Russellville FBC hosts district Bible competition
By Staff
Melissa Cason, Franklin County Times
Five Franklin County youths participated in the District Bible Drill competition hosted by First Baptist Church of Russellville yesterday afternoon.
First Baptist Church of Russellville was represented with three competitors in the children division, while Vina First Baptist Church had one competitor in the children's division, and one competitor in the youth division.
The Bible Drill competition is a contest where students compete against one another to gain knowledge of the Bible. The competitors are judged on Bible knowledge, accuracy, and time, Patricia Farr, Bible Drill leader at First Baptist, said.
"In the children's division, they have to memorize 25 bible verses, know 10 key passages and know the books of the bible in order," Farr said.
Each competitor is asked to take one step out of line once they know the answer to each question. They are judged on the time it takes them to step out. The official asks one of the competitors who stepped forward to answer a question, and if they don't know the answer or get it wrong, the competitor is penalized. Competitors were also penalized if they did not know the answer by not stepping out, Farr said.
"They are really only competing against themselves to see how well they know the Bible," Farr said.
At the end, the scores are tabulated and are given to each competitor privately. High scorers in the senior speaker, youth and high school division will compete at the state competition at Heritage Baptist Church Saturday, Farr said.
The high school and senior speaker events only had one competitor in each category, but they did have to compete against themselves in the competition.
Competitors from Russellville were Laurel Wade, Lucas Witt, and Drew Malone, who has competed in the event for three years. Competitors from Vina were Jessica Adams, and Chris Adams.
Madison Director of Missions John Long served as drill caller for the event.
"I have been involved with Bible Drills for 26 years, and it's one of the beneficial things you can do when you teach children how to memorize, learn and use the word of God," he said.
Long concluded the event by thanking those who attended the event, and by thanking the competitors and their families. He also encouraged more youth to get involved with Bible Drills.
"I'd love to be here until eight o'clock calling Bible drills," Long concluded.
