Thy Word have I hid in my heart...
What is Bible Quizzing?
Junior Bible Quizzing is a discipleship ministry of UPCI Children's Ministries for youth 4-11 years old based on the memorization and application of the Word of God.
Propelled to learn as many as 175-350 verses of scripture each quiz season, word-for-word from the King James Version of the Bible, quizzers’ understanding is tested by answering different types of questions in structured, team-based tournaments.
Through this format, key Apostolic qualities are developed and reinforced, including, but not limited to:
– Grace
– Faithfulness
– Humility
– Sacrifice
– Teamwork
– Accountability
– Thoroughness
A love for the Word of God and an alignment with His Spirit builds a foundation on which future leaders are discipled to edify the church and impact the world.
Which ages can participate?
The Beginner division of quizzing serves quizzers 4-8 years old and first-year quizzers 9-11 years old. The Junior division is for advanced quizzers ages 9-11 years old. The age cut-off date is December 31st prior to the quiz year (i.e. a student will be a Junior division quizzer if their 11th birthday is December 31st or earlier.)
How much time is spent each day?
Quizzers average an hour or more each day in the Word, for a total of 7-10 hours of study, memorization, and review each week.
How long is the quiz season?
A local quiz coach determines a memorization schedule and when to begin holding local practices each week. Each district schedules practice tournaments for their teams each month, typically beginning in January. A district’s finals must take place between May 15 and June 30, which serves to qualify teams for the national tournament held at the end of July. The quiz ministry is based on a 9 month season, but is adjusted longer or shorter as a local church deems appropriate for its ministry.
What is the best way to memorize?
There is no single, one-size-fits-all, “best” way to memorize for everyone. What works effectively for one quizzer may not be as effective for another because we all absorb, process, and retain information a little differently, however there are memorization principles that will aid all quizzers. The section on memorization within Building a Bible Quiz Ministry gets into more detail.
The daily discipline of memorization is established in levels. New quizzers may be tempted to jump right to Level 3 and begin rote memorization, but it’s hard to build on foundation that is not there.
Level 1: develop your routine and accountability.
– as much as possible, set a consistent time and duration to learn each day
– find a place to study that best fits your memorization style
– be accountable to someone, ideally the same parent or coach, each day
Level 2: understand what you are learning.
– pray for insight before you learn
– read through your learning assignment for that day/week
– with each verse, ask the question words: who? what? where? when? why? how?
– look for cause and effect (context) between/among the verses
– review the grammar used: repeated words, prepositional phrases, dependent clauses, etc.
– identify the primary meaning of the verse or passage
– make personal application(s), keep a journal of insights
– difficult verses or passages may benefit from reading a paraphrase version or modern translation
Level 3: concentrate and repeat.
– learn in an environment that helps you concentrate
– no media or phone to distract you
– break up each verse into bite-sized phrases to repeat; there are many techniques by which to do this, but the Phrase-15 method is a proven example covered in Building a Bible Quiz Ministry
– be sure to say the reference with the opening phrase of each verse to connect the reference with that verse
– focus on seeing the words you are saying in your mind’s eye or hearing the sound of the words as you say them
– write out only the first letter of each word in a verse to refer to if you get stuck when quoting
– once learned, repeat that day’s verses quietly to yourself throughout the day; the Bible refers to this as meditating or, literally, softly muttering scripture
Level 4: review daily.
– Before learning today’s verses, make sure you can quote yesterday’s verses.
– Reviewing previously-learned verses can take several forms, but the most common is using flash cards. This will quicken your recall, but should not be used to try and relearn verses.
– If someone is working with you, have him/her say the reference on each flash card, and you quote the verse in response as he/she follows along.
– If you are on your own, show yourself the reference and quote the verse out loud to yourself. If you are unsure, double check that you quoted the verse correctly.
– Any verses you couldn’t start or remember, should be placed in an incorrect pile to quote again at the end of your review.
– Use some or all of your flash cards daily, but quote them out loud to someone else at least once a week, so no misquotes slip in.
The mind God gave you is a muscle that gets stronger with reps! The more you memorize the easier it gets!
