Organizers with En Fuego, an annual Christian music ministry in Verbena, are sponsoring a new event this year for the 2015 concert.

An Open Night Fishing Tournament will be held Aug. 8 with all of the proceeds from the event benefitting En Fuego.

“I fish a lot, and I thought it would be a cool way to do a fundraiser,” said En Fuego founder Johnny Giles.

The tournament will be held from 6 p.m. Aug. 8 until 6 a.m. Aug. 9 at Higgins Ferry Park, which is located at 11161 County Road 28 in Clanton.

Giles said there will be a $100 “early bird drawing,” a $500 “big bass pot” and $100 no-weigh drawing, as well as free goodie bags, biscuits and coffee at weigh in.

The entry fee for the tournament is $110 per boat.

There will also be a $2,000 prize for first place.

En Fuego, meaning “On Fire” in Spanish, was started in 1997, when founders Travis Crim and Giles saw the need for a life-changing, Christian event.

En Fuego is free, but the event is funded by donations.

This year’s En Fuego will be held Aug. 29, and gates will open at 11 a.m.

The event began 19 years ago with a small concert at Verbena Baptist Church that witnessed about 300 attendees.

Last year, a crowd of about 17,000 people gathered on a hillside in Verbena to enjoy a day full of God-centered entertainment.

The ministry’s growth is attributed to word-of-mouth and churches’ advertisement.

A line-up of musical entertainment includes Trip Lee, Humble Tip, O.B.B., 7Eventh Time Down, Travis Crim, J.D. “Iceman” Anderson and Wade Morris.

Giles said this year’s lineup is more “youth friendly” after the last several years were geared to more adult friendly bands.

“We hope to draw more kids out,” Giles said.

The staff behind the ministry includes more than 400 volunteers, about 100 counselors, and an abundance of generous sponsors that make the mission possible.

Giles hopes the addition of the fishing tournament will draw an interest from the community to help support the ministry.

“It will be a lot of fun, and something we haven’t tried before,” Giles said.

The deadline to register for the “early bird” drawing is July 24.

For tournament rules and registration forms visit www.enfuegoinfo.com/downloads. For more information, call Giles at (205) 351-1870 or email johnny@gilescoolingandheating.com.