“Attention.” The adult voice carried clearly through the chapel. Twelve children stood attentively side-by-side. “Romans 14:12,” said the caller. “Start.”
Midlands drill participants (from left) Alex Hester, Gabe Bobo and Caemon Ashworth, from Fort Mill First Baptist Church.As one, the children stepped forward. A hush settled over the parents and others looking on.
“Number nine?” said the caller.
The ninth child in line spoke: “Romans 14:12: So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.”
Any one of the children could have done the same, as exhibited by their confident step forward. This was the State Bible Drill for children in South Carolina.
Each of the fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders who drilled on April 28, had already shown their proficiency by scoring well at drills in their churches and associations. The nerves were still there, however, as they gathered at Florence First Baptist Church, St. Andrews Baptist Church in Columbia, and Anderson First Baptist Church for regional state drills.
Gabe Bobo, a fourth-grader from Fort Mill First Baptist Church, said his favorite part of Bible drilling was “getting to State [Drill].” Of the two aspects of the drill program, Bible skills and memorization, Gabe said he prefers memorization.
The children memorize 25 Bible verses per year and demonstrate their memory skills in two ways. In the quotation drill, they are given the reference and must quote the verse. In the completion drill, they are given a few words of the verse and must quote the entire verse and give the book, chapter, and verse number where it is found.
Caemon Ashworth, also of Fort Mill First Baptist Church, prefers the book drill. A book is called, and the child must turn to that book in their Bible in less than 10 seconds. Additionally, he or she must be able to identify the book before, the book called, and the book after.
Pictured are children from 13 churches in five associations who participated in the Florence drill. The other test of skill in using the Bible is the key-passage drill. A section of Scripture is given, such as “The Israelites leave Egypt.” The children must turn to that passage in their Bible – again, in less than 10 seconds – and be able to give the reference (Exodus 12:37-42). Ten different key passages are learned in each year of children’s Bible drill.
Rounding out the trio participating in the State Drill from Fort Mill First Baptist was Alex Hester, a fifth-grader. “The drills were easy, because I already knew it,” said Alex. “Learning it was the hard part.”
Alex, Caemon, and Gabe each achieved the level of “State Winner,” scoring 20-23 correct responses out of 24.
The drills are not a competition between the children, but, rather, a showcase of the efforts of each child. Children who score below 20 are “State Participants,” and those who score 24 points earn the “State Perfect” level.
Caemon summed up her thoughts about Bible Drill: “I like being with my friends, having a good time, and learning God’s word.” – SCBC