, as we mentioned at the beginning, being a minister, an entrepreneur, an author and so on. So how did you transition from just doing art to doing some of the things that you do today?   Kay Thompson ** 34:18 Okay, so what happened is when I came to and I guess this is the really, deeply more personal aspect of it all, when, when I came to Atlanta again, my my first husband had passed away. He committed suicide. Yeah, so when I came to Atlanta, my second husband and I were not yet married, and all I knew is that I wanted the relationship not to be the way the first one was, in a sense of. I I didn't want to go through that specific kind of trauma again and and not that the the two gentlemen were similar. They were very different people. My second husband was a very confident, very strong willed, you know, type of a person, but the trauma and my first husband, he had his own strength in, you know, but there's something that happens when you decide, you know, to end your life. Yeah, I wanted to make sure that I had some sort of support, divine support, because the going through something like that, and when I say something like that, not only am I talking about the suicide, but the fact that he was On we were on the phone together when this happened, so and then just dealing with everything that happened around it, you can imagine someone feeling a little bit insecure, unsure. So I really began to seek God for that relationship that I know would sustain me. I had grown up, you know, my parents grew up, they brought us to church. You know, I wouldn't say my parents were they weren't ministers, but they were active in whatever church they went to, and they made sure that we went to church every Sunday, even the Vacation Bible School. I can remember that in New Jersey, I remember, you know, them just being a very, very involved. My my parents. My mother was a singer, so she sang a lot in the choir, lot of solos. My father was a deacon. They both became elders, and elders, meaning they were just senior members of ministry. Because elder in the I'm in a non denominational ministry now, but elder is another way of saying a ordained male Minister their particular denomination, an elder was, you know, almost you might want to say like a trustee, so, but they were root, they they were they were integral to their church, And they were really foundational members. And so I just remember that impact on my life, and so I needed to make sure I had that grounding, and I knew I didn't have it because I was doing any and everything I wanted to do. You know, one of the reasons my my second husband, said, You know, he, I was the one for him, is because we had a drinking competition and I beat him, you know, we were taking shots, and I beat him. And so, you know that that was something that, you know, he said, Oh, you're, you know, girl, you're the one for me. And so that was our life, running, you know, we did a lot of. We entertained. We, you know, we did a lot of partying, as you say, a lot of having a great time. We were living our best life, right? So I knew I wasn't living a life that I could tell, Hey, God, see my life, Aren't you proud? It wasn't that life I was living. I wasn't, you know, doing biblical things. I wasn't living life, right? So I needed to make sure when I came to New Jersey, I mean, when I came to Atlanta from New Jersey with this gentleman that I had not yet married, I said, Lord, you know, help me make the right decision. And I'd say we could be moved to to Georgia in it's something like January, February. Okay, we got married about two months later, and then a month after that, I was pregnant with my daughter. So things being that, it happened very fast. But one thing about it is, of course, when you're pregnant, as a woman, you know, you can't do this. I couldn't do the things that I was doing before, right? The partying, smoking, the drinking, all of that, you know, for the sake of the child. You know, you just can't do it. So I went through a terrible withdrawal. Yeah, it was, it was pretty bad and and the only refuge I had was the church. So that's how I really got into the church. And once I got into the church, I had, I had been in the church before I had made a decision. Decision when I was about, I'm going to say about five, five or six years prior to that, I had given my life to the Lord. I had, you know, come into a relationship with the Lord, but life happened, and I got out of it. You know, I quickly kind of got out of it. And so for many years, I was just doing my own thing. So again, when, when, when we came to Georgia, I got pregnant, got married, going through with the withdrawals. I just, you know, I just went back into the church, uh, rekindled that relationship. Or, or the Bible says that he, he, he's with loving kindness. Has he drawn you? So he really drew me back based on my need. And so I came back to the church and got really, really involved in ministry. And as I got involved, I just kind of threw myself into it, because I could not do the previous things I did. And then even after I had my my second child, it's a daughter, so I have a son and a daughter, I had to live a life that was good for   Michael Hingson ** 41:05 them. And what did your husband think of all that?   Kay Thompson ** 41:09 Oh, yeah. Well, first he thought I had joined a cult. Okay, yeah, that's so that was his first impression. So he came to the church because he wanted to see who these cult members were that were drawing away his wife. And when he came, he got kind of hooked to the church, yeah? But our our faith was never at the same level. You know? He came because of me. I came because of of God, right? And I don't know if he ever really, I don't think he ever really got to that level that I did, where I was just gung ho. Everything was, you know, I was a Jesus girl. I was a holy roller, you know. And he did it for us. He did it for, you know, task sake, because he was a task oriented person. But he came, he came to be a very like my parents. He came to be very important part of the church. He was a deacon. He was faithful. He loved our leaders. He served with faith and integrity. But when it came to that, you know, deep seated personal relationship with God, where you know God, I just give you everything you know that that was mine. That was what I did. So we differed in that respect, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 42:35 well, well, hopefully though, in in the long run, you said he's passed. I assume it was not a suicide.   Kay Thompson ** 42:45 No, no,   Michael Hingson ** 42:46 Ben that he is. He is moving on in that faith. So that's a hopeful   Kay Thompson ** 42:53 thing. Yeah, I believe he is. He had congestive heart failure and he passed away. And, yeah, I believe he he's now at rest, enjoying his rest. Yes, there   Michael Hingson ** 43:06 you go. So when did he pass in 2008 Okay, so that was 17 years ago. Okay, yep, well, so you were very involved in the church. And I suppose in some senses, it's probably a question that is reasonably obvious, but then I'll still ask, how did you get into the ministry from being very heavily involved in church, and when did that happen?   Kay Thompson ** 43:38 Okay, so one day our church. You know, the churches we have depending on, I guess, your faith or leaders do in the beginning of each year, we have a 21 day consecration, which we do in January, throughout the month of January. You know they might say, okay, 21 for 21 days. Read these scriptures, and we're going to fast from, you know, sweets, meats, or, you know, whatever the directive is. And so we was in a 21 day fast, and that was at my home one day. It was in the middle of the night, and I distinctly heard a call to preach. And that's really how the it all began. I mean, I knew, you know, the Bible says that, you know, even with Jeremiah and Jeremiah one, he says, Before the foundation, you know, before your mother and your father, you know, were together, I have already called you. I already ordained you. So I heard this call to preach, very distinct call, and at that point, I told my pastor, and from that point, I was kind of groomed, and as time went on, I was given more responsibility. Uh, you know, praying, or every now and then, preaching, doing Bible study. The next thing I know, I took my licensing exam, I was licensed, and then after that, I went through ordination, and I was ordained, and that's how it really began. And it was something I really took to heart, because I didn't want to disappoint God again. I didn't want to backslide again. Because, you know, I strongly believed in the faith, and I believe in the faith, and I believe in the power of Jesus, and I didn't want to be that person that Okay. Today I'm going to be faithful to the God and to His Word. But then, you know, then on the next day, you know, you're finding me, you know, yeah, in the liquor store, or, you know, this, doing this, or, you know, in the club. I didn't want to be that person. Yeah, I was, I was sincere, and I was very gung ho, and I wanted to live out this life. I wanted to see what the calling was going to be in my life. And I loved ministry. I loved the word, because I was already an art historian. So I loved history. And so the Bible is all you know, it's something history. It's history. Yeah, it's relevant. History to me, it's alive and active, sure. So it was perfect. It was a perfect pairing for me, and that that's really been my pursuit many these years.   Michael Hingson ** 46:37 So when did you become a minister?   Kay Thompson ** 46:41 Actually, when I, when I was telling you about that fast and when I heard the word preach, essentially when I heard that word preach between me and God, that was when I became a minister. Time wise. When was that time wise? Okay, that was probably 94 Okay. I Yeah, all right.   Michael Hingson ** 47:00 So you were, you were clearly a preacher during a lot of the time with your your second husband, and so on, and, and I am so glad that he at least did explore and and and learn so much. So that's a that's a cool thing. But you've also done some other things. You deal with real estate, you're a TV show host, you're an author and well, business owner, yeah, but I want to, I want to learn more about some of those. But what kind of challenges have you faced in the ministry?   Kay Thompson ** 47:42 Yeah. I would say some of the challenges are, you know, when you're in ministry, you have to preach or get yourself prepared for going before the people. It can be a very lonely lifestyle, yeah, yeah, even, even if you're married, even if you have children, it could still be a lonely and and demanding in its own right, because there is a mandate over your life to live and not according to what you see trending now. And, you know, when I, when I first got started in ministry there, the Internet was not the way it is now. No, no, definitely. Because, I mean, it was in 2000 that I got ordained. And I'm going to say the ministry had been, you know, it was just really starting to, I don't know you guess, she said, make waves. That's when all of the big evangelists were coming out, like, you know, the TD Jakes, the Paula white and the Benny Hinn and the Juanita Biden. That is around that time when those generation of preachers were really at the forefront, correct, low dollar and, you know, Bishop, Carlton, Pearson and Rod Parsley and all these, these names. That's when it really began to really pick up steam. And so that was the error that I started off in. And you wanted to be a person. You wanted to be relevant, but at the same token, you just trying to find that balance between family and ministry and and regular life. You know, can sometimes be really challenging, and I had to learn a lot about the order of things. You know, first it's God, then it's family, and then it's ministry. That's the order. But a lot of times we mix up God and ministry. So what we think is, you know, and. Aspect of things that we think that are God, that are actually ministry, and they supersede your family. That's where you know you can really run into some trouble. So that balance between those different aspects of my life, it was difficult, and then as a person who had a a more a prophetic, a revelatory call. On top of that, God is showing you things about people, about, you know, situations that you don't necessarily ask to know about, you know. And the Bible says, you know, with much knowledge can often come sorrow, you know. And that's when you begin to see God really unveiling and revealing things about people and about yourself. Because you have to be able to, you have to be able to look at yourself and not get too self righteous, right? If God is showing you these things. But in the same token, you don't want to, you know, you say, Okay, God, you're showing me this. What do you want me to do with this? And you know, somebody else might say, Okay, you need to go tell that person what God showed you. You know, I saw you doing this. You better stop, you know, doing this. And then, you know, so busy pointing the finger. Yeah, but you have to remember, you know, and it's, it may be cliches, but you've got three pointing back at you. And so there is, you know, you you've gotta be able to stay humble and yet still balance your family and still, you know, uh, not think yourself to be more than what you are, and yet realize that God has called you to do more in ministry than the average person. So yeah, it can be challenging, but I wouldn't change it for anything.   