Martha McCarley

By the time the competition starts, the elementary school students should know 66 books of the Bible, 25 verses and 10 key biblical passages.

They also have to know where to find the book and know the verses without a single error.

The purpose of the Children’s Bible Drill, according to information at the Southern Baptist Convention’s LifeWay Web site, is to help children increase their knowledge of the Bible and learn how to apply the Bible to their lives.

Competitions are held at church, association and regional/state levels.

“This is a set of skills that will serve you the rest of your life,” said Martha McCarley, who has coordinated local Children’s Bible Drills for the Hamilton County Baptist Association for more than three decades. “If you don’t (learn) it as a child, it becomes infinitely harder to learn as you grow older.”

In the recent 2008 Tennessee Baptist Convention’s regional/state drill, 10 Chattanoogans out of 63 Southeast Tennessee participants earned State Winner Superior status by answering 22 of 24 “calls” without a mistake. Thirteen more earned State Winner status by answering 20 of 24 calls without an error.

Ms. McCarley said the Bible competitions are more important today than ever because Girls in Action, Royal Ambassadors and other church-level groups are not putting as much emphasis on Bible memorization as they used to.

Many groups rely, instead, on activities to provide children their biblical knowledge, she said.

“I’m not against activities,” Ms. McCarley said. “I use them. But you’ve got to have a knowledge of Scripture before the activities are meaningful.”

She said the drills are probably the hardest and most academic of any children’s program in Southern Baptist churches.

“Bible drills put the emphasis on hiding God’s word in your heart,” Ms. McCarley said. “Our goal for children is to know the word of God in order to pattern our lives. Scripture says God’s word will not return to us void, so I think he will bring the harvest from these kids learning the Scriptures.”

Six of the 98 churches (Brainerd, Brainerd Hills, Dallas Bay, Hixson First, Red Bank and Ridgedale) in the Hamilton County Baptist Association held children’s Bible drills this year, she said. As many as 10 churches have had them in the past, she said.

Children’s Bible Drill is open to fourth to sixth graders. The competition is such that students compete against a standard, not against each other.

“I like that there is not just one winner,” Ms. McCarley said. “Every child can be a winner.”

At the church level, competitors are given six “calls,” or chances to respond in four categories, within 10 seconds apiece. The categories are verse memorization, location of key passages, location of books and completion drill (the first four or five words of six verses are “called,” with competitors finishing them).

Competitors have to have 12 correct “calls” out of 24 to move to the associational level, which was at Ridgedale Baptist on April 13.

At the associational level, competitors must have 16 correct “calls” out of 24 to move to the regional/state level, which was at New Union Baptist in Dayton on April 26.

Children who reach the state level three years in a row, regardless of their score, receive a trophy.

Ms. McCarley, a retired teacher who spent the last 18 years of her career as the coordinator of gifted students at Ooltewah High School, said children learn the material for the Bible drills in different ways.

Some churches have leaders who work with competitors weekly, using a curriculum and a book of activities. Several verses may be assigned per week or given on scripture verse magnets. Leaders also may use all-day fun events to help children bone up on the material.

Other students learn on their own, absorbing the information over dinner table conversation or during a time in which they may bond with a specific parent, or cramming it in at the last minute.

Lan Hilliard, whose son, Adam, participated in the competition for Ridgedale Baptist Church in 2006, said the Bible Drill was a “very positive experience” for his son and that he would encourage it for any youngster.

However, he said it was not easy and does require a lot of hard work. The discipline for a student is similar to homework, he said, and there are a number of rules to master. But he said the competitions were fun.

“Any time we commit God’s word to our memory is a good thing for us,” Mr. Hilliard said.

Vickie Hulsey, childhood education specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Convention, said the most valuable aspect of Bible drills is children later being able to recall certain key passages and verses when they face issues in which those passages and words would be most helpful.

If they don’t have their Bibles, she said, “the Holy Spirit will help them bring (the verses and passages) to mind.”

Ms. McCarley said Bible drills are one of the most valuable things young children and young Christians can do.

“What I memorized then,” she said, “is what I know now. It’s still with me. Because I know God’s word, there are some questions that are not a question for me because I already know what God says.”