It's name might be deceiving.
The Bible Bee, compared to the better-known Spelling Bee, involves memorizing far more words. For example, 10-year-old Faith Boyum of Rochester memorized the first 14 verses of the Book of John — more than 200 words — in her effort to advance from a local competition.
Faith Boyum is one of two local children who recently qualified for the National Bible Bee in November. Another is Katie Roberts, 17, of Wykoff. A third, Weston Nelson, 14, of Roseau is a nephew of Rochester residents Dan and Merideth Orvis.
"Memorizing God's word is important, and the National Bible Bee is an interesting way to learn verses," said Faith Boyum, whose father, Dwight Boyum, is a journalist. "One of my favorite verses is Isaiah 40:8: 'The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.' I can know that God's word will last, even if other things don't."
Faith is making her second trip to the National Bible Bee, which this year is Nov. 11-13 in Schaumburg, Ill.
ADVERTISEMENT
More than 6,700 children in the U.S. registered for local Bible bees this year. Locally, 20 participated in the Swords and Shields Rochester Bible Bee on Aug. 28 at Salem Road Covenant Church.
To prepare for competitions, bee participants work in small groups.
"It's a time for the kids to get to know each other, support each other, pray together and prepare for the bee," Judy Boyum, Faith's mother, said. "Like a predominant theme in the Bible, perseverance is a key to excellence in this endeavor."
She named a statement in the Book of Hebrews as being fitting for the journey of a Bible bee participant: "Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."