Michael Hingson ** 51:55 It can be a challenge, but at the same time, you clearly were called to do it, and you work at keeping perspective, and I think that's the important thing, which goes back to college, which helped you learn a lot of discipline, and you get to use that discipline in a different way, perhaps, than you right, you figured out in college. But discipline is discipline, yeah. Well, how did you then get into something like the media and start being a TV show host and those kinds of things?   Kay Thompson ** 52:26 Yeah, so I have a wonderful, wonderful pastor who really takes time to work with their their members and find out what your gifts are, what your talents are, and use them. And so I So, let's just say so I was an artist. Okay, bottom line, I was a sculptor, painter, award winning painter, by the way. Let me just tell you now, you know the first or second painting I did, I entered it into a contest at the college, and I won an award, so I had a gift for this design, but in my time we were transitioning to graphic design, graphic design became the big thing, and I never had if I had the aptitude to do computer science, which, bless his soul, my beautiful son is a computer scientist, right, you know, but that gene, this, that gene, skip right on over me. I was not the math person, and when you said physicist, I said, Hmm, that that, you know, that gene just, just totally went around me,   Michael Hingson ** 53:41 yeah, so you don't know anything about 32 feet per second squared anyway, no,   Kay Thompson ** 53:45 I'm about to say, I trust you, whatever you say, you know, and it's the funny thing is, my father was a mathematician, my older brother was a chemical engineer, and Me, you know that I struggle just to pass geometry. Okay, so no, I was the artsy person.   Michael Hingson ** 54:07 Um, that's fine, but I was, yeah. How'd that get you to the media?   Kay Thompson ** 54:12 Yeah, so I was going to say, so, the combination what happened is my pastor knew a pastor who was looking for a part time job, looking for someone to have a part time job, because he had a he had his own publishing company in his house. He at the time he was he published a book that we talked about church growth. And this was at the time when the Purpose Driven Life, The Purpose Driven Life was a purpose driven church came out. It was a huge success. And he the same thing happened with him here in Atlanta, but no publishing company wanted to take. Make his story, because that's the, you know, the whole the society was inundated with this purpose driven church, you know, it was already written about. It was already done. They didn't want his story. So he decided to create his own publishing company, and it was in the basement of his mansion, and he was looking for someone to be the secretary. So I came in that I was, it was a friend of a friend of friend. They hired me, and I started working for him as a as a secretary. And then they would bring these books over, and he would, you know, send them out to be edited, and then bring them back. And then I would have to mail it out to the to the printer and one of the books one day, and I saw it, and I noticed there were still typos in it. I said, Sir, there's still typos in your book. Oh, really, yeah. And he had already paid this person $1,000 so I went back through it, found all these typos, and that's how I got into publishing, publishing my own books and and everything like that. But then one day, my pastor said, Hey, Kay, why don't you do a radio show? I was like, okay, sure, right, because I had met so many people in ministry from doing their books. So I called the radio station, the local am station, and I said, Hey, how much does it cost to do a show, blah, blah, blah, blah. And I was sponsored by my pastor and some other people, and I started a 30 minute show every week. It was called personalities, profiles and perspectives, the three teams, and I would interview people, gospel artists, pastors, you know, just politicians, you know, just people. I would reach out to them. Next thing I know, I got hired by a station in another station in Atlanta. It was called wg, I don't know if you remember, well, you, you probably don't, because you're not from Atlanta, right? But it was W G, U N, 10:10am, in Atlanta, the biggest am station aside from WSB radio, which is WSB 750 the major news network, right? WGN, 1010. Was a huge station, and I got hired by them. I was a DJ. It was a gospel station, and I ended up being the program director, and did a lot of, you know, voiceovers. I did shows, I did production. That's how I got into radio. And I loved it. I loved radio. I loved anything to do with media. It was just I knew it. I got bit with the bug when they opened up that hot mic. That was it. I was in my element. So that's how I got into radio. And then you went to TV. And then I went to TV, yeah, went to TV. Well, what happened is, I was writing books, and there is a station here in Atlanta, W ATC TV 57 and they interview people all over, actually, all over the country. You can come from wherever we know, we've had big names, you know, all kinds of people and local people. And that's one thing about it, is that local people in ministry could go there. They could sing, if they were music artists, they could, you know, talk about their books, talk about their ministry. And so I went on and talked about my book, and next thing I know, I got called in to be a host, and so I've been hosting now for about five years. Wow. You know, on and off. You know, the the show has different hosts each, and I do a couple of times a month. Okay, I'll actually be on there shortly, again in a few days. So   Michael Hingson ** 58:57 tell us about your books. You've mentioned books several times. Did you publish your own books? Okay, so tell us about your books.   Kay Thompson ** 59:06 So yeah, the first four books, well, I've done I've had four books which were on prophecy. The the main title is prophecy in the 21st Century. And then I did four different volumes. The first one was the role of prophecy in the new millennium. And basically that one was written in, I'm going to say around 2012 somewhere about 2012 and it talks about the relevance of prophecy with regard to the millennial generation, and how this you can help steer direct and go alongside millennial mindset, millennial and many millennial aspects of this generation. And then the second book was also the set under the same volume, the same name. Prophecy in the 21st Century, the role of and the second the first one is the role of prophecy in the new millennium. The second one was prophetic healing. And prophetic healing talks about prophecy and healing in the Bible and how prophetic people who operate in the prophetic can help bring forth, healing, societal, healing, relational, healing, physical, healing, financial. And then the third one was about prophetic women. And these are women in the Bible that had a prophetic calling, not necessarily called a prophetess, but display those characteristics of women that operate in Revelation and that sort of gift. And then the fourth one was called the leadership mandate, and it talks about leader and how leaders navigate in the prophetic arena and the characteristics that people ought to have, and leaders in the Bible that also operated in that revelation or that. And then the last book I wrote was called the 30 names, or not the but 30 Names of God, because there are so many more names that God is known by. But I chose 30 names that really stood out to me as what God has called. You know Jehovah Gabor. You know the warrior one fights for us. You know Jehovah Jireh, of course, we know that's our provider. Mm, hmm, Jehovah Rapha, our healer. So I found 30 names that really stood out to me, and I spoke about those in that book. So those are the books that I have, and then I've got another book that will be coming out within the next year, and and it is about healing. So those are my books, and I've published those books. And not only do I, I didn't start off publishing my own books. I started off publishing for other people, right? Because the more I worked in that field, the more I found that I could do better financially if I did it myself. Yeah, so and I, and I, one thing about it is that as a result of being an artist, that the graphic design, computer graphics, came really easy to me, I'll bet. So, yeah, so someone could hand me a manuscript. I had the editing skills right for my mother. So I could edit your book. I could create the design. I could format it. I You. Hand me your manuscript, I hand you back your finished product. So for me, you know, the cheapest person that you know, I pay the least amount because so I can publish as many books as I could write, probably, you know, but that's how I really got started doing that, and then I began to do it for other people, other leaders, other pastors, friends, you know, just people that want that service. I provide that service. And so that's how that really got started.   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:12 Now we don't have a lot of time, but I just curious. You also do something in real estate.   Kay Thompson ** 1:03:19 I do, yeah, I I got my license in 2005 and maybe one year, maybe one year, and then I got out of it right away. Life happened, and then I came back in 2022, and began to did it full time. And so I love it. I love real estate. Right now I'm in residential, but I do some commercial, and the ultimate goal is to do mostly commercial and to have a space. The goal for commercial is to really help others entrepreneurs who are interested in having businesses offline, giving them an opportunity to have a space that is little to nothing, and that's one of the ways that I really want to give back, is to be able to offer that opportunity for people out there to help others to achieve that same goal. And so I believe in entrepreneur. I've been an entrepreneur for 17 years now. So, yeah, have a heart for that. So I want to see other people get through that challenge and be successful. So, and I know it takes money,   Michael Hingson ** 1:04:37 but in real estate helps.   Kay Thompson ** 1:04:39 It definitely helps. Yeah? Well, real estate is constantly going up, you know, even if the market is down and even if finances are down, real estate is something that is immovable,   Michael Hingson ** 1:04:52 so go back up.   Speaker 1 ** 1:04:54 Yeah, yeah, for sure, and   Michael Hingson ** 1:04:57 you clearly enjoy everything that you're. Doing, which is the important thing, yes, I have that is that is really cool, and I am so glad that we had a chance to talk about all this, needless to say, and I want to thank you for being on unstoppable mindset. Clearly, you have an unstoppable mindset, and you exhibited in so many ways. So I really want to thank you, but I also want to thank all of you for listening out there, wherever you happen to be, if you'd like to reach out to KK, how can people find you?   Kay Thompson ** 1:05:31 They can go to my website. It is my name, K Thompson, dot, O, R, G, all my books are there? Contact information, some of my podcasts. You can watch some of Atlanta live the videos of the shows. It's all on my website,   Michael Hingson ** 1:05:49 all right, and that's in in the notes and so on. So, k, a, y, T, H, O, M, P, S O, n.org, correct. So hope that you'll all go there and and check Kay out and and communicate with her. I'm sure that she would love, and I would love to know what you think and get your thoughts about today. So please feel free to email me at Michael, H, I m, I C, H, A, E, L, H i at accessibe, A, C, C, E, S, S, I B, e.com, wherever you're observing our podcast today, please give us a five star rating. We value very highly your reviews, and we, of course, love them most when you give us a five star review. So please do that. And Kay, for you and for everyone who is out there today, if you know anyone else who ought to be on unstoppable mindset, I would really appreciate it if you'd introduce us and we will bring them on the podcast, because we're always looking for people who have stories to tell about their lives and being unstoppable. So please don't hesitate to let us know. You can also go to our podcast page, which is Michael hingson, M, I, C, H, A, E, L, H, I N, G, s o n.com/podcast, so we'd love you to do that as well. But again, really appreciate all you being out there and listening to us and and I'm sure you you like, like, I have gotten some wonderful things out of talking with case. Okay, once again, I want to thank you for being here. This has been absolutely wonderful.   Kay Thompson ** 1:07:22 Well, thank you. I really enjoyed it. I appreciate you asking me to be here and just so glad to be able to share with you today your audience. Really appreciate it.   Michael Hingson ** 1:07:37 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com . AccessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for Listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.

