National Bible Bee

The National Bible Bee is a Bible contest held for the first time in 2009 by the Shelby Kennedy Foundation. The competition starts with local contests across the United States.The top 120 contestants from each age group (Primary, ages 7–10; Junior, ages 11–14; Senior, ages 15–18) advance to the National level. The top 120 contestants are decided by a test that is based on the book the contestants studied during the summer. The first national competition was held in Washington, D.C. on November 5–6, 2009.[2] More than $100,000 in prize money is awarded each year.

National Bible Bee
Motto"To know God's Word and make Him known."[1]
HeadquartersSan Antonio, TX
Region served
United States
Parent organization
The Shelby Kennedy Foundation
Websitebiblebee.org

Origins and philosophy

The National Bible Bee is sponsored by the Shelby Kennedy Foundation.[3] Shelby Kennedy, who died of cancer at the age of 23, spent her life studying the Bible and proclaiming Christ. After her death, The Shelby Kennedy Foundation, was established as a non-profit in her name to encouraging children and youth to memorize Scripture.[4]

The National Bible Bee promises large cash prizes for nine of the top-place finalists.[5] Both the local and national competition involve oral and written tests. The goal of the Bible Bee is to encourage young people in the Christian faith, by becoming more biblically literate. Their vision is "To know God's Word and make Him known."[6]

Competition

Competition is divided into local and national levels. From 2009 to 2014, the local competition was not administrated directly by the Shelby Kennedy Foundation, but rather by separate entities known as Hosts. Though these groups were not legally related to the Shelby Kennedy Foundation, they were the only source of finalists for the national competition. At the local competition, the contestants were required to take a written test and an oral test. From 2015 and on, the orals test was taken off, and the written test was replaced with an online test on Classmarker. The Hosts remained, but they acted as supporter of the competition rather than direct administrators of the competition. At the end of the local competition, the total scores were compiled and the highest-scoring contestants in each age category proceed to the national competition. In 2009, National Bible Bee was held at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Washington, D.C..[7] The 2010 competition was held at the Marriott Renaissance Hotel and Conference Center in Schaumburg, Illinois.[5] The 2011 National Bible Bee was held in Nashville, Tennessee, and the 2012 and 2013 National Bible Bee was held at the Wilderness Stone Hill Lodge and Sevierville Events Center in Sevierville, Tennessee. The 2014 National Bible Bee competition was held in Orlando, Florida at the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista. It was announced in the spring of 2015 that the National competitions of 2015, 2016, and 2017 would be held at the J.W. Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa in San Antonio, TX. The 2018 National Competition was held at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, December 3–7.[1] The 2019 National Competition was held at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center, in Covington, Kentucky, November 18–21. The final rounds were held at the Ark Encounter Answer Center. [8] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the preliminary rounds of NBBC were online, and the Semi-Finals and Finals were held again in San Antonio, Texas on November 8-10, 2020.

Eligibility

Eligibility for the National Bible Bee is restricted to United States citizens, including residents of the District of Columbia and children of U.S. Armed Forces personnel stationed overseas. Non-legal residents may compete on the local level but may not advance to the National competition. Close relatives of the Shelby Kennedy Foundation members or others who have worked on the contest content are allowed to compete; however, they may not win prize money at the National Bible Bee Competition.

Contestants are divided into three age divisions: Primary (ages 7–10), Junior (ages 11–14) and Senior (ages 15–18). Ages are based on the contestant's age on November 13 of the year of the competition. [9]

Study materials

The Bible Bee's competition material includes both memory work and an in-depth study on a selected book or portion of the Bible.[10]

Contestants are required to memorize a number of verses. In the preliminary oral round, the contestants must recite the passages they are asked word-for-word from any of five approved English versions (NIV, KJV, NKJV, NASB, or ESV). Scores are given based on the accuracy of the contestant's recitation. In addition, comprehension of the memory verses is tested in a multiple-choice computer-based test.

Bible knowledge

In 2009, all the contestants were to study Genesis, 1 & 2 Samuel, Matthew, Acts, and Romans.

Starting in 2010, all contestants received a Sword Study, which is a study guide for a single book or passage of the Bible. Comprehension of this book of the Bible is tested through an online test. Parents receive a Parent Guidebook, which contains guidelines for helping their children study that book of the Bible.

