National Bible Bee equips kids to live their faith

Parents, junior just left for State University, living away from home for the first time in his life.

He's picking his own friends, setting his own agenda.

So you want him to remember the lines from "Revenge of the Nerds" when he's making these decisions? Like, "Jocks only think about sports, nerds only think about sex"?

Or do you want him recalling something from his earlier years, in a Bible memorization program, which suggests: "The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray" (Proverbs 12:26)?

Or how about your daughter facing the pressures from one of those high-school parties held when a friend's mom and dad are out of town?

Which advice is better, "No harm overtakes the righteous, but the wicked have their fill of trouble," or some of the blatherings from "Animal House," like "She should be good-looking, but we're willing to trade looks for a certain … morally casual attitude"?

Right.

So here's what you need to know: Get involved in, and get the kids involved in, The National Bible Bee.

It's a competition, it's a game show, it's an inspiration for older adults and it's a way for youngsters to establish within themselves the knowledge of right and wrong. It has opportunities for involvement for those of just about any age.

For generations, acquiring that knowledge of good and evil came just about as easy as hiking to a one-room schoolhouse, where classes routinely used the Bible as a text. But in recent years, when it is in schools, its use is linked to "literature, comparative religion, English … law, philosophy" and other subjects, like a recent provision in the state of Idaho.

The National Bible Bee, however, moves students a little deeper into the study:

Emeal Zwayne, a spokesman for the program, told WND, he encourages people, students and adults both, to sign up for the program, and to be on the lookout from the channels that carry the game show.

That part of the outreach does offer a national competition that results in big cash prizes for the winners – up to tens of thousands of dollars.

But the real value is somewhere else.

"The goal really is to encourage young people in their efforts to understand God's Word, and to inspire them to internalize it, and then to impact their lives," he said.

Just like choosing between the Ten Commandments as a life standard, or John Belushi's on-screen utterings.

He said he's heard testimonies of kids who have grown up in Christian homes joining the program and suddenly realizing, "I don't even know this God [of the Bible]."

"Kids actually come to faith in Christ through participating in the National Bible Bee," he said.

He pointed out just 16 percent of churchgoers read the Bible regularly, and 25 percent never read it.

Eighty percent say they are knowledgeable of the Bible but fewer than half can name the first five books.

That all points to a "huge problem with biblical literacy" across America.

Thus, the goal to memorize, internalize, and then live it out.

The result?

A stunning experience of listening to young people recite hundreds of Bible verses from memory, he said.

His goal is to see tens of thousands of families participating, in training with their young kids to memorize God's words, and to see that impact.

Then to watch as those kids "become heads of homes and moms and dads," he said.

The program offers an eight-week Discovery Journal that teaches an easy method to study the Bible in only minutes a day, as well as an advanced competition study journal.

Co-hosts of the game show have included the Benham brothers, Hanna Leary and Zwayne. Actor Kirk Cameron has called it the "reality game show that proclaims God's word." Parents can host events, and young people can qualify for the National Bible Bee Competition.