When Yang Rongli, a pastor of Linfen Golden Lampstand Church in Shanxi Province, China, was sentenced to 15 years in prison, she responded with words of celebration. “I got the top reward!” she said, considering it an honor to suffer for Christ and referring to the fact that her prison sentence was longer than other church members. She and her husband, Pastor Wang Xiaoguang, remain in prison. Listen this week as Bob Fu, former prisoner for Christ in China and the founder and president of China Aid Association, shares updates from persecuted Christians in China, including Pastor John Cao, Pastor Wang Yi, and other Chinese Christians. The Chinese Communist Party continues to pursue absolute government control of churches and other religious institutions in China. Pastors and church leaders face long prison sentences for “fraud” when their church collects tithes and offerings, or “illegal border crossing” if they travel to meet with fellow believers outside China. Despite being prevented from leaving China following the completion of his seven-year prison sentence, Pastor John Cao continues serving the Lord through daily prayer meetings. He's even baptized new believers—despite Communist guards required to escort him everywhere he goes! Bob Fu, author of God's Double Agent, reports on recent church raids in China, including arrests of children attending Vacation Bible School. The Communist Party forbids any religious outreach or training for children under age 18. With two years remaining in his nine-year sentence, Pastor Wang Yi has composed books in his head during his time in prison, as well as praying daily through a list of more than 1,000 prayer requests. You can write letters of encouragement to Wang Yi and other Christian prisoners in China, Eritrea, Iran and other nations at www.PrisonerAlert.com. There are a few seats remaining at VOM's From the Field 2025 National Conference. The conference will take place in Bartlesville, Oklahoma September 25-27. Attendees will hear from Bob Fu and other persecuted Christians—including several former VOM Radio guests—during the conference. Learn more and register online today.

