Student Ministries - Bible Quizzing

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." Psalm 119:105

I am always inspired when I come across an old saint who is able to quote long passages of scripture that they learned as a child. I love hearing how God faithfully used that Word throughout their lives to guide and direct them. One of the ministry tools that God has used in our denomination over the years to impart His Word has been Bible Quizzing. Many of you have told me about the powerful impact that this ministry had in your life and the benefits you received from this intensive study of God's Word.

Several months ago I had the opportunity to meet the quizzing team from Dryden Free Methodist Church. What an encouragement to hear from them about how God is using Bible Quizzing in their lives. I've also had the chance to connect with the leadership of Free Methodist Bible Quizzing in the United States, and have been heartened by their desire to help us re-establish Bible Quizzing in Canada.

While I realize that quizzing may not be for every youth group or young person, it certainly is one of the best ways I have seen for helping students study and learn the Word of God. It also is a great way to bring kids together for the purpose of building a solid core of spiritually maturing youth. I led a quiz team several years ago and saw firsthand how God used this ministry to benefit our youth group. If you are interested in getting involved in Bible Quizzing or would like to know more, I would love to hear from you!

Andrew Brown is Student Ministries Director for The Free Methodist Church in Canada. You can contact him at andrew@fmdog.ca

"Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds." Deuteronomy 11: 18

We first heard about Bible Quizzing six years ago in Wawota SK. Three youths from the Wawota FMC studied and memorized Luke chapters 1-3. We were spectators at the first tournament in November in Regina, and had a team for the next tournament in January, having caught up with the Scripture to be covered. The rest is history. We were all hooked on this. When we moved to Dryden Free Methodist Church this became one of the priorities and the kids caught the excitement. This year Dryden FMC was privileged to have had nine quizzers: Martin Wightman, Heidi Vandenbroeke, Jessica Plett, Daniel de Groot, Alyssa Harder, Luke Egli, Nathanial Puddicombe, Katie Plett and Jacob Vandenbroeke.

A typical district tournament (zone tournaments are smaller) starts Friday evening with preliminary rounds between the eighty to one hundred teams that come from Manitoba, Saskatchewan and northern Ontario. The host churches billet the 400 to 500 quizzers and coaches, feeding them breakfast Saturday morning before they start the elimination rounds. More quizzing and a final match for each of the A, B, and C levels follow lunch at the church. After supper, the quizzers have a fun activity. It could be swimming or seeing local sights. The wind up for the day is back at the church for awards, praise and worship. It's late when they return to the billets for a little sleep before an early Sunday service and travel home. We've studied Romans and James this year; and Matthew, Hebrews, I and II Peter and John in previous years. That's a phenomenal amount of Scripture that is hidden away in hearts and minds! As a past quizzer, a mother, a youth worker, and a coach, I think it's a fantastic program!
Luci Wightman – Head Coach, Dryden FMC


"When I first started quizzing, I was amazed at the skill and knowledge the quizzers had. It blew me away knowing that it was possible to learn God's word to the extent of quoting verses at the slightest provocation. Now that I've been in quizzing four years, I find that quizzing has blessed me so much. When I'm having a bad day, or I'm just plain discouraged or mad, I find that the verses I'm learning pop into my head and help me through tough situations. I even find verses I learned four years ago running around in my head and I can quote them word for word! Over all, quizzing is such a good thing to participate in and I have never regretted joining it." Jessica Plett, 4th year Quizzer/ Dryden FMC"I have been in quizzing for two years. This year we quizzed on the books Romans and James. The reasons that I like quizzing are that it's competitive, and it's a time where you can spend time with your friends and get to know people. But the best thing of all is that you get to memorize God's word. I really like going to quiz meets because you get to travel and go places."
Jacob Vandenbroeke, Grade 7, 2nd year Quizzer – Dryden FMC

"Before quizzing, I didn't read or memorize the Bible much. Although I still don't read my Bible as much as I should, I do read it more often. I have more motivation to do so. I have learned a lot about God and the Scriptures through quizzing these two years, plus, it's really fun!"
Alyssa Harder, Grade 10, 2nd year Quizzer/Dryden FMC

"I joined quizzing about a year and a half ago. My first quiz meet was really fun. I was in the C division and I answered two questions. Last year, I didn't really pay attention to the Scripture. I studied it, but didn't think about it. This year, I paid attention to the Scripture and applied some verses to my everyday life, like, "Resist the devil and he will flee from you," "Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath," and "Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing; my brothers, this should not be." My favourite part of quizzing is the activity and praise and worship. I love the environment of the praise and worship. I look forward to it each quiz meet. I really love quizzing. I am going in it next year."
Katie Plett, Grade 8, 2nd year Quizzer /Dryden FMC

"The thing that most vibrantly stands out in my mind is our billets. Our billets were kind, generous, and friendly."
Luke Egli, Grade 7, rookie Quizzer/Dryden FMC

"The best part of the tournaments is the quizzing. The C level is the level that I'm in. It's my first year quizzing, and I've done pretty well, I think. Our team is doing pretty well. At the final quiz meet, teams were doing their best, and our team came seventh. It's a fun yet competitive way of memorization."
Nathanial Puddicombe, Grade 7, Rookie Quizzer/Dryden FMC

"Quizzing is always competitive, but it's really awesome to see how everyone maintains an attitude of sportsmanship and encouragement. Those who don't thrive on the competition still have a great time at the meets and make lots of friends. The quiz meets usually have a fun activity that can make for some fond and hilarious memories (like me crashing into a tree downhill skiing . . . don't worry, I was fine). Quizzing broadens your horizons and helps you better understand people from other areas. Younger quizzers can have positive role models and friends in the older quizzers, and coaches have the opportunity to develop close relationships with the quizzers. Most importantly, quizzing has provided stability and growth in my relationship with Jesus Christ. Putting Scripture into my mind through study and memorization has made it so much easier to apply it to my life. That's why I think it's a great program. Try it and find out."
Martin Wightman – 6th year Quizzer/Dryden FMC

Memories of a QuizzerAs a high school student, quizzing was a wonderful opportunity to not only memorize scripture and learn from its teaching, but it was also a time to travel and meet other teens from other churches and communities. The benefit of having quizzed was the amount of Scripture you became familiar with. We also benefited from having a coach who was an encouragement and role model for our team. There was also teamwork, which built our self-esteem, giving us a sense of cooperation and a sense of belonging. I'd encourage anyone to take advantage of the opportunity to be involved in quizzing. Scripture's I have memorized continue to resurface, after all these years it continues to comfort and convict and challenge. "Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin."
Phyllis Slessor, Pastor to Keenagers – Barrie FMC