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WiseGuys has made a big difference in our church. We are currently in our 7th month of the program. Our Wednesday night attendance has almost tripled in size with some new parents attending while their children are in WiseGuys. And we've had to recruit more workers and have seen several saved during the year.
Another big blessing is the love our workers receive from the children. There is nothing sweeter than the love of a child. |
Their precious faces light up when they see someone from church out in the community. They need and soak up the individual attention they receive and the changes we've seen in them this year have been incredible. They went from very wild and disrespectful children to more obedient and disciplined about listening and learning.
We know we are doing what God would have us do, because the enemy has been fighting very hard to keep us from teaching the children the memory verses. We are in a major battle for their precious souls. The only hope they have of a better life is with God. The songs, snacks and rewards are nice, but you know time has not been wasted, when God's word is being planted in these precious little souls. What an honor to participate in the most important ministry in the world! Reaching little souls and planting God's wisdom into their hearts.
Donna Braymer (Pastor's Wife)
Open Door Baptist Church
Harrison, Arkansas
I just wanted to give you a report on our Wise Guys year. We held a consistant attendance of 40-45 kids each week. We divided them into three classes (3-5yr olds, 1-3 grade, 4-6 grade) I had 2 workers in each class. The stories kept even the older classes attention and they were aggresive about learning their verses. They earned their t-shirts by saying their verses and by attending.
Last Sunday we had a commencement program in church and all the kids were dressed in their shirts...every child earned their t-shirt!!!! They sang their songs, quotes their character traits, and quoted their verses. I cannot tell you how proud I was of them. They were so confident too...no bashful kids! I made certificates and ribbons for them and gave each child a fun goodie bag that participated.
You should have seen the parents beaming! We will definitly be doing Wise Guys next year too! Thanks for making this an affordable tool for smaller churches.
Gina Stinson (Pastor's Wife)
Grace Community Baptist CHurch of Fannett
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WiseGuys has been such a blessing to our children and our church. We started 4 years ago with 12 kids, and last Wednesday, we kicked off the new year with 48!
Our children have really grown in the Lord, and they are so eager to be in church every Wednesday. They love hearing about Tommy, learning the new character quality and song, and they can't wait to find out what happen's "next week."
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Every Wednesday, the WiseGuys get up on stage and recite their verse in front of the congregation, and the people are so blessed. Some of the adults wear their WiseGuy t-shirts too.
Thank you Mrs. Bettye for your hard work and service to the Lord. I tell everyone that their church need WiseGuys.
TOMIE FOX (Pastor's Wife)
BIBLE BAPTIST CHURCH
DE QUINCY, LA
Wise Guys is a wonderful scripture memory program for our church. This is our sixth year, and we are seeing results from this program. We have had several saved and already have had one saved this year. I like it because our children learn verses from the book of Proverbs, and also character qualities to go with those verses. We have teens in our church who were in the program and now they are working and serving in our church. It is also a very flexible program and will fit in any church whether large or small.
IRENE ABBOTT (Pastor's Wife)
CALVARY BAPTIST CHURCH
BOWIE, TX
Wise Guys has been translated and the people here love it. We have 5 to 8 churches wanting us to translate the whole program so they can continue with it and use it among their kids and even the teenagers as well as the adults. They want to work as a family together (those that are Christians). A few families have been so impressed that they have come to church. We praise the Lord for this. If God uses this to open doors to homes with the gospel, it is more than awesome. I pray the Lord will bless you in a very special way with what you have done and are doing. It is so exciting, I think.
NAOMI MUSGRAVE
MISSIONARY to VENEZUELA
We begin WG's next Wednesday night. We figured we'd have about 20 kids to start with since our Wednesday nights are mostly home cell groups. Not only have we had three times that many sign up, it has increased sign ups for the Adult Bible Classes. All our Children's Programs (Kidzjam - Kidz Kount - Wiseguys) and Family Ministry programs have a scope and sequence and WiseGuys fits perfectly. Who knows what God might have in store for all your hard work!