Join me, Carolyn Webb, Libby Anderson, and students Ellie, Rose, and Piper as we discuss the recent VBS week.

Mike and Ken are in their third season of a trilogy of seasons, this season is focused on us in Christ. In this episode, they look at us in Christ verses from Ephesians. In them, we discover that in Christ we are raised, made alive, loved, seated, shown mercy, grace, and kindness, and created to do good works. Ken and Mike discuss what we learn from these verses and how we can apply what we learn to our lives. A listener wants to know if the guys had summer jobs growing up and what sort of jobs were they. What's so great about high vantage points? And what are some craft projects you shouldn't attempt at your next Vacation Bible School? The guys tackle these questions, and many others.Passages: Ephesians 2:4-10Support the show

The sermon, presented on the special day after Vacation Bible School, emphasizes the fundamental differences between biblical Christianity and Roman Catholicism, particularly regarding salvation by grace through faith alone versus a works-based system. It highlights the authority of Scripture over tradition, the singular role of Jesus Christ as mediator, and the importance of the finished work of Christ versus ongoing sacrifice. Pastor Paul Chapman explains five fundamental differences between Bible Christianity and Roman Catholicism. He encourages listeners to examine their beliefs, especially those from Catholic backgrounds, and to seek truth in the Bible, asserting that a growing number of atheists are former Catholics who found emptiness in their religion. He urges listeners to trust in Jesus Christ for salvation and spiritual fulfillment.

Recorded on 7/31/25. City Post Church is leading its first ever Vacation Bible School for the Community. First team teachers, first time kids, and first-time leaders; however, there's nothing better than a church that serves the Lord together and moving in the Spirit as one.

1 Peter 4:12-19 | Pastor Rick In this message, Pastor Rick opens by thanking the church for their support of Vacation Bible School and announcing a baptism service on August 24, then turns to 1 Peter 4:12–19 to teach that as God's beloved we're not exempt from trials but are instead refined by them—much like fire shapes a ring. Using examples from David to Ruth to Jesus, he shows that suffering unites us with Christ and with one another, and that rejoicing in trials isn't a fake optimism but a present, active command rooted in the presence of Christ (not the absence of pain). He reminds us that our future glory in Him gives us confident hope now, warns against suffering for sin or selfishness, and encourages us to trust the Holy Spirit's unfailing power in every hardship. Packinghouse's Sunday evening worship service from July 20, 2025. - Rick Cornejo - Sunday, July 20, 2025

  Pastor Andy shares highlights from Vacation Bible School. Tom and Shannon thank volunteers and celebrate having 84 kids join. The event featured fun activities, songs, and lessons about God's armor, the spiritual battle, and Jesus as the way to salvation.     01:41 Volunteer Acknowledgements  16:39 Servants of the King  18:39 Understanding the Spiritual Battle 21:04 The Armor of God  30:36 Final Thoughts and Prayer

In this joyful episode, Chelsey DeMatteis reflects on the beauty, chaos, and eternal impact of Vacation Bible School. Whether you're a parent, volunteer, or church member, you’ll be reminded that God's power can work through simple songs, small hands, and faithful hearts. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

In this episode, Pastor Jeff Reynolds is joined by David Tooley, Alex Watkins, Keith Christopher, and TJ Renfro for a meaningful conversation on faith, community, and spiritual growth. They reflect on last week's Vacation Bible School and how it brought the church together to help kids learn what it means to follow Jesus. The group also discusses how they personally and intentionally seek God in their daily lives, and they give great tips anybody can add to their daily routine to help them grow closer to God, too.    ---   This episode of The Beyond Sunday Podcast unpacks the sermon “Seek God Always | Matthew 7:7–14.” Jesus calls us to pursue God with persistence and trust, reminding us to ask, seek, and knock. We also reflect on the narrow and wide gates—and the everyday choices that shape our walk with Him.   Submit a question - bit.ly/BeyondSundayQuestions

Today we celebrate the culmination of our annual Vacation Bible School with a special worship service. Today's message given by Senior Pastor Jerry Barber is based on John 3:1-16 and titled, "The 'Problem' with Religion."

