I have listened to and enjoyed Third Day‘s music for years, but it’s only been in the last couple of months that I found out about how active Third Day’s fan base is. Their fans call themselves “Gomers,” and there are THOUSANDS of them. TENS of thousands.
Well.
There’s a lovely lady who calls herself Mama Gomer, and she runs the Third Day fan network. I liked her as soon as I heard about her, mainly because she uses the word “Mama” in her internet moniker, and I have a little bit of a fondness for that. For whatever reason.
And a few weeks ago, I interviewed Mama Gomer – because quite frankly I am fascinated by her and her Gomer people.
Plus, I mean, where but the internet could you find an interview between two women who willingly call themselves BooMama and Mama Gomer? Where, I ask you?
Doesn’t it sound like we should be the opening act at a 1958 Grand Ole Opry production? Playing some spoons or something?
Anyway, I asked Mama Gomer a few questions, a few of which I will share with you before I announce today’s fab giveaway.
Okay. First thing? I’m FASCINATED by the whole Gomer phenomenon. So I need some background info: how many official “Gomers” are there? And did you ever in a million years think that Gomer-dom would take off like it has? Why do you think it’s been such a huge success?
There are about 30,000 Gomers registered. No, I never thought it would be this big! When we first started it back in 2001, we thought we’d have maybe . . . maybe . . . 100 people from the message boards join. But it just took off like a wild fire! Certainly the success of the Gomers is due to the love people have for Third Day and their music. But there is more to it than that. God gave me the idea of starting the Gomers, and He is behind its success. He has used this family to minister to many, and I pray He will continue to do so!
I don’t think it hurts that becoming a Gomer is free and open to everyone. We’ve strived to keep it free and open to all, because it is all about love.
Initially – way back in 2001 – how did you even find other Third Day fans online? Who were some of the first people you met?
None of this would have happened without the message boards on ThirdDay.com. It is there that we started the Gomers, and there that we develop most of our relationships with one another. We have people from all over the world on the boards, and all ages. We’ve had six couples meet and on the boards and end up getting married!
The first time I met other Gomers in real life was in February, 2002, at a Third Day concert in Dallas. Back then, if you told your friends or family you were going to meet up with someone you met online, they thought you were nuts! I met some other Gomers that day: the members of Third Day! Yes, they are all Gomers with Gomer names. I’ve always found that sweet and kind of refreshing, that they would join their own fan family. Not that they are arrogant to say they love Third Day, but that they each consider themselves fans of the other four guys. And that they consider themselves equal with their fans.
Y’all are an incredibly organized fan base. Has that happened over time? Or has that always been the case?
From the start we kept a list of members, and used the internet to arrange gatherings and things like that. What makes it all possible is the band’s involvement. It’s much easier to keep everything going because the band, management, webmaster, and the record company all help by providing support, webspace, time with the band, prizes for contests, and lots of other things. We work pretty closely to think of new ways to make being a Gomer a fun and unique experience. I’ve got so many ideas running around my head. There are fun things on the horizon!
You can read the rest of the interview here. I’m telling y’all: this Gomer thing is a phenomenon.
Now.
I believe I mentioned a little something about a giveaway.
For all you didn’t-know-you-were-Gomers, active Gomers, and Gomers-to-be, there are five Third Day Christmas Offerings CDs that are yours for the taking.
Well, you can’t take them, really. But you can leave a comment to try to win one of them. I’ve had my own copy of this CD since way back in the summer, and I think it’s wonderful.
Here’s all you have to do to win:
1) Click here.
2) Watch and listen to see if you’re interested in winning this CD.
3) If you are, come back here and leave a comment.
4) And for kicks, tell me your favorite Christmas carol.
5) Because it’ll be fun.
I’ll close this giveaway Thursday morning, December 13th – so time’s a wastin’, people! Get to clickin’!
And as always, I will select the winners with the assistance of the oh-so-capable random.org.
Adios, you bunch of Gomers!
*Edited to add: I just saw that Shannon has a great Praise Baby giveaway going on here – open to the first 300 bloggers who sign up! So run! Run like the wind!
This giveaway is now closed.
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I would love to be entered to win this CD. My favourite Christmas song is “Mary Did You Know?”
I’ve never heard a Third Day song I didn’t like and their concert moved me to tears. Their ministry is powerful! Please enter me in your drawing. I don’t have the Christmas CD (I think I have almost all the others though!). In fact, I heard a song on XM that I really liked and is probably on that CD.
