A former quizzer in Israel

A former quizzer showed some team pride on his trip to Israel with the Berskshire Institute for Christian Studies!

No Bible Quiz Team for 2015-2016

There will be no Bible Quiz Team at Beacon Hill Church in Monroe, CT for the 2015-2016 season.  This blog is going on hiatus unless/until the team starts back up.  Thanks for your support!

HUMOR: Thinful!

Not mine.  From here.

  The church was badly in need of a coat of paint. So the pastor decided he'd do the job himself. But all he had was one bucket of paint. So he got a bunch of buckets and some water, and he thinned the paint enough to cover the entire church. Then he spent all day painting. That night it rained—very hard—and washed all the paint off. The pastor was quite discouraged and asked God, 'Why...why God, did you let it rain and wash off all my hard work?'
      To which God thundered his reply, 'Repaint! Repaint! And thin no more!'

HUMOR: Message from God

Not mine.  From here.

  Inspirational speaker Dr. Wayne Dyer still remembers the card his kids gave him for his 64th birthday. The front said, "Inside is a message from God."
      Pleased they finally appreciated his work, he opened it to read, "See you soon!"

WEEKLY COMIC: Opposites

THE KICKOFF IS TONIGHT!

Please make every effort to attend, and if you won't be able to come but want to quiz you must touch base with the coaches by e-mail, phone, or in person ASAP.  We're looking forward to seeing everyone!

REPRINT: How does a Quiz Work?

This post is re-printed here so that you can share it with any friends or family members who are curious about what Bible Quizzing is, in advance of the kickoff.

How does a Quiz Work?

The Basics

A Bible Quiz always works the same way:

• There are 20 questions in a quiz
• Quizzers "jump" to answer a question
• You have 30 seconds to answer a question (with certain exceptions)
• A correct answer is worth 20 points
• A wrong answer is deducts 10 points, plus the other team gets a bonus question to answer worth 10 points
• There are ways to earn extra points by
• Getting 5 questions right and none wrong (+10)
• Having 4 quizzers on your team get at least one question right (+10)
• Having 5 quizzers on your team get at least one question right (+10)
• At the end, the team with the higher score wins.  (If there is a tie, we go into a 5 question overtime session.)

"Jump"

Every quizzer sits on a chair during the quiz with a pad on the seat.  The pad contains two switches which are depressed when the quizzer puts pressure on it.  When a quizzer relieves the pressure - by standing up, moving their leg, etc. - they have "jumped" and an electrical current goes thru the pad to a box seen by the quizmaster.  The first quizzer to jump - and only the first - shows up as a light on the quizmaster's board.  Once that light is seen, the quizmaster will call on the appropriate quizzer

Kinds of Questions

• Regular Question:

Q:  In my first book, WHO?
A:  O Theophilus   [Acts 1:1]

• Multi-Part Question: 

Q:  2 Part:  I dealt with all that Jesus WHAT?
A:  Began to do and teach    [Acts 1:1]

• Reference Question:

Q:  According to Acts 1:20, For it is written, WHAT?
A:  in the Book of Psalms, “‘May his camp become desolate,
    and let there be no one to dwell in it’; and “‘Let another take his office.’

• Situation Question:

Q:  WHO SAID IT? "Look at us,"
A:  Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John   [Acts 3:4]

• Finish-the-Verse Question:

Q:  He said to them… 
A:  … “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority..  [Acts 1:7]

KICKOFF: T minus 2 days!

If you have any friends or family members who want to join Quiz Team this year, please have them attend the kickoff on Thursday at 6:30 PM.  Remember, we need two more quizzers for this year!

REMINDER: Kickoff is THIS THURSDAY

The Bible Quizzing kickoff is this Thursday, September 3 at 6:30 PM in the Youth Room.  Remember, we need two more teens to have a viable team, so please be spreading the word to your friends!

REPRINT: Why Should I Quiz?

This post is re-printed here so that you can share it with any friends or family members who are curious about what Bible Quizzing is, in advance of the kickoff.

Why Should I Quiz?

The Tagline

We like to break down the appeal of Bible Quizzing into a simple tagline:  Learn God's Word, Make New Friends, Compete

Learn God's Word

Ultimately, Bible Quizzing is all about learning the Bible - God's own words to humanity.  As a quizzer, you won't learn a few quaint Bible stories, some watered-down theology, or a couple of hand-selected memory verses.  You will learn whole books of the Bible!  You'll learn to commit scripture to heart and mind, to read critically, and to understand the original meaning of the text.

We like to tell the story of a couple of past quizzers who applied to be missionaries.  They were in a group with seminarians, pastors, and Bible school graduates, and went through a rigorous test to check their knowledge of the Bible.  They got the top two scores in the entire group, outdoing men and women with MDivs and PhDs, and they realized it was all due to Bible Quizzing.

Make New Friends

There are not many ministries these days that reach out beyond the four walls of your own church or the small group of teens who make up your Youth Group.  But in Bible Quizzing, we compete against teens from other churches from our District (the northeastern USA) and some years from all over the country.  It is a chance to meet people from all over who share your love of Jesus, and form friendships that last a lifetime.

