Bible Bee’s Third Season

The third season of our national Scripture memory contest is off to a strong start!  

Our new executive director, Cornélio, has been hard at work since January.  He oversaw the training of nearly fifty men across the country who volunteered to coordinate the project in their localities.  That training included videos which we produced last year and a final exam to ensure mastery.  Cornélio answered the volunteers’ questions, consulting with me as necessary, and guided them in signing an agreement to serve within the program’s guidelines.  Adhering to our budget and strict accounting procedures, he disbursed funds for them to recruit and prepare their contestants.  He followed their work closely, received and organized their registration lists, and passed that information to me along with details of all the scheduled contests.

Cornélio also guides the work of our national committee volunteers.  During the first months of 2026, our discipleship team selected memory verses, wrote explanations for them, posted daily encouragement for contestants, and planned January’s weeklong program for finalists.  Our audiovisual team made recordings of texts for memorization and produced a video showcasing our national program, while our website and social media personnel posted much new content online.

This year, I serve in three different roles on the Bible Bee’s national committee.  In my capacity as general director, directly underneath our wonderful president Telmito, I supervise the executive director’s work, which required much time during Cornélio’s first months on the job.  As treasurer, I communicate with donors, formulate budgets, and maintain the organization’s accounting.  My perfectionist tendencies serve me especially well in my duties as secretary, which include verification of texts for memorization, specification of contest procedures, and creation of the documents necessary to hold each competition.

The hard work of many people came to fruition at the Bible Bee’s district matches in May.  At 32 locations in all ten of our nation’s provinces, scores of volunteers ran contests according to the guidelines established by our national committee.  A total of 130 individuals, ranging in age from 10 to 43, competed, with 80 of them qualifying for provincial competitions scheduled for September.  During the events, each participant was asked to quote at least five Scripture verses randomly selected from our list of 100; and the records show that among those approved for the provincial level, nearly half of their recitations were perfect.  

Praise God with us for the growth of this effort to fill African hearts with His word.  This third season saw twice as many district contests as in either of our first two years, and the lowest percentage (9%) of scheduled matches cancelled for lack of participants.  Both the percentage of registrants who actually arrived and the raw number of contestants were much higher than ever.  In contrast to the past, almost all who came to compete were on our lists, which shows that our registration system has improved.  The percentage of district participants advancing to the provincial level, 62%, is the lowest yet, evidencing tighter competition as the project grows.

While these statistics are encouraging, we realize that the ultimate victory, of hearts surrendered to Christ through the miracle of the new birth, is something only God can bring about.  Please continue to pray that He will do exactly that through His Word engrafted into the souls of those eager for the scholarship prize.  We will continue our efforts towards this goal, confident in the promise God made in Isaiah 55:10-11: “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth and making it produce and sprout, and providing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so will My word be which goes out of My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the purpose for which I sent it.”