Shoot us a Text.Episode #1098: Rivian is laying foundations in Georgia with a new East Coast HQ and massive EV factory. A brave deacon turns his F-150 into a life-saving shield, and gets rewarded. And OpenAI's latest ChatGPT upgrade puts real-world task management on autopilot.Rivian is plugging into Atlanta as it sets the stage for its next major manufacturing move. The EV maker is launching an East Coast HQ to support its second plant, with big plans to expand.The Atlanta office opens late 2025, expands in 2026 to support the nearby Georgia plant.An initial staff of 100 will grow to around 500.The new $6B+ factory in Stanton Springs to begin vertical construction in 2026 which will produce R2 and R3 models starting 2028, span 16 million sq. ft., and employ 7,500.CEO RJ Scaringe: “Atlanta embodies so much that makes Georgia great — top talent, exceptional creativity, and a desire to always be moving forward.”Some heroes don't wear capes, they drive F-150s. When Richard Pryor saw a man pulling a weapon outside Crosspointe Church during Vacation Bible School, he didn't freeze. He floored it. The deacon used his truck to stop what could've been a tragic day in Wayne, MI.Though he saved countless lives that day, unfortunately his truck didn't survive the harrowing incident after taking a round and crashingWhen Demmer Ford heard what Richard had done, they handed him the keys to a new 2025 F-150 as a gesture of appreciation for his courage and quick action.We may not all have Richard's bravery, but every one of us has the power to do something that matters. The key is keeping your eyes open and your heart ready.OpenAI has launched a game-changing upgrade to ChatGPT, giving it its own virtual computer. This move turns the AI into a fully-fledged assistant that can execute complex tasks—start to finish—without skipping a beat.ChatGPT Agent can now handle real-world work like analyzing competitors, booking travel, and updating spreadsheets, all from your single prompt.It blends the strengths of previous tools—Operator and deep research—into one powerful, task-completing system.The AI can click, scroll, code, and summarize, even logging into your Gmail or GitHub (with permission) to grab the info it needs.New benchmarks show it beats human-level accuracy across investment banking, data science, and spreadsheet modeling tasks.“You're always in control,” says OpenAI. “You can take over the browser, pause tasks, or get a real-time progress summary.”Starting today (July 17–18), it's available to Pro, Plus, and Team subscribers. Just toggle “Agent Mode” in the tools dropdown during any chatJoin Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier every morning for the Automotive State of the Union podcast as they connect the dots across car dealerships, retail trends, emerging tech like AI, and cultural shifts—bringing clarity, speed, and people-first insight to automotive leaders navigating a rapidly changing industry.Get the Daily Push Back email at https://www.asotu.com/ JOIN the conversation on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/asotu/

Good morning! Here's a quick look at our top stories for Thursday, July 17. Find the complete articles and much more in today's print edition and online at https://www.iolaregister.com/.

In this episode, Jonathan, Brandon, and special guest Medina Dobbs sit down to share the joy, laughter, and life-changing stories from an incredible week of Vacation Bible School at First Baptist Big Spring. From energetic worship and fun games to gospel conversations and God-sized decisions, we'll highlight what made this year's "Magnified" VBS unforgettable. Whether you served, sent your kids, or just want to hear how God moved—this one's for you!

In this episode, Pastor Jeff Reynolds is joined by Lauren Parish, David Tooley, Alex Watkins, Keith Christopher, and TJ Renfro for a meaningful conversation on faith, community, and spiritual discernment. They share how Vacation Bible School is happening right now—how kids are learning to follow Jesus and how the church is coming together to make it a powerful experience. You'll also hear about the launch of our new Adventurer Podcast, which highlights mission trips and stories of how God is moving through outreach near and far. Finally, the group reflects on how Christians can wisely discern sin in today's culture—responding with both conviction and compassion. Whether you're serving, seeking, or growing in faith, this episode offers timely encouragement and direction.   --   This episode of The Beyond Sunday Podcast unpacks the sermon “Discern Appropriately | Matthew 7:1–6.” In these verses, Jesus teaches about the importance of humility, self-awareness, and discernment when confronting sin—in ourselves and others. We'll explore what it means to judge without hypocrisy, to remove the “log” from our own eyes first, and to approach others with grace and truth. These challenging but powerful words help us reflect Christ in how we engage with the world around us.   Give to The Great Pursuit Missions Offering - https://firstbaptistbg.org/give Submit a question - bit.ly/BeyondSundayQuestions VBS 2025 - https://firstbaptistbg.org/vbs-2025

The dream has become a reality. Welcome to the Adventurer Podcast, where we tell the missional story of First Baptist Church Bowling Green, Ky. In our initial episode, we discuss one of the simplest, yet profound ways that you can be on mission for the glory of Jesus' name where you are planted: Vacation Bible School. Join us each week for Mission Mondays as we seek to provide both theological insight and practical application in the adventure of the Great Commission for the renown of King Jesus. From the neighborhoods to the nations may we proclaim the name of Jesus Christ!

Daily Dose of Hope July 11, 2025   Scripture - Matthew 24:36-51   Prayer:  Almighty God, We thank you for a new day and we praise your perfect name.  We are grateful that your mercies are new every single morning.  Help us see you in this day.  Help us recognize your voice.  Lord, help us reflect you today in our words.  Help us reflect you in our behavior.  Help us remember who and whose we are.  In Your Name, Amen.   Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, a Deep Dive into the Gospels and Acts.  I apologize for this devotional being late.  My rhythm got knocked off a bit with Vacation Bible School.  It was absolutely wonderful and exhausting in a good way.  We had just over 200 kids and roughly 65 volunteers.  Please continue to be in prayer for every child and every family – may those who don't know Jesus grow closer to knowing him and may those who don't have a church home come join us at New Hope.   Today, we are finishing up Matthew 24.  This is really a continuation of the discussion in the first portion of the chapter.  Jesus is saying that the time and hour he will return are not known.  And we are not supposed to be guessing and predicting.  We are simply told to be ready.   Certain groups of Christians have focused a great deal on the coming judgment and the end times. I think what we find in this chapter is that there is more that we don't know than what we do know. For thousands of years, people have predicted Jesus' return and the coming judgment and each and every time, they were wrong. I'm always a bit skeptical of anyone who makes predictions like these. I mean, the Scripture says, “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” If Jesus doesn't know, then why should we?   Keep watch. Be ready. We don't need to worry about the coming judgment because we know Jesus. But we do need to be actively living as a follower. We need to be sharing the Good News with others. We need to be genuine, loving, and truthful in how we do life. Do your neighbors know that you love Jesus? Do your coworkers know that you follow Jesus? Is your faith obvious and real? Why or why not? Let's take this Scripture seriously, friends.   The chapter ends with a parable about a faithful and unfaithful servant.  Jesus says that blessed is the servant whose master finds him working diligently when he arrives.  That servant will be put in charge of many possessions.  But the unfaithful servant is the one who assumes his master is delayed so he mistreats his fellow servants and drinks instead of working.  When the master arrives home unexpectantly, the servant will be cut into pieces and thrown in with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Well, that sounds pretty terrible.   What is the meaning of the parable?  Basically, Jesus is saying that our actions, our behavior, shows what we truly believe.  If we believe in Jesus, then we obey him and choose to do the right thing.  We live a faithful life, ready for when he will return.  If we don't obey and don't live faithfully, it's like saying we don't believe.   Don't deny God with your actions.  Know God and be ready for his return at any time.    Are you ready?   Blessings, Pastor Vicki  