A number of past quizzers met their college roommate, their spouse-to-be, or their best friend in Bible Quizzing.

Compete

Let's be clear - Bible Quizzing is fun!  It's a sport where you test your mind and your heart as you compete with other teens to see who knows the most, who remembers the most, and who is the quickest to remember the material.  Like any sport, not every competitor is the same.  Some are amazing at memorization - it is not uncommon to find quizzers able to recite whole chapters or books of the Bible.  Some are amazing at recognizing key words or phrases - this was my specialty.  Still others are gifted at quick jumping and lightning-fast recall.  And some teens aren't great at memory, but are gifted in bringing the team together and encouraging others.  Whatever your gift, be sure we can use you.  And be sure you will have fun!

A Few Other Things

• Some Home Schoolers find Bible Quizzing a perfect fit for their curriculum.
• Some teens find the Bible Quiz Team to be a safe place to ease their way into the social side of the church.  As a smaller and supportive group with a focussed purpose, it is unintimidating.
• Some colleges offer Bible Quizzing scholarships.  If you're looking at a Christian college, be sure to inquire!

REPRINT: What is Bible Quizzing?

This post is re-printed here so that you can share it with any friends or family members who are curious about what Bible Quizzing is, in advance of the kickoff.

What is Bible Quizzing?

Summary

Bible Quizzing is a ministry of the Evangelical Free Church which brings together teens to study books of the Bible in-depth over the course of a school year.  We focus on learning the text - as well as getting information from the coaches on the context and meaning of the text - and compete with each other to demonstrate our knowledge.  Periodically - about once a month - we get together for a Quiz Meet with other churches in our District for a competition, and about twice a year we meet for a full-blown formal Quiz Meet, complete with trophies.

What is the Goal of Bible Quizzing?

Our focus and goal for the Bible Quizzing ministry is to store up the Bible in the hearts of willing teens.  The competition is a fun, but is just a means to the end of learning scripture.

How much is covered?

We go through a different section of scripture every year, covering anywhere from 1 long book of the Bible to five short books.  Over the course of a cycle, we cover gospels, history, and letters from the New Testament.

For next year, we are studying the books of Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon - about 19 chapters.

If you go through all the possible years of quizzing, you will have learned 16 books of the Bible!

What would MY commitment be?

We have one practice a week, approximately 1 quiz meet a month, and once or twice a year we will do an overnight for one of those Quiz Meets.  We met from September to May.  There is no required cost.

How do I get more information?

1.  Read thru this website.  The sidebar especially has lots of useful information.
2.  Talk to teens currently in the Bible Quizzing ministry.
3.  Talk to the coaches.  You can e-mail us via the link in the sidebar.
4.   Keep coming back to this website.  It will be updated every day with new information.

GETTING READY: Health & Event Forms

Remember, if you want to come along on any Bible Quiz Team trips, we need a filled out Health Form & Event Form on file.  (The same form can be used for all youth group activities.)  You can download the forms here, print them out, fill them out, and bring them to the Kickoff or you can get paper copies there.

GETTING READY: Bible Quiz Team Intro 2015-2016

Do you have a friend who is interested in Bible Quizzing?  This Introduction may be a useful resource in giving them a taste of what the ministry is about and how it functions.  Please pass it along to ANYONE you think may be a prospect.

GETTING READY: FTV list is ready!

The list of Finish the Verse questions for 2015-2016 is ready!  These books are full of useful knowledge and advice for living.  Click on the image below, here, or on the sidebar to see the list.

GETTING READY: Reference list is ready!

The list of Reference Questions for 2015-2016 is ready!  Click here, on the image below, or on the link in the sidebar for the whole list.

GETTING READY: Study Schedule 2015-2016

The study schedule for this year is now online and ready for your perusal.  We have fewer chapters than past years, so we have more review weeks than normal.  But this will give our schedule more flexibility for snow days, as well.  Click on the image below or the link in the sidebar to download a copy for yourself!

HUMOR: From the mouths of babes...

Not mine.  From here.

  A teacher was testing the children in her Sunday school class to see if they understood the concept of getting to heaven.
      She asked them, "If I sold my house and my car, had a big garage sale and gave all my money to the church, would that get me into Heaven?"
      "NO!" the children answered.
      "If I cleaned the church every day, mowed the yard, and kept everything neat and tidy, would that get me into Heaven?"
      Again, the answer was, "NO!"
      Now she was smiling. Hey, they're getting it, she thought! "Well, then, if I was kind to animals and gave candy to all the children, and loved my husband, would that get me into Heaven?" she asked.
      Again, they all answered, "NO!"
      She was just bursting with pride for them. "Well," she continued, "then how can I get into Heaven?"
      A five-year-old boy shouted out, "YOU GOTTA BE DEAD."

PHOTOS OF THE WEEK: Video Game Night & Quiz Team Promo

Coach Mark's photos of the Monroe Video Game Night (complete with Quiz Team promo from Coach Matt) are up and ready for your enjoyment.   Click on the image below for the whole set!

WEEKLY COMIC: We need to get this for Pastor Greg

MUSICAL INTERLUDE: Shout Your Name