Why Your Family Should Register for the Bible Bee
By Gail MacDonald, Biblical Literacy Task Force
For the past three years, families in the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh have grown in their faith by participating in the Bible Bee, a national Bible learning program for families. Parents and children who participate in the Bible Bee program grow in their knowledge of the Bible during the summer months. As families spend focused time in God’s word on a daily basis, they grow closer to the Lord. Much of the specific Bible content the children learn as well as the family’s attitude towards God’s word will remain with them as they mature. In addition, each year children who participate in the Bible Bee program are recognized by Archbishop Duncan at the annual Convention.
Online registration (www.biblebee.org) for this year’s Bible Bee has already started. Host churches are already organizing. Now is the time to register your family.
Still not convinced? Read this testimony from the Rev. John Bailey, rector of St. Andrew’s Anglican Church in New Kensington, about how Bible Bee impacted his family:
I must say that [the Bible Bee] is a challenging, rigorous curriculum. I believe that taking the long view of this program instead of a “let’s do it all in one year” approach is a good way to advertise it. I think as we participate in it on a year-to-year basis, our family will be more prepared and more mature each year. We will continue to rise to the challenges of the program and become better equipped with each try. I see it sort of like our own spiritual sanctification. Continual refining, continual growth, doing it better and better as our journey continues. Not looking to who is further ahead or behind, but focusing on the fact we are all on the road together as brothers and sisters in Christ. My biggest recommendation to any parent thinking about doing the Bible Bee is to remember that the goal is not to “win”, but to help your child grow in the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ through His word. Parents must recognize they will need to make daily time for themselves and their children to participate. That is a non-negotiable. It doesn’t just happen.
Bailey family highlights during their Bible Bee summer included weekly bonfires where they discussed what had been learned in the past week and gatherings organized by the hosts of the local competition. These gatherings were a great way to meet other participating families.
Bailey goes on to explain a number of adaptations he and his wife, Karen, made to suit the abilities, ages, and learning styles of their three children. Here are a few examples:
• They did the study with the children who struggled a bit with the reading and writing. Every three weeks they reviewed together as a group.
• They increased discussion and verbal answers rather than leaving the children to write everything.
• On a daily or weekly basis, they would summarize content or word studies and clarify certain points.
