Raising the Bar of Biblical Literacy
We believe that families are capable of more. We believe that the extraordinary can become the ordinary. We believe that memorizing chapters of the Bible, understanding them at a seminary level, and applying them to life can be a reality for any family of any age - and we’re here to support families in making that happen.
Family Integration
We believe that parents and children shouldn’t learn in isolation. We believe that long term growth takes place within the systems and structures of family and church that God designed. We believe that parents are the primary disciplers of their children, and our role is to equip them with tools that can live beyond the week of camp.
Creative Education
We believe that creative imagination is the powerful language of children, and by inextricably linking uncompromising truths with imagination-capturing experiences, the power of creativity can be harnessed to accomplish remarkable things.
Depth & Intentionality
We believe that every minute is a gift to be stewarded. We believe in thinking through each minute of camp - from meals to fun - to reap the most spiritual benefit. We believe hype is a cheap alternative for joy. We believe that deep and complex truths when served on the platter of playful creativity, can create a depth of joy that outshines and outlasts any camp-high.
Scripture in Context
We believe that the word of God is the sword that the Spirit uses to save, to sanctify and to strengthen. We believe that bulk sections of scripture internalized, understood, and memorized into long term memory, is the greatest gift we could possibly give to our children, our families, and our churches.
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History
2017
2019
2020
2025
2021
2022
2023
In 2017, our family discovered that our beloved mom was diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer. The cancer caused her to be unable to remember her children's names, however we soon discovered that she still remembered anything she had learned to a song. We began putting chapters of the Bible word-for-word to song, and to our amazement, with only half a functioning brain, our mom was able to memorize chapters of the Bible this way! Our mom went to be with the Lord later that year. But the discovery made and the character forged through her illness had begun something beautiful.
We began putting more scripture to music in order to help young kids at our home church and our homeschool co-op memorize books of the Bible easily. We ran our first memory camp out of our living room: a day camp where kids memorized Proverbs 31 to a song. It was a blessing to their families, and soon parents were asking us if we would consider doing this more consistently formally.
The next year, we hosted a summer internship where interns helped us create memory content for the book of James and Ephesians 6. We hosted a camp for Congoleese refugees and helped them memorize Ephesians 6 in Swahili and English, as well as created a digital app called "Memory Land" where kids could explore a pretend world and memorize chapters of the Bible.
In God's incredible providence, the following year we discovered a property not too far from us that was an exact physical match to the digital "Memory Land" world we had created. After prayerful consideration, we moved to Memory Land, made it our headquarters, and began running Family Memory Camps where whole families camped out for a week and memorized a chapter of scripture to kick start a year-long memorization of the rest of the book. Our first Family Memory Camp was on 1 John 1.
In 2022, we realized the value of equipping fathers as the spiritual leaders of their families, so our ministry shifted focus from kids and moms to incorporate and come under fathers as the spiritual leaders of their homes. In that year's Family Memory Camp we memorized Malachi 1, focusing on how God deserves our best, and a group of men encouraged the fathers to lead family worship and ultimately lead their families spiritually.
Up until this point, By the Book had been a parachurch ministry unaffiliated with a local church, but in 2023 we realized the importance of coming under the spiritual oversight and authority of a local church, so By the Book joyfully came under the eldership of Cornerstone Bible Church in Lake Stevens, WA. That year we memorized 1 Peter 1 at Family Memory Camp.
In 2025 families were transported into Babylon as we memorized Daniel 1. The streets became the Babylonian Bazaar with different booths from the purely fun to the seminary-level academic learning. Families took part in mini-archeological digs, learned Hebrew & Greek verbs, Israeli geography, evangelism strategies, had mini-Biblical counseling sessions etc. as well as petted goats, rode horses, played on bouncy houses - all while memorizing scripture.
2026
This year, the story continues as we memorize Genesis chapter 3 and learn about the nature of temptation, the effects of the curse, and the hope of the Messiah!
Will you join us?
In 2024 we finished what we had begun by memorizing 2 Peter 1. We also outgrew our tiny studio where camps had been taking place, and the whole camp took place outside!
2024