In this episode, Pastor Jeff Reynolds is joined by Lauren Parish, David Tooley, Alex Watkins, Keith Christopher, and TJ Renfro for a meaningful conversation about what it looks like to seek the Kingdom of God first. They share personal stories, biblical insight, and practical encouragement on living with a Kingdom-first mindset in everyday life. Plus, hear a quick update on our upcoming Vacation Bible School and how kids in our community will be learning to follow Jesus wholeheartedly. Whether you're feeling spiritually distracted or wanting to refocus your priorities, this episode offers hope and direction for pursuing what matters most.   --   This episode of The Beyond Sunday Podcast dives into the sermon “Seek God First | Matthew 6:19–34.” In these verses, Jesus calls us to shift our focus from earthly treasures and daily worries to eternal priorities and Kingdom trust. We'll explore what it means to seek God above all else, trust Him with our needs, and live free from anxiety by anchoring our hearts in His promises.   Give to The Great Pursuit Missions Offering - https://firstbaptistbg.org/give Submit a question - bit.ly/BeyondSundayQuestions VBS 2025 - https://firstbaptistbg.org/vbs-2025

Thank you for joining us for today's worship service! Today's worship service wraps up this week of Vacation Bible School. The theme of this VBS has been Live It Out, with each day having a particular emphasis in how we are to live as followers of Christ. Pastor Chris teaches us today that the early church, known as Followers of the Way, demonstrated remarkable devotion to God and radical generosity to all others, so that God's love was seen and experienced. If you prayed to make Jesus your Lord today, we want to rejoice with you! If you would want someone to pray with you, we are eager to do so! If you would like more information about our church, we're want to share. Please text the word "NEXT" to 407-77 so we can engage with you. For more information about our in-person Sunday morning services, visit https://horizonwestchurch.com. You can also learn more about our midweek events at https://horizonwestchurch.com/events.

Have an idea or comment for North Boros Beat? Judy talks with Cassie Semler, Director of Faith Formation at Community Presbyterian Church of Ben Avon, about this year's Vacation Bible School, “Step Right Up!”.  Learn about how this year's VBS will incorporate fun and faith into a time of fellowship for kids and adults alike.Monday through Friday, July 14 through 18.5-7 PMCommunity Presbyterian Church of Ben Avon, 7501 Church Avenue, Pgh, PA 15202Questions (412) 761-1233Kids of all ages welcome (and adults, too!)

Message by: Scott Treadway In our celebration of our 2025 Vacation Bible School, we focus on how awesome it is to be a child, and discuss Jesus' invitation to always be childlike. For more please visit https://www.rancho.tv/events #wearerancho

God dreams generationally and has charged us to do the same. Pastor Zack Curry shares on the impact of legacy and creates space for testimonies from this year’s Vacation Bible School.

Today on the Christian History Almanac, we head to the mailbag to answer a question about the history of the ubiquitous “Vacation Bible School.” Show Notes: Support 1517 Podcast Network 1517 Podcasts 1517 on Youtube 1517 Podcast Network on Apple Podcasts 1517 Events Schedule 1517 Academy - Free Theological Education What's New from 1517: Preorder Sinner Saint by Luke Kjolhaug: https://shop.1517.org/products/9781964419152-sinner-saint The Impossible Prize: A Theology of Addiction by Donavan Riley: https://shop.1517.org/products/9781962654708-the-impossible-prize Ditching the Checklist by Mark Mattes: https://shop.1517.org/products/9781962654791-ditching-the-checklist Broken Bonds: A Novel of the Reformation, Book 1 of 2 by Amy Mantravadi: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1962654753?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_FCNEEK60MVNVPCEGKBD8_5&starsLeft=1  More from the hosts: Dan van Voorhis SHOW TRANSCRIPTS are available: https://www.1517.org/podcasts/the-christian-history-almanac CONTACT: CHA@1517.org SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts Spotify Stitcher Overcast Google Play FOLLOW US: Facebook Twitter Audio production by Christopher Gillespie (outerrimterritories.com).

Make sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube For more information: www.collegedalechurch.com/And https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/collegedale-church/id1441597563?uo=4

It's hard to define the concept of "faith" in just one sermon! In fact, Pastor Jacob shares that his understanding of faith changes over time, if not daily. Listen in for Pastor Jacob's current musings of faith influenced by his experiences at Vacation Bible School over the last week.

Recorded 6/29/2025: This year's Vacation Bible School has come and gone. The key passage from this year was taken from Psalm 34:3 which reads, Psa 34:3  Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!  Pastor Larry brings a message to deeper understand how to magnify and exalt the Lord Jesus in worship.  I.  Worship the Lord Regardless of the Circumstances (vs.1) II.  Boast In the Lord and Not in Self (vs.2) III.  Worship the Lord Together in Community (vs. 3) IV.  Seek The Lord During Your Deepest Fears (vs. 4) V.  Search for the Goodness of God and Be Unashamed (vs. 5) VI.  Cry-out To God and He will Answer (vs. 7) VII.  Worship the Lord and He will Deliver from Distress (vs. 8)  

Episode 103: Making the Most of Summer Ministry In this episode of The Preachers Workshop Podcast, the team dives into how pastors and church leaders can stay intentional and fruitful during the summer months. While summer often brings lower attendance and a more relaxed pace, it doesn't have to be a spiritual slump. The hosts share personal stories, ministry tips, and practical ideas—from youth camps and Vacation Bible School to “Awesome August” services, Freedom Sunday celebrations, and fun weekly fellowship events. They also discuss how to keep your congregation spiritually engaged and how to prevent people from drifting away during this season. Whether you're looking to energize your church, encourage your staff, or just need fresh ideas, this episode is full of insight and inspiration to help you make summer great again—for the Lord!

Ahead of a week of Vacation Bible School, Cory Fahrenkamp opens Deuteronomy 6:1–9 and several Gospel stories to show Jesus' embracing heart for children—a posture that also serves as a model for our church to love and serve kids.

The sermon centers on the urgent need to reach children at risk in a world increasingly marked by social and spiritual challenges, drawing upon the story of a father bringing his son to Jesus in Mark 9. It emphasizes the importance of parental concern, compassion, and consistent spiritual nurturing, highlighting the transformative power of Christ and the need for prayerful dedication to evangelism, particularly within the context of Vacation Bible School and ministries like Ocala Christian Academy. The message underscores the reality of children being born with a sinful nature and the necessity of consistent biblical instruction and prayer to counter the pervasive influence of the world and lead them to salvation.

