2014 National Bible Bee Challenge!

Just in case you haven't received this yet… I sent this email out yesterday, but I don't have everybody's email address. :)

Hello Bible Bee friends,

Well, the 2013 National Bible Bee is over. What an exciting year this has been! God has certainly shown himself strong in our lives this year as we immersed ourselves in His Word. I am already looking forward to next year!

As you know, what the National Bible Bee needs most in order to continue, naturally excluding prayer support, is the participation of families. Word of mouth is a main way that families hear about the Bible Bee and are encouraged to join. I would like to issue a challenge for you to recruit more families for this next year of Bible Bee. I don't know about all of you, but to this point I have been sorely lacking in this area of actively recruiting more people. :( Surely each of you know families who have never done the Bible Bee, or who have signed up in a previous year but dropped out. So my challenge for you, in essence, is this: See if you and your family can get just one family to join in the 2014 Bible Bee who did not participate this year. You can, of course, recruit more if you choose, but one is all I am asking.

I also have a goal for the entire nation to attain. This year over 2,500 families signed up for the Bible Bee, and about a thousand entered one or more competitors at the Local Competition. Next year, Lord willing, I would love to see 1,000 families added for a total of 3,500+ families signing up. You might think this a large and difficult goal. Be that as it may, think of the other similar nationwide competitions secular groups hold yearly, such as the Scripps National Spelling Bee and the National Geographic Bee. Millions of American fourth through eighth graders compete in the National Geographic Bee each year, diligently studying earthly knowledge that may be useful on this earth, but will perish the moment the participants take their last breath. We, on the other hand, are being equipped through the National Bible Bee with knowledge that will last us throughout eternity! How much more valuable is this?

A couple guidelines you should follow while recruiting: First, don’t say or act like you are fulfilling an assignment. Even though I am the one starting this challenge, I want you to make it your own. This should not be too difficult, since you are already excited about the BB. :)
Second, please don’t push on any of them the idea of making it to Nationals. This may or may not apply to you, since I am sending this to both local and national friends, but if you’ve ever been to Nationals, you’re likely to want everyone you know to work hard to qualify, too. :) However, it is also likely that the family you want to recruit will not be as initially excited about studying to qualify. This is completely fine. Whether one progresses to Nationals or not, or even whether one competes at Locals, when one participates in the Bible Bee, the most important benefits are reaped right at home.
Also, here’s a tip: If the kids seem uninterested, talk to the parents. I have never yet met a Christian parent who did not want their children to participate in the Bible Bee. Hopefully the parent would not force their child to participate, but on the flip side, it is often parents who sway their children to the final decision.

I have the privilege to be able to send this email to nearly 50 Bible Bee families (including our family, it is exactly 50), whom I trust will all jump on this challenge with a will. This is a great start. However, 50 families cannot do the work meant for twenty times their number. In order for us to even get close to our goal, I will need all of you to pass this email on to any and every Bible Bee family you might know. Ask them to do the same. Also, please pray for the National Bible Bee. A Christian who can do nothing else still has one of the most powerful tools any saint ever wielded. So “pray without ceasing”! :)

Family registration starts April 1st, 2014, and we need one thousand new families to sign up! Are you with me?

Charge!!

Matthew Minica

P.S. To all the National contestants and attendees: Miss you so much! I've been thinking of y'all ever since we made our bittersweet departure yesterday morning. We made a beeline back to Texas and are now safely back home. If any of you who live in the southwestern US and are driving happen to have San Antonio in the vicinity of your traveling route back home, our family would be thrilled to host you. Otherwise, Lord willing, we will be seeing many of you next year in Orlando! :D God bless! ~Matthew

I'm on it! :-)

I'm a living advertisement!!

What a great idea! :)