January 6, 1999
Latest Christianware: FROG bracelets
___By Ed White
___Religion News Service
___GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (RNS)--So you're familiar with WWJD, the spiritual and marketing phenomenon that has teenagers asking, "What would Jesus do?" But are you ready to leap to FROG?
___An Indiana company says it has the answer: Fully Rely On God, or FROG.
___Like the WWJD phenomenon, which got its start inWest Michigan, those four letters and the web-footed amphibian are appearing on pins, bracelets, coffee mugs, shirts, caps, magnets and more.
ANNA JOHNSON (center), her son Jeff and their live-in foreign exchange student, Jennifer Hannemann, show off their FROG bracelets. The acronym means Fully Rely On God. (RNS photo)
___Dicksons Inc. said it has sold more than 500,000 FROG bracelets nationwide since spring. The products, available through Christian bookstores, are mostly aimed at young people or leaders of youth groups. They sell for 98 cents.
___"We are selling a lot of it, although the boom is not nearly as large as WWJD. It's still in its infancy," said Chris Tromp, manager of a Kregel store in Grandville, Mich. "It's a breath of fresh air. To me, the statement is powerful."
___Jeff Johnson, 13, believes he's in good hands with FROG around his wrist.
___"When I took a test at school, I thought, 'What am I going to do?' I looked at my bracelet and said, 'Fully rely on God.' I got an A-plus. It gives me confidence," the eighth-grader said. "I wear it in the shower."
___This month, his mother, Anna Johnson, is taking FROG bracelets, pencils and T-shirts to the children of Evangelical Free Church missionaries in Europe.
___"WWJD is great, but it seems like it's everywhere. It can lose its meaning," she said. "This is something new. The kids are going to think the frog symbol is neat."
___Dicksons, based in Seymour, Ind., has been marketing Christian inspirational goods for 55 years. Its 71-page catalog offers a variety of products, from bookmarks and Bible games to scented candles and anointing oils.
___Recognizing the wide appeal of WWJD, the company's sales crew decided "we needed to take the next step," said marketing chief Steven Mohler.
___"WWJD bracelets have given kids something to start conversations. It's running its course," he said.
___ "We're giving them something new to talk about. What would Jesus do? He would fully rely on God. ... Frogs are something accepted in the secular and Christian market. This fit right in."
___Dicksons has protected its new products by getting trademarks for FROG and the phrase Fully Rely On God. There's no trademark on WWJD, which means anyone is free to peddle it.
___Did the company see a potential gold mine?
___"We are in business to help our bottom line. No question," Mohler said. "But our mission is to serve customers by creating and distributing biblically based gift products."
___WWJD has its roots in Holland, Mich., where it was developed at Calvary Reformed Church by youth leaders Janie Tinklenberg and brothers Ken and Mike Freeman.
___Ken Freeman, who promotes WWJD products through Lesco Corp. of Lansing, said FROG was displayed at a recent convention of Christian stores in Dallas.
___"Is it competition? Oh, sure," he said. "But that's what this is all about: People finding the next message, evangelizing. Some people are even putting WWJD backward to say, 'Devil Just Won't Win.' We're working on samples now."
___Leaders of some Christian youth groups in West Michigan believe FROG hasn't caught fire yet. Brian Bosscher didn't discover it until he was given pins while attending a retreat that emphasized reliance on God.
___"I think there will always be a market for something like this," Bosscher said. "When they wear a bracelet, Christian kids are making a subtle statement on where they stand spiritually. You see a bracelet--'Oh, there's another Christian. I can connect.'
___"On the other hand, there's no guarantee that wearing a bracelet transforms someone into a follower of Christ."
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