By the way, I can so relate to your HTML mishap, I’ve offered to “help” my friends before and I’ve had similar disasters occur!
OH HOLY NIGHT!! °Ü°
I love Christmas music and I always enjoy the opportunity to add a new group to my collection! My favorite Christmas song..there are so many. I love O Little Town of Bethlehem and Silent Night and O Holy Night and Joy to the World….
I LOVE Christmas music! I could listen to it year round. One of my favorites is O Holy Night. Please sign me up for this contest. I love the Christmas songs and hubby loves Third Day so it is perfect!
When I was little my mom used to sing O Holy Night every Christmas Eve service at our church and there was not a dry eye in the place. I would have to say that is my favorite Christmas carol.
My husband loves Third Day, I would love to slip this into his stocking.
Great interview by the way!!
Oh, I’ve been wanting this CD since last Christmas. Yearning. Pining for it.
If someone else is singing it, O Holy Night is my favorite. For me to sing, probably Joy to the World. Oh, and O Come O Come Emanuel.
But, as I’ve said before, everything sounds better when Mac Powell is singing it.
Let’s see. I was prepared to name “Angels We Have Heard on High” as my favorite carol because I love singing harmony on the chorus and I think singing “Gloria, in excelsis Deo” is fun. But then I say someone else mention “O Holy Night” and I love that song, too. And then there’s “Little Drummer Boy.” The line “I played my drums for him, I played my best for him” makes me teary.
We love Third Day around here! My favorite carol is Away in A Manger! Thanks for the GREAT giveaway!
O Holy Night is my favorite!
I would love to win this cd.
And my favorite christmas carol is grandma got run over by a reindeer. It makes me smile. I’m strange that way.
I would love to win this CD. They are one of my favorites and I don’t have this one yet.
Thanks for sharing your interview.
LOVE 3rd Day – the 2 best Christian concerts I have ever seen are Toby Mac and one last year with 3rd Day & David Crowder Band!
Sign me up!
My Favorite Christmas Carol is and always will be O’ Holy Night (especially the Celine Dion version…..wow…)
Oh, I was just thinking the other day that I would love this CD!
My favorite carol is O Holy Night, but I’m really starting to love O Come Emmanuel.
Seriously, pick a favorite? As long as I don’t have to listen to Vegetables singing them I love them all.
If I could only hear one this year, I would choose O come O come Emmanual.
I would love to have this CD!!!!
To choose 1 Christmas Carol is too hard but I have always loved to sing Silent Night to my babies while rocking them to sleep. Also, I love Sleigh Ride – it gets me in the Christmas mood for decorating and shopping.
Thanks for that wonderful interview with Mama Gomer!
I’ve been a fan since around 2001. I don’t know that I have a favorite Christmas carol but I do love the traditional congregational singing of “silent night” at the end of a Christmas eve service.
I just started listening to Third Day a few months ago, but I love their music. I’m also a member of MOPS and for a fundraiser we work the concession stand at our local arena. Two weeks ago we worked the Third Day Christmas concert. We could hear the music and it wa wonderful!
I’d have to say my favorite carol is O Holy Night. It gives me chills every time. Merry Christmas!
“thou didst leave thy throne” is my favorite carol and count me in on the give-away please.
Thanks,
Alesha
Okay, I’m hoping you’ll accept the entry of someone who cannot fulfill the directions you’ve given. I’m on old fashioned dial up and youtube takes forever and a day to do anything and then I can only watch a few seconds at a time while the dino tries to read the rest. Anywhoo, I’d love this CD. I’m tired of all the Christmas music I have had for at least 9 years and am ready for some new! My favorite Christmas songs are “Mary Did You Know?” and another one about Mary, but I cannot for the life of me remember what it is. :)
i like o come emmanuel!
Love this! Choosing my favorite carol is like choosing my favorite chocolate bar, but I will try! I think it’s probably “What Child is This?”
Love it too!
Favorite carol/Christmas song: Breath of Heaven/Mary’s Song – performed by Amy Grant.
I got to meet the members of Third Day in 1998 and pray with them & their wives before a concert on my college. Amazing heart for God.
I would love this CD!
My fav is O Holy Night. It is beautiful and a family favorite. My father has insisted for years to have it sung at his funeral – no matter what time of year he passes. No joke!
I LOVE Third Day and so does my nephew, Jack! My favorite carol is “O Holy Night”. I sing and listen to it ALL through the year!
