Children's worship artist Yancy composing 10 original songs exclusively for Standard Publishing's 2012 VBS

Contact: Joni Sullivan Baker, Managing Director, Buoyancy Public Relations, 513-319-3231

CINCINNATI, July 12, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- Sand, surf and a palm trees swaying in gentle breezes -- the lure of the island adventure draws us all, young and old. Standard Publishing announces its 2012 Vacation Bible School that will introduce God's lifesaving love and never-changing promises in Adventures on Promise Island: Where Kids Discover God's Lifesaving Love.

Each day on Promise Island, kids will discover a precious promise God makes to people of all ages.

The children will learn that God promises:

• I am with you. God is with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Dan. 3:1, 4:28)
   
• I care about you. Jesus cares for Mary, Martha and Lazarus. (John 11:1-3,17-44)
   
• I give you what you need. Jesus helps a man brought by four friends (Mark 2:1-12)
   
• I will save you. Jesus dies to save us (John 19:16-18,29,30;20:24-31)
   
• I will answer you. God answers the prayers of Paul and Silas (Acts 16:22-34)

Children remember the importance of these promises by also learning the week's memory verse, "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful." (Hebrews 10:23, NIV).

The five promises taught at Lifeguard Lagoon are also reinforced through crafts and activities at Project Pointe, games at Fun Time Falls, snacks at Coconut Café and, of course, through upbeat original music enjoyed at Seaside Celebration, the daily opening and closing time.

Standard Publishing, the original publisher of Vacation Bible School and an award-winning powerhouse in this field, continues to break new ground with the 2012 VBS by including original music written just for Adventures on Promise Island by children’s worship artist and composer, Yancy.

In what is believed to be a first-ever partnership of this kind, Yancy is writing and producing 10 original songs for Adventures on Promise Island, and will perform the songs for videos and at personal appearances for promotional events during the coming year.

"Adventures on Promise Island offers so much for churches, we are really excited," said Robert Rizzo, Standard Publishing's brand manager for Vacation Bible School. 

"These simple to understand, yet lifechanging promises are ones we all need to know, children as well as adults. And everyone loves this island theme. It is easy to decorate in any church setting, and so much fun for a summertime activity.

"Plus the music is really something special. Yancy is truly gifted at understanding how children worship and how to teach them the enduring life lessons of these wonderful promises of God.  In our field testing, kids loved the songs that she has written, and she understands how to us music to get God's Word into the children's hearts.

Although Yancy has been performing and writing music her entire life, the partnership with Standard Publishing marks a new element in her career, as this is the first time she's ever written music for a Vacation Bible School publisher.

"I'm so excited to partner with Standard Publishing to write, produce and perform these songs," Yancy said. "What an amazing way to plant the truth of God's word in these young hearts. I believe this collection of songs will truly help these kids remember what they learned even years beyond their summer 2012 VBS experience."

Yancy recently joined Standard Publishing at the Christian publishing industry's International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) on Sunday, July 10 in Atlanta, as well as at the North American Christian Convention in Cincinnati on Wednesday, July 7 where she led children's worship. At both venues, she helped launch Standard Publishing's promotion for its 2012 Vacation Bible School theme.

Standard Publishing's award-winning VBS programs consistently rank high with consumers for Biblical content, thorough lessons, and variety of extra materials available. Earlier this year, Standard's VBS added Top Pick VBS for 2011 from children's ministry blog, 'round about the church, to its list of awards.  Other recent awards include being named 2010's Best VBS by Christianity Today's Your Church magazine.

The field-tested lessons and activities work in classroom settings or with children grouped in small crews that move from site to site. The program is adaptable for preschoolers through teens. In addition, small group materials for adults are also available.

Extensive materials to help guarantee a church's success include downloadable resources and web-based tools in addition to CDs of everything from nametags to thank you notes, and from music song sheets to snack recipes.

At www.vacationbibleschool.com, Standard Publishing also offers all participating churches free online Web Tools that the church can use to create their own customized VBS web sites with unique URLs, even those churches that do not have a church web site. Using the Web Tools, a church can upload photos, logos and forms to customize its site.

In addition to providing information about their upcoming VBS, the site can streamline registration by allowing participants to register online, and also provides an opportunity for participants to obtain documents such as medical release forms, permission slips and emergency contact forms.

The Starter Kit and Power Pak for Adventures on Promise Island may be pre-ordered now, and will ship in December. The Starter Kit is only $69.99, and will include the Director's Guide, PreSchool Director's Guide, Planning DVD, Get Started Instructions, Samples Pack, all five site leader's guides, Seaside Celebration Dual CD Set (Music & More), teacher guides and student books for four age levels, and exclusive Director's Bible Pin Pal™. The Power Pak costs only $199.99 and will include everything that's in the Starter Kit, plus Ultimate Decorating Pack & Guide, Publicity & Recruiting CD, God's Promises Poster Pack, Lifeguard Lagoon Bible Story Poster Pack Activity Pad, Art & Decorating CD, and the Kid Views DVD. All additional items will be available in December 2011.

To learn more about Adventures on Promise Island, visit www.vacationbibleschool.com, or www.standardpub.com.

More about Yancy: Nashville-based Yancy has been writing and performing for more than 13 years, working for five years on staff as a church worship leader, then leading worship for a wide variety of ages at churches and events. She currently travels the country sharing her music by performing family concerts at churches and leading worship at conferences and camps, as well as in some special programs with her dad, ministry veteran Jim Wideman.

She has produced 10 of her own CDs, in addition to composing and arranging for other Contemporary Christian Music artists. She's written songs with Third Day's Mac Powell and co-wrote Avalon's hit single "I Don't Want to Go" as well as Jaci Velesquez' "Something Beautiful."  She recently released a new CD, Stars, Guitars and Megaphone Dreams. To learn more about Yancy, visit www.yancynotnancy.com.

More about Standard Publishing:  For more than 140 years, Standard Publishing has been raising the standard for true-to-the-Bible resources that educate, encourage and enrich. The company is based in Cincinnati, Ohio where it was founded in 1866. For more information, visit www.StandardPub.com or call Standard Publishing at 1-800-543-1353.