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Last Wednesday night our church, Grace Baptist Church in Huntsville, Texas, began our third year of Wise Guys! Our church is very small with only about seven children that regularly attend on Sunday mornings. But we had thirteen children on Wednesday night! Three were first time visitors. Our boys have invited everyone on our street and each Wednesday night our van and car are packed with neighborhood children on our way to church. And they love Wise Guys!! |
Michelle has made it fun and exciting to learn their memory verses, takes a special interest in each child, and helps them to grow in the Lord. The program fits wonderfully for a small church to use since it does not require many "workers" or space. Michelle uses Wise Guy Dollars to encourage the children to wear their t-shirts, bring their Bibles, learn their verses, and bring friends. Then at the end of each semester she has a Wise Guy store where they can spend their money (which is great for Christmas presents for the kids to give in December.)
Last spring the class got into a discussion of what would happen if they died and Michelle was able to discuss with them the plan of salvation and God's gift of eternal life. Then she brought four of the children to my husband and I to discuss salvation and make sure they understood. All four accepted Christ as their Savior! One of the them told Michelle today that she just couldn't hardly wait until the next Wise Guy class! I've also had parents tell me that it isn't just Bible verses that are memorized for one night and then forgotten. She has heard her children repeat the verses to each other to make a point or explain a situation in everyday life during the week! That is exciting also!! The Bible becomes a living, meaningful part of their young lives! In my opinion, Wise Guys is an excellent program for any church!
P.S. The Rest of the Story: When Miss Bettye started Wise Guys at Heritage, Monica my oldest daughter was one of the first group. Michelle was too young but she wanted a shirt! She kept asking me for a shirt and I kept telling her she had to ask Miss Bettye. So she would go run to Miss Bettye and stand there with her big brown eyes and ask her if she could have a "shurt" too. We finally got a special one made just for her with Lil Wise Guy on it!
Monica started our Wise Guy program three years ago but Michelle took over after a few months and has been in charge ever since. They still substitute for each other if needed. Michelle is now 17 years old and a senior in High School. She does all the planning, teaching, ordering, etc. and is doing a wonderful job. (Do I sound like a proud mom?)
GWEN ELLIOTT (Pastor's Wife)
GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH
HUNTSVILLE, TX
I remember when I was a little girl waiting for Wednesdays so I could put on my "shirt" and go to Wise-Guys. I would practice hard all week on my verses and anticipate saying them to Mrs. Bettye. I enjoyed listening to Mrs. Bettye telling us stories and teaching us about wisdom. I still remember those verses in Proverbs today and I'm so thankful that God has allowed me, 10 years later to teach other children the same principles. I still look forward to Wednesdays, putting on my "shirt" and learning new insights from Proverbs. I'm so thankful for the Wise-Guy program and all it has taught me, and the little kids at my church.
MICHELLE ELLIOTT
The miracle of that testimony is the young lady, Michelle. She followed me around and totally intimidated me when she was about 3 years old. She had the biggest brown eyes you've ever seen and when she caught my eye she would say, "I want a shurt". It was so precious! In fact, that was the beginning of Lil WG's.
BETTYE LEDBETTER
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We have used the Wise Guys material for 2 or 3 years at the First Baptist Church and the children have enjoyed it very much. Whats more, the adult leadership enjoyed the materials also. The wonderful thing about the Wise Guys material is its adaptability to your church. I would recommend the Wise Guys children's program for use in teaching and training children to serve the Lord.
PASTOR BILL HENDRICKS
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
GRAFTON, IL
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| Our church has used the "Wise Guys" program for three years now. I've been involved since the beginning. The children have learned so many Bible verses. They enjoy learning about Tommy, his family and his life. I like the curriculum very much. Tommy is a lot like some of the boys in the class. They've even learned about Anthony (Tommy's friend) and his mother, who has a problem with alcohol. They've learned we need to pray for someone like this and help them find the Lord. The curriculum is easy to use. Copies are easily made from the masters provided. Songs are provided on CD.
I would highly recommend "Wise Guys" as a great children's program.
CONNIE SHARPTON
CALVARY BAPTIST CHURCH
RITTMAN, OH
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WISEGUYS is a super program for Scripture memorization for children. We started WISEGUYS at our church, Hallmark Baptist Church of Austin, TX shortly after we came here in 1995. We were looking for a program for our children even though we were a very small congregation. Mrs. Bettye Ledbetter explained her WiseGUYS program to us and we began it that year. Although we had to adapt the program because of our size, it still worked for us. The Lord has used her program to teach our children through the years. They love being rewarded with trophies at the end of the year for their work in memorizing and hiding God's Word in their hearts. Is there anything better to reward them for? Thank you, Ms. Bettye, for the WISEGUYS Program.
DEBBIE DENNIS, (Pastor's wife)
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