12:00 noon Mass Conclusion to Vacation Bible School

Life changing VBS

Send us a textSunday June 15 2025 is Trinity Sunday. This week we discuss the significance of Trinity Sunday Ricky focuses on the role of the Holy Spirit in maintaining orthodoxy. Rocky explains how the Holy Spirit continues Jesus's mission by revealing the true teachings of God and ensuring consistency in theology. They discuss various functions of the Holy Spirit, emphasizing its role as a teacher and guide. The episode concludes with an announcement about their upcoming break for Vacation Bible School and a preview of their next topic, the Book of Malachi. The Sermon for this episode is titled "Fringe" and can be found at pondergmc.org/ministries/sermonsNEW!: Rate us at Podchaser Find us at www.pondergmc.org. Feedback is welcome: PonderMethodist@gmail.com Music performed by the Ponder GMC worship team. Cover Art: Joe Wagner Recorded, edited and mixed by Snikrock

On location at the TTM, Lego Hair says the quiet part loud when he says that "We" are gonna start a large scale yard project, and then proceeds to do nothing to help complete it. You know it's a shitshow when the production crew has to step to try and help them finish. We get treated to another montage of Famy attempting to cook and the fam celebrates Anna's birthday. Summertime has arrived which means you may have seen banners for Vacation Bible School going up around town. We explore the genesis of VBS and the changes over the years. Two different companies run the VBS paraphernalia game and we look into some questionable choices they've made. Enjoy what you hear? Feel like you have a Servant's Heart? Would you like to help support a snarking couple in Arizona? Get on the Gus Bus and head on over to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.buymeacoffee.com/diggingupthedug⁠⁠⁠ . ⁠⁠⁠⁠If you would like to grab a jar and become one of the Pickle People, you get ad-free episodes, and even get them early. We post bonus episodes with Duggar content, personal topics, Mildred Mondays (gotta give the people what they want), recipes and other goodies. Join us on insta ⁠⁠⁠⁠@digginguptheduggarspod⁠⁠⁠⁠We also have a P.O. Box 5973, Glendale AZ, 85312

Around here, we say Jesus changes everything. But what happens when "everything" includes parts of our lives we don't want to change? As we start this new series, we look at the familiar story of Zacchaeus. While you may only remember the catchy song about it from Vacation Bible School, this story holds a powerful lesson for us.

VBS synopsis and sharingJohn 6:69John 13:34John 14:27John 11:25John 3:16Thank You for listening!Follow us on Facebook Instagram YouTube Website You can contact us at office@newcovenantaz.orgMaking Jesus Christ the Heart of Every Home.

All Your Waves Jonah 2 (Part 2) Message SlidesFor the bulletin in PDF form, click here. Jonah v. The Sailors: There's more than one way to be lost.Jonah v. God: We are saved from God, by God, and for God.Jonah v. Himself: We have a lot of room to grow.Mission Highlight - Pray for the Mission Arlington Team Pray for our middle school and high school students as they serve at Mission Arlington this week. Pray that God uses them in big ways to share His love as they lead Vacation Bible School. FinancesWeekly Budget 35,297Giving For 05/25 23,298Giving For 06/01 28,376YTD Budget 1,694,263Giving 1,643,778 OVER/(UNDER) (50,485) Men's Ministry Smoke Off | June 21 Think you've got what it takes to be PITMASTER? Or maybe it's just about the BBQ and time with the guys. Either way, you're invited. Join us SATURDAY, JUNE 21, from 5–8pm at The Venue for a feast and games. Want in on the Smoke-Off? Sign up to compete when you register. MEN. FOOD. FIRE. What's not to like? Spots are limited—RSVP today. Bring a friend while you're at it. Save your spot at fellowshipconway.org/register.New to Fellowship?We are so glad that you chose to worship with our Fellowship Family this morning. If you are joining us for the first time or have been checking us out for a few weeks, we are excited you are here and would love to meet you. Please fill out the “Connect Card” and bring it to the Connection Center in the Atrium, we would love to say “hi” and give you a gift. Mission Arlington BoundFellowship, we invite you to join us in prayer for the 60 students and adults who are heading to Arlington this Sunday and will return on Friday, June 13. Please pray for safe travels there and back, as for the students while they are away from their families, and for the lives they will touch while there.Atrium Remodel Exciting changes are happening to the Atrium over the next month as we continue inviting people into God's story, equipping and releasing them to become reproducing disciples of Jesus Christ. The remodel includes adding a bathroom stall in both the men's and women's restrooms. The Atrium will be under construction, but usable on Sundays, except the restrooms, which will be closed until mid-July. Please use the bathrooms that are located in the first kids hallway (elevator and stairway area). Men's Fellowship BreakfastMen, join us for a great breakfast and fellowship on Wednesday, July 9, at 6:00 a.m. here in the Fellowship atrium. No sign-up is needed. Come with your Bible ready to eat, fellowship with other men, and start your day off right through prayer and Biblical insight. Questions? Contact Michael at mharrison@fellowshipconway.org.​Prayer During ServiceWe love to pray for one another. Our prayer team will have people at the front of the Auditorium under the signs Hope and Love to pray for you after the message. Please feel free to walk up to them for prayer or encouragement during the first worship song after the message. Downline - 9 Months that will change your lifeApply now for next year's Downline class that starts on August 26th. The program equips individuals to know God's Word and make disciples where God has strategically placed you around the city. Space and time are limited, so visit DownlineConway.com for more information and to submit your application.

Introduction: I hope you at some point in the last couple of weeks have had the opportunity to walk down the mine shaft leading into the fellowship hall. If you did, you might have noticed a stick or two of dynamite laying on the ground in there. We've had a wonderful week of Vacation Bible School with…

"Beyond Sunday" are episodes from Adam and Narrate staff that dive deeper into our life with Christ.Adam sits down with Lexsey to hear all about Vacation Bible School! Registration is free and open until June 13th. You won't want to miss this!