Junior Bible Quizzing is a discipleship ministry of UPCI Children's Ministries for youth 4-11 years old based on the memorization and application of the Word of God.
Propelled to learn as many as 175-350 verses of scripture each quiz season, word-for-word from the King James Version of the Bible, quizzers’ understanding is tested by answering different types of questions in structured, team-based tournaments.
Through this format, key Apostolic qualities are developed and reinforced, including, but not limited to:
– Grace
– Faithfulness
– Humility
– Sacrifice
– Teamwork
– Accountability
– Thoroughness
A love for the Word of God and an alignment with His Spirit builds a foundation on which future leaders are discipled to edify the church and impact the world.
Which ages can participate?
The Beginner division of quizzing serves quizzers 4-8 years old and first-year quizzers 9-11 years old. The Junior division is for advanced quizzers ages 9-11 years old. The age cut-off date is December 31st prior to the quiz year (i.e. a student will be a Junior division quizzer if their 11th birthday is December 31st or earlier.)
How much time is spent each day?
Quizzers average an hour or more each day in the Word, for a total of 7-10 hours of study, memorization, and review each week.
How long is the quiz season?
A local quiz coach determines a memorization schedule and when to begin holding local practices each week. Each district schedules practice tournaments for their teams each month, typically beginning in January. A district’s finals must take place between May 15 and June 30, which serves to qualify teams for the national tournament held at the end of July. The quiz ministry is based on a 9 month season, but is adjusted longer or shorter as a local church deems appropriate for its ministry.
What is the best way to memorize?
There is no single, one-size-fits-all, “best” way to memorize for everyone. What works effectively for one quizzer may not be as effective for another because we all absorb, process, and retain information a little differently, however there are memorization principles that will aid all quizzers. The section on memorization within Building a Bible Quiz Ministry gets into more detail.
The daily discipline of memorization is established in levels. New quizzers may be tempted to jump right to Level 3 and begin rote memorization, but it’s hard to build on foundation that is not there.
Level 1: develop your routine and accountability.
– as much as possible, set a consistent time and duration to learn each day
– find a place to study that best fits your memorization style
– be accountable to someone, ideally the same parent or coach, each day
Level 2: understand what you are learning.
– pray for insight before you learn
– read through your learning assignment for that day/week
– with each verse, ask the question words: who? what? where? when? why? how?
– look for cause and effect (context) between/among the verses
– review the grammar used: repeated words, prepositional phrases, dependent clauses, etc.
– identify the primary meaning of the verse or passage
– make personal application(s), keep a journal of insights
– difficult verses or passages may benefit from reading a paraphrase version or modern translation
Level 3: concentrate and repeat.
– learn in an environment that helps you concentrate
– no media or phone to distract you
– break up each verse into bite-sized phrases to repeat; there are many techniques by which to do this, but the Phrase-15 method is a proven example covered in Building a Bible Quiz Ministry
– be sure to say the reference with the opening phrase of each verse to connect the reference with that verse
– focus on seeing the words you are saying in your mind’s eye or hearing the sound of the words as you say them
– write out only the first letter of each word in a verse to refer to if you get stuck when quoting
– once learned, repeat that day’s verses quietly to yourself throughout the day; the Bible refers to this as meditating or, literally, softly muttering scripture
Level 4: review daily.
– Before learning today’s verses, make sure you can quote yesterday’s verses.
– Reviewing previously-learned verses can take several forms, but the most common is using flash cards. This will quicken your recall, but should not be used to try and relearn verses.
– If someone is working with you, have him/her say the reference on each flash card, and you quote the verse in response as he/she follows along.
– If you are on your own, show yourself the reference and quote the verse out loud to yourself. If you are unsure, double check that you quoted the verse correctly.
– Any verses you couldn’t start or remember, should be placed in an incorrect pile to quote again at the end of your review.
– Use some or all of your flash cards daily, but quote them out loud to someone else at least once a week, so no misquotes slip in.
The mind God gave you is a muscle that gets stronger with reps! The more you memorize the easier it gets!