I didn’t know I was a Gomer :) That’s extra funny to me because for some reason or another we used to call eachother ‘gomer’ as an insult in Jr high. I don’t know where it came from but I remember calling someone or being called a gomer at various times. Now I’ll gladly be a gomer :)
On to the CD. I just bought the soundtrack for Jesus, Light of the World for me and my sister to sing at our churches Christmas Eve service this year. I love that song! I know we won’t do it any justice but we love the lyrics and the music so I hope the church people that aren’t hip to the Third Day groove appreciate it!
My favorite Christmas carol? Um, it’s hard to pick but I’m gonna go with O Holy Night.
PS: I SO want to win this…I actually almost bought it at the same time I bought the sound track but got all cheap and didn’t buy myself a present :) Maybe I’ll win it???
All I want for Christmas is You!… not that I want you, boomama, for Christmas, but that’s my favorite Christmas song!
I’d love to win this one by Third Day!
Favorite carol is O come all Ye Faithful – gives me chills!
i’m a gomer! but i don’t have this one yet… if i had to commit to liking one carol best, i think it might be o little town of bethlehem. or god rest ye, merry gentlemen. or what child is this. yup, one of those. or the coventry carol. or gabriel’s message.
Here’s hoping I am randomly selected!
My favorite carol right now is Jingle Bells becuase I can’t get enough of hearing my 4 year old sing “splashing all the way, HA HA HA” and other random words thrown in. Too cute.
I would love to win a Third Day CD.
My favorite carol is Silent Night, although I really love the song “Mary Did you Know” but wasn’t sure if that was a carol!@
I would LOVE to win the 3rd day CD…
My favorite carol… well, am attempted to write “I want a hippopotamus for Christmas” but since i am not sure if that qualifies for a Christmas CAROL…. I guess it has to be O Come O Come emmanuel…
Thanks,
OH OH PICK ME!!!! PLEASE PICK ME!!! ;-)
Oh Holy night is one of my favorites
I would love a Third Day Christmas CD!!!
My favorite Christmas Carol is O Holy NIght but I also love “So this is Christmas/War is Over” and ” I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”
I would love to win this CD!
Favorite Carol: “Oh, Holy Night”
I have this CD and I would love to win a copy for my sweet friend Arleen who would SO be a Gomer if she knew they existed.
I love Third Day and don’t own this CD!!!
My fav carol is actually a hymn, O Come Emmanuel, followed by O Holy Night as a close second!
Please enter me- I love Third Day.
Oh Holy Night is my favorite. I love Breath of Heaven too, but I don’t think that it’s an official carol.
I have been a Third Day fan ever since their first album….not the one with the bus, but the one w/ the burlap cover…which most people don’t remember or never had!! I’d love this CD!
Oh, and my favorite carol is “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.”
Thanks!
While I’d love to win something free, we currently have this in our CD player. Love it!
O Holy Night is my fave too. (if the random # generator picks me, I’ll gladly pass this along to a friend!)
Yes, please enter me!
Oh Holy Night is my favorite of all time.
Yeah … another giveaway!
It wouldn’t be Christmas for me if I didn’t hear two of my favorite praise band people in our church sing “Mary Did You Know” .. and “My Grown Up Christmas Wish” … Those two songs complete my Christmas! But of course .. I love ‘em all!
Love it! Count me in!! And my fav carol: O Holy Night. It says it all!
Please count me in!
It is very hard to pick just one favorite song but this morning I would have to say O Holy Night.
Ahh a Third Day giveaway! I had bought this CD last year, and somehow over the course of the year and moving twice I can find it nowhere. I’ve had intentions of buying it again but haven’t yet had the chance to get by the store to get it. Maybe God was keeping away to give me a blessing of winning one, who knows! Anyway, my favorite Christmas carol is Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel. Sung by Third Day of course!!
Well gaaaaal- ley (in my Gomer Pile voice)
I love Oh Come Oh Come Emmanuel so much.
Gomer wanna be
Kelly S.
A Gomer! I could be a Gomer!
Wait a minute…
I would LOVE this CD! Put my name in the hat, please!
Right now the carol I stop and listen to every time is “Do you hear what I hear”.
oh come all ye faithful.
I’m in. My all time favorite is Angels We Have Heard on High – I like to sing the glo-ree-aaaaa part (blush…..)
I’ve been a Gomer for years, although not really active on the boards. I’ve been a HUGE TD fan for years. They are by FAR my fave, yet I haven’t gotten the Christmas album. Not sure why. Guess I actually forgot about it!!! DUH!
My fave Christmas song is Mary did you know…
Hope to win this one!!
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