Ben Carlson and Emma Logan know more about the Bible than most kids their age.
Devotions are part of their regular family routine, but these two Rochester children are taking it a step further, spending up to an hour a day in individual study for the National Bible Bee next week in Sevierville, Tenn.
Ben, 12, the son of Andy and Tracie Carlson, and Emma, 10, the daughter of Bryan and Amie Logan, were invited to the national competition after participating in the local Swords & Shields Bible Bee on Aug. 24 at Bethany United Methodist Church in Rochester.
Ben and Emma placed first in their age groups locally, but didn't learn that they qualified until the Bible Bee officials confirmed their scores were in the top 120 nationally for their age divisions. The bee divides children into three age groups — primary for ages 7-10, junior for ages 11-14, and senior for ages 15-18. Nearly 6,400 children participated in local bees across the United States.
Much is stake at the National Bible Bee, with more than $270,000 in cash prizes and scholarships being awarded to the top finishers. The grand prizes are $100,000 in the senior division, $50,000 in the junior division and $25,000 for the primary division.
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Both families are approaching next week's competition with modest expectations.
"We just want him to do the best he can, be happy with the way things turn out, and have fun while we're there," Tracie Carlson said.
"If we don't make it past the first round, we won't be surprised," Bryan Logan said. "It still will be a fun thing to do. She'll be able to have the experience. We don't know if she'll qualify next year, so we thought we would take a stab at it."
The Carlsons and Logans, who both attend Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Rochester, are making it a family vacation as the National Bible Bee is being held Nov. 20-23 at a resort near Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
Ben, a home-schooled seventh-grader, recognizes the rare opportunity to be part of a national competition.
"I'm not the only one doing it, but at the same time there's not a lot of people who do this," said Ben, who sings in the home-school choir, plays for the middle-school Defenders basketball team and participates in Youth for Christ Bible Quizzing, a similar but separate activity from the bee.
Emma, a home-schooled fifth-grader, was surprised by the invitation.
"It was the first time I had done it, and I didn't expect to get that far," said Emma, who's active in American Heritage Girls, choir, Bible quizzing, as well as taking piano lessons and participating in a home-school cooperative.
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Sample Bible Bee questions
1. What does 1 Peter 1:3-25 say about God's Word?
A. That we are to meditate on it day and night
B. That it is living, enduring, abiding, and that it will remain forever
C. That it is useful to reprove, rebuke, and exhort us
D. That we need to pay attention, listen carefully to it
2. Paul tells the Colossians that he has sent Tychicus to ________ them.
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A. Continue preaching to them
B. Start a home church
C. Warn them of the false teachers
D. Comfort or encourage them
3. What passage talks about the wrath of God, and is a good cross-reference for the wrath of God talked about in Colossians 3:6?
A. Romans 1:18
B. Luke 1:17
C. 1 John 5:11
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D. John 14:27
Correct answers: 1. B; 2. D; 3. A.
