Bible quiz team goes to national competition
The Cove Run Church Bible quiz team will make its second try at national competition as it sends two teams to the Bible Quizzing Free Methodist Nationals at Roberts Wesleyan College in North Chili, N.Y., July 7-12. “I’m really excited because I’ll get to see new people and make new friends,’ said Josh Matthews, who is making his first trip to national competition.
Last year, Cove Run’s senior team placed fifth, while member Jacob Raymond placed seventh in individual standings in national competition that took place at Seattle Pacific University in Seattle, Wash.
“They did really well for a first showing,’ said Becky Wadsworth, head coach of the senior team. “We took 18 people and some people had never flown before. It was wonderful.’
Buoyed by that experience, Cove Run’s quiz teams, operated out of Cove Run Free Methodist Church in Lemont Furnace, North Union Township, are making another try. One team will compete as senior team veteran and one as young team rookie.
The senior team includes team captain Jacob Raymond, 15, of Lemont Furnace, who is home schooled and in the 10th grade; Justin Yauger, 16, of Lemont Furnace, who is also home schooled and in the 11th grade; and Jimmy Burnsworth, 13, of Lemont Furnace, who is in the eighth grade at Laurel Highlands Middle School.
The young team rookie includes captain Josh Matthews, 12, of Lemont Furnace, who is a seventh-grade student at Laurel Highlands Middle School; Ray Shaffer, 14, of Dunbar, who is a ninth-grade student at Connellsville Junior High School; Ashley Martin, 12, of Lemont Furnace, a seventh-grade student at Laurel Highlands Middle School; and Brittany Yeager, 11, of Fairchance, a seventh-grade student at Albert Gallatin North Middle School.
All the youths are members of Cove Run Free Methodist Church except for Shaffer, who belongs to Faith Baptist Church in Dunbar.
Becky Wadsworth is head coach of the veteran team, while Sharon Raymond is head coach of the rookie team. Quizmasters are Tonya Burnsworth, Chris Yauger and Carla Martin. Van driver Randy Raymond makes certain the teams reach their meets. The Rev. Roger Yeager Sr. is pastor.
In order to pay for this year’s trip, the Bible quiz teams have been hosting fund-raising events. It will cost them more than $4,000 to attend and the youths have raised more than $2,500.
“We’ve done car washes, hoagie sales, Avon sales and collections,’ said Wadsworth.
The quiz teams are also accepting donations and are planning further fund-raisers to help them reach nationals.
In the meantime, the teams are headed for national competition with fine regional credentials as the senior team took first place in Pittsburgh competition.
In addition, four of the Cove Run youths have received special recognition for being able to recite all 38 required quotations in a row without help. The quotations are from the Book of John, which is the emphasis of this year’s quizzes.
Many of the Cove Run youths have discovered favorite verses from this year’s lessons in John. They include:
Yeager: “Yet to all who receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.’
Burnsworth: “So if the Son sets you free, you’ll be free indeed.’
Matthews: “The zeal for your house will consume me.’
Raymond: “And there are many other things as well, which Jesus did. If every one of them were written down, I suppose even the world itself would not have room for the books that would be written.’
“Asked what they are looking forward to in the competition, Yauger said, “I like to go there and do my best and maybe win.’
“I think it will be fun to make new friends and travel,’ said Yeager. “And maybe win.’
But the challenge to Bible quiz is not just knowing the material but being fast enough to answer.
Wadsworth explained that two teams of three members each compete against each other. Each player has a light in front of him or her. They must be fast enough to hit their lights because only the first four to do so will have a chance to answer.
“You must still know the answers but you have to be fast or you don’t get a chance to say what you know,’ said Wadsworth. “That’s the competition.’
Yet, while Wadsworth noted that the best teams compete at nationals, she explained that Bible quizzing is more than being the best.
“Bible quizzing doesn’t focus just on competition,’ she said. “During the week, they are encouraged to development a relationship with the Lord. There is also private time. And they are encouraged to make friends and develop relationships with people within their faith. It’s a whole process, a spiritual process.’
Anyone who would like to support the quiz team can send donations to Cove Run Church Bible Quiz Team, 345 Yauger Hollow Road, Lemont Furnace, Pa. 15456.