By JONATHAN SNYDER
Three Bluffton kids will represent the Bluffton Nazarene Church in regional children’s Bible quizzing competitions.
Isaac Salazar Garcia, Caden Lynch and Abigail Salazar Garcia will compete at the regional competition at Olivet Nazarene Church in Bourbonnais, Illinois. Five students from four districts in Indiana are selected to represent the state in regional competition, consisting of kids from Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois.
This year’s competition cycle started in September and will go through the book of Matthew. After 20 weeks of studying, with some breaks in December, and various quizzes put on by various Nazarene churches in the state, 10 kids are selected to compete in the state competitions. After the state level, five others are picked to go to regionals.
The competition is open to kids from kindergarten through sixth grade, and it has taken dedication from the kids to get to the regionals. Julie Meredith, a volunteer for the Bible quizzing program, stated that it normally takes a couple of hours every week of studying on the kids own time for them to be ready for this level.
There are two levels in the competition, a red and a blue level. Red level competition is for younger readers and features less intense questions than the blue level, which is meant for older kids.
“We introduce it to the kids after each quiz,” Meredith said. “We (the church) bring all of our kids up on stage and explain how the kids did. If they’re interested, then they sign up and it’s a commitment. So, they have to do homework … that we study every week and we try to reward them and give them incentives.”
The quizzing practices take the place of Sunday school for the kids involved. Bonnie Barger, who was involved with the program for over 10 years before taking a step back, found the different approach to learning rewarding not only for the kids, but for herself.
“In Bible quizzing, they have to learn things, work through the lessons and totally understand … the Bible verses whereas in Sunday school class, they come in and sort of let you present it to them and then they get out, get up and go out the door. So, you don’t know whether they are going to continue to study that and work on it.”
Barger also stated that the program helps kids get a head start on learning about the Bible when they head into their teenage years.
“The studying that they do for these quiz meets is over and above what I think an average kid does, as far as studying the Bible,” Barger said. “They might have Bible devotionals that they read or something like that, but these kids have to memorize (things) about Bible verses. They have to understand the stories that’s presented in the scriptures and be tested on. So, it’s definitely going to give them an edge over just somebody coming in off the street and not having any Bible background at all.”
Kids involved are asked questions that challenge their Bible and reading comprehension skills, while also asking kids to recall information about specific events, such as Jesus’ responses to different questions from priests. According to Meredith, Bluffton Nazarene sends two kids each year to the regionals on average, with its best year in 2014, where it sent seven.
“We’ve got good district leaders that get everything organized, and present the material to us,” Barger said. “And then the quiz meets themselves are very exciting for the kids and rewarding. Then the awards program that they have with it is what really entices the kids. It seems like when the year first starts, and they (the kids) haven’t earned any awards yet … they’re kind of sluggish and then as the year goes on and they see what can be accomplished, they get more and more excited. They are all pumped about the regional quizzing and getting to do that.”
While the quizzing focuses on the kids’ knowledge of the Bible, the teachers and proctors have also seen benefits from helping with the quizzing. Meredith stated that helping with the quizzing team has forced her to grow closer to God in her spiritual journey. Barger also stated that helping with the quizzing team has aided in her concentration during her time growing closer to Christ.
“It forced me to concentrate more on the lessons,” Barger said. “And I like the fact that it challenged me to do a little more deeper digging on my own. It kinda stretched me as an adult. Even though it was children’s quizzing it kept me digging into God’s word and studying it.”
jonathan@news-banner.com