The Bible knowledge book for 2010 was Colossians.[11]

The Bible knowledge book for 2011 was 1 Peter. As of 2011, the contestants who advanced to Nationals were given a new book of the Bible to study, which was announced when the National competitors were announced. In 2011, this book was 2 Peter.

The Bible knowledge book for 2012 was 2 Timothy. The book the contestants were to study for nationals in 2012 was 1 Timothy.

The Bible knowledge book for 2013 was 1 John. The book the contestants studied for nationals in 2013 was Ephesians.

The Bible knowledge book for 2014 was Jonah. The book the contestants studied for nationals in 2014 was Nahum.

In 2015, the name of Sword Study was changed to Discovery Journal.

The Bible knowledge passage for 2015 was Chapters 1-6 of John. The passage the contestants studied for nationals in 2015 was Chapters 7-12 of John.

The Bible knowledge passage for 2016 was Chapter 13-15 of John. The passage the contestants studied for nationals in 2016 was the book of 1 John.

The Bible knowledge passage for 2017 was Chapters 1-3 of Genesis. The book the contestants studied for nationals in 2017 was the book of Colossians.

The Bible knowledge passage for 2018 was James. The book the contestants studied for nationals was Philippians.

The Bible knowledge passage for 2019 was selected chapters from the book of Psalms. The book the contestants studied for Nationals was 1 Peter.

The Bible knowledge passage for 2020 was Genesis 37-50. The passage the contestants studied for Nationals was John 16-21.

Competition format

Semifinals format
120 contestants are chosen from each age division to compete at the national competition in the fall. All contestants participate in a preliminary round featuring both a written exam and an oral recitation round. The semi-finals feature the top 15 contestants from each age division competing in a single-elimination recitation format for five spots in the final challenge round. In 2020, the format for semi-finals was changed. In the first round, a recitation round, points were deducted for each error made in recitation, and at the end of the round, the contestants with the two lowest scores were eliminated. The second round was a single-elimination round as in previous years. The third round featured multiple-choice Bible knowledge questions for the contestants to answer onstage with a handheld devise, and the fourth round was a single-elimination round as well.

Finals format
The format for finals changed from the format used in previous years. Round 1 featured each of the 5 finalists reciting a passage from memory, with points deducted for errors. The maximum points for round 1 was 3,000 points. Rounds 2-5 were open-ended Bible knowledge questions where contestants were given 30 seconds to write their answer on an iPad tablet. Each question was worth 1,000 points. Round 6 again required contestants to recite a passage from memory worth 3,000 points. The total possible points for the final challenge round was 10,000 points, with winners being determined by their cumulative scores from all 6 rounds. Ties were broken by using the contestant's scores from the preliminary round at the national competition.

2020

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Bible Bee was forced to make some necessary modifications to the competition. On July 3rd, 2020, they announced that the preliminary rounds of NBBC would be held online. All 120 qualifiers in each age division would take an online test on ClassMarker on October 12. The top 33% (40 contestants) from that would then go on to compete in Oral Recitation Rounds on October 15. The top 15 scorers from these 2 rounds (the scores were combined) went on to the Semi-Finals which was held in San Antonio on November 8-10.

References
  1. biblebee.org
  2. "First Baptist offering enrollment in National Bible Bee program". The News-Reporter. March 26, 2009. Retrieved April 15, 2009.
  3. Leichmann, Aaron J. (26 January 2009). "'Bible Bee' Deadline Draws Near; Communities Urged to Register". The Christian Post. Retrieved April 13, 2009.
  4. Rasche, Kit (November 11, 2008). "Introducing the National Bible Bee". Christian News Wire. Retrieved April 13, 2009.
  5. "Nationals 2010". National Bible Bee. Archived from the original on March 5, 2010. Retrieved March 2, 2010.
  6. "About us". National Bible Bee. Archived from the original on March 7, 2010. Retrieved March 2, 2010.
  7. "2009 NBB Competition Contest" (PDF). National Bible Bee. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2014. Retrieved April 23, 2009.
  8. "biblebee.org".
  9. "Bible Bee planned". Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. April 1, 2009. Retrieved April 15, 2009.
  10. "Bible Bee Overview". National Bible Bee. Archived from the original on March 7, 2010. Retrieved March 2, 2010.
  11. "Bible Bee Materials". National Bible Bee. Archived from the original on June 4, 2010. Retrieved June 26, 2010.
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