He just needed to bring a few more believers, um, into the fold.

Two years and two business partners later, the Memory Cross - a four-paneled card that features a Bible verse and folds into the shape of a cross - is putting God's word at children's fingertips.

"I think this is an incredible way for kids to learn Scripture," says partner Mike Vitamvas, owner of Wall Printing Co. in High Point, where the Memory Cross cards are manufactured.

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"I was just messing around with some origami" - a Japanese art that involves folded paper - "and I noticed that it made a cross, and I thought that was really cool," Lambert recalls.

"I had been looking for a way to help kids memorize Scripture, because I do a children's sermon at every church I go to, and I thought this would be a great way to do it."

Specifically, the Memory Cross is a 31/2-inch square of slick, heavy-stock paper - about the thickness of a playing card - with a series of flaps and perforated folds that allow the card to fold easily from one panel to the next.

Each succeeding panel reveals the next few words of the Scripture, so children learn the verse in small chunks as they flip through the panels.

"Kids are tactile - they like hands-on things," Lambert explains. "And everybody - not just kids - learns something by breaking it down into small sections, and so this breaks it down into four small sections that they look at over and over again."

Covenant Church United Methodist has been using the Memory Cross with its Young Believers and Kids For Christ groups - which are made up of first- through fifth-graders - and they've been a big hit.

"The kids have had a great time with them, manipulating them and flipping them around, but it's also helping them learn the Scripture," says Colleen Danson, director of Christian education.

"You have to do things to keep the kids' attention, because just reading things to them doesn't do it anymore. This is a creative way of keeping their attention."

The Rev. Bill Gibson, a Greensboro pastor who is Lambert's other business partner, agrees.

"This is about as low-tech as it gets," Gibson says, "but the kids have just eaten it up. And in a technology world, that speaks volumes."

The target age group for Memory Cross is 5-13, according to Lambert.

In addition to Scripture verses, other Memory Crosses feature The Lord's Prayer and The Apostles' Creed, and versions are even available in other languages.

More recently, secular companies have been using the unique product as a promotional item featuring information about the companies and their services.

"We've come up with a lot of uses that I never dreamed of," Lambert says.

"I just thought it would be a good way to help kids memorize Scripture, and that's still our main focus."

INTERESTED?

Memory Crosses are available at Cokesbury Christian Bookstores and some independent Christian bookstores.

Orders also may be placed through the Web site, www.memorycross.com, or by calling (800) 432-4941.

jtomlin@hpe.com | 888-3579