Learn your hand motions and get ready to flamingle because we're talking about the NOs of VBS! Join Jamie, Erin, and Evan as we give you the history of Vacation Bible School and deep-dive into some truly fantastic listener comments. You'll hear about surprise VBS sex education tips from The Popcast, making up prayer requests for attention, and so much more! What's the worst theme, and is this church activity merely free childcare? You'll have to listen to find out!  MENTIONS Anti-Christian Nationalism Merch: Check out The Faith Adjacent Shop  Want the spicy stories? Listen to The Spicy NOs of VBS on Patreon History of Vacation Bible School: Learn more from Lifeway The Faith Adjacent Seminary: Support us on Patreon.   I've Got Questions by Erin Moon: Order Here | See Erin in Real Life at a Book Stop Subscribe to our Newsletter: The Dish from Faith Adjacent Faith Adjacent Merch: Shop Here Shop our Amazon Link: amazon.com/shop/faithadjacent Follow Faith Adjacent on Socials: Instagram  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn your hand motions and get ready to flamingle because we're talking about the NOs of VBS! Join Jamie, Erin, and Evan as we give you the history of Vacation Bible School and deep-dive into some truly fantastic listener comments. You'll hear about surprise VBS sex education tips from The Popcast, making up prayer requests for attention, and so much more! What's the worst theme, and is this church activity merely free childcare? You'll have to listen to find out!  MENTIONS Anti-Christian Nationalism Merch: Check out The Faith Adjacent Shop  Want the spicy stories? Listen to The Spicy NOs of VBS on Patreon History of Vacation Bible School: Learn more from Lifeway The Faith Adjacent Seminary: Support us on Patreon.   I've Got Questions by Erin Moon: Order Here | See Erin in Real Life at a Book Stop Subscribe to our Newsletter: The Dish from Faith Adjacent Faith Adjacent Merch: Shop Here Shop our Amazon Link: amazon.com/shop/faithadjacent Follow Faith Adjacent on Socials: Instagram  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Happy Wednesday! Hope everyone's drying out after all that rain. Here's a look at our top local stories for June 4. Find the complete articles in today's print edition and online at https://www.iolaregister.com/.

We are happy to have you with us! If there are any issues with the stream feel free to message us.

Vacation Bible School memories and ministry, plus overcoming your fear of gyms, and when your family has strong opinions about your date. Featured musical artist: Nathan Tasker Roundtable: We Love Vacation Bible School! For many of us, Vacation Bible School is a fond childhood memory of studying Scripture, singing songs, meeting new friends and playing games. Some even remember VBS as the place they first understood the gospel and accepted Jesus as their Savior. As young adults, it’s now a great opportunity for us to volunteer and invest in kids. Our panel will cover fun memories from VBS and how you can love and disciple children this summer — and have fun in the process! Send Us Your Show Ideas Leave Us a Voicemail Culture: Work Out Your Gym Fears What’s your biggest fear about going to the gym? Using equipment? Feeling out of shape compared to others? Just getting started? Lisa’s personal trainer, Jeff Wilson, has your back. He demystifies the process of crafting a workout, understanding gym etiquette, setting realistic expectations, and killing comparison. If you’re ready to get in shape for the summer, be sure to listen in. Fit God’s Way: Your Bible-Based Guide to Food, Fitness, and Wholeness Visit Jeff’s Website Inbox: Does My Family Need to Like My Boyfriend? Our listener is on edge about bringing her boyfriend home to meet her family. It begs the question: Should your family approve of the person you’re dating? Counselor and marriage expert Erin Smalley weighs in. Link to Counseling Services Find us on YouTube

What do Listerine strips, backyard barbecues, and cartoon characters have to do with kids meeting Jesus? More than you might think.In this lively and insightful episode of Candid Conversations, host Jonathan Youssef welcomes back Zack Carden—pastor, storyteller, and creator of Grey Bobby Ministries—to explore the incredible opportunity churches have with Vacation Bible School (VBS).Zack shares how his passion for the Gospel and kids collided unexpectedly, leading to years of creative VBS leadership that blends humor, theology, and deep discipleship. Together, they unpack why VBS still works, how it transforms both kids and teen volunteers, and what churches can do to make the most of this high-impact week.In this episode, you will learn:Why the 3–13 age window is spiritually criticalWhat unchurched families really think about sending kids to VBSHow to follow up meaningfully after the last water balloon popsThe simple tool Zack uses to draw kids (and their families) back to churchHow parents can disciple kids without feeling overwhelmedLearn how to use your church's VBS to reach your community and keep them coming back.Whether planning this year's VBS or wondering if it's still worth doing, this episode will reignite your vision for reaching the next generation with the Gospel.More from Zack Carden:Find Zack Carden's Biblical storytelling content for kids: Visit Greybobby MinistriesJonathan learns more about Greybobby from Zack: Listen hereRemember, it's not too late to register for VBS, invite a friend, or start planning for next year. Schedule it, defend it, and watch God move.

The 2nd Half The Traber’s weigh in on Chuck E Cheese, Vacation Bible School and traveling adventures could help you stay younger longer. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode with four of our five of our pastors we talk about the business of this time of year with what Pastor Jeremy call "May-cember". We discuss the upcoming Vacation Bible School in June, a little more about graduation and we break down Pastor Brooks' message from this past Sunday on encouragement.

The Why the What and the HowThis is the annual time when I get to urge our Tabernacle Family to live by the collective purpose that God has given us in God's word.The why our church does what it does is the same why every individual Christian is to do what they do – for the glory of God – to seek to bring God the love and praise He so richly deserves.The Mission of the Tabernacle is to reproduce faithful and fruitful followers of Jesus Christ.The How is our TABERNACLE AcronymTeaching of ScriptureAdoration and PrayerThe 8-week prayer challenge: For the next 8 weeks (until VBS), fast through at least 1 meal a week as you pray for many people to be saved in church and at Vacation Bible School).Baptist PrinciplesEvangelism and MissionsEven with the Pandemic stall, we have baptized 113 people since 2017; In the comparable time before I came the Tabernacle baptized 101 people. I baptized 216 people in my first 8 years at my previous church.We budget roughly $8,250 a month for our church ministries; $6,500 a month for missions we support within a 2-hour drive; $3,600 a month for missions in North America; $6,500 a month for global missions.Including our Christmas Offerings, we have given over $2,250,000 to missions since 2017 and taken 137 mission trips; In the comparable time at my previous church it was $750,000 and 119 trips.Radical GenerosityHere's where our giving stands after the 1st quarter:1st quarter 2025 budgeted: $280, 2511st quarter 2025 received: $280,0871st quarter 2025 spent: $265,528Tabernacle Board: Richard Chivvis, Chair; Duane Adams, Dan Harper, Stacy Morris, David Thompson, J.J. Vogltanz.Nurtured PartnershipsWe mean two things by “Nurtured partnerships.” We mean the sense of partnership we have with each other in the church family. But we also mean the sense of partnership we have with the ministries we support.Age-Appropriate Ministries42 Babies dedicated since 2017/ 40 in comparable time at previous church.Congregational Love and EncouragementWe have had 120 deaths since 2017/ it was 44 in the comparable time in my previous church.Leadership DevelopmentExcellence and FunLet me urge you to join me in being grateful for our past; sober-minded about our present challenges; and looking forward in faith to all God has for us!