雷秋波
2012年，由於工作的原因，我們全家從新澤西州搬到麻省。在新澤西教會時，我們的兩個孩子就參加了背誦聖經比賽（BQ），並且非常喜歡。搬到麻州後，一個偶然的機會，我們在教會認識了Charlene姐妹和Kyle弟兄，並發現他們都曾經參加過多年的BQ。2014年，在Charlene和Kyle的帶領下，我們教會的6個家庭的8個孩子組成了BQ隊，每個主日在教會訓練，每月一次到新澤西或長島參加背誦聖經比賽。一年下來，雖然旅行辛苦，孩子們卻受益匪淺。
我們的活動也得到了教會牧長的大力支持。在2015年，教會正式成立了青少年BQ事工。在2015-16 年賽季，有近30個孩子先後加入。感謝神，2016– 2017年賽季時，波士頓西郊聖經教會也加入了我們的事工。我們先後有近50個從2年級到11年級的孩子參加BQ，參與的家庭之間建立了深厚的友誼，彼此幫助扶持，相互鼓勵。孩子們更是在背誦聖經中一起成長。他們有眼淚，但更有歡笑，從中學到了堅持的可貴，認識到了團隊精神的重要，鍛煉了勝不驕、敗不餒的品質，增強了自信心。更重要的是，孩子們把神的話語刻進了腦海裏。神的道既活潑，又有功效，神的話會伴隨他們今後的一生，成爲他們人生路上隨時的幫助。
隨著BQ事工的擴大，各種挑戰也隨之而來。首先是孩子們學習任務重，課外活動多，特別是高年級的孩子。如何讓孩子們能夠合理的運用時間？有的家庭買來CD讓孩子們在車上聽；有的孩子在上下學的校車上背誦；有的家庭相約幾個孩子在電話上互相背誦。其次，背誦聖經比賽的意義是什麽？我們仰望神，努力讓孩子們明白，比賽只是一種鼓勵手段，把神的話語記在心中裏並應用到生活當中，這才是目的。求神興起更多的同工，一起參與。願神賜福讀祂話語並遵行的人。
我們的女兒Nina也寫了一段心得。（見下）
責任編輯：張建
Happy Bible Quizzing
Nina Lei
My name is Nina Lei, and I am in seventh grade. I have been participating in a church program called Bible Quizzing for about 4 years, and I am going to briefly explain Bible Quizzing in 3 sections:
What is Bible Quizzing?
Bible Quizzing is a program where kids in grades 3-12 memorize the word of God, and later, quiz on it. Each year, we memorize one or more books of the New Testament. This year, we memorized Luke. When some people hear about competition and quizzing on the Word of God, they have negative thoughts about it. Sure, everyone wants to do well, and there is some competition; however, the main goal of our quiz meets is to motivate quizzers to read and memorize the Word and to have fellowship.
Benefits of Bible Quizzing
I have made so many new friends through Bible Quizzing, many of whom are not in my age group. Also, when I memorize the Word of God, some bits and pieces of certain verses have stuck with me for the past few years. Encouraging verses from past years sometimes flow through my brain when I am upset, and those verses boost me with a little energy to help get back on track. Bible quizzing is also a good way just to get closer to God Himself through His Word. A lot of people find it hard to make time to read their Bibles every day. Bible Quizzing allows the reader to take at least fifteen minutes of their day to memorize what is needed to be memorized for that day and to read the Bible at home, not just at church.
Is Bible Quizzing hard?
This is one of the most frequently asked questions, and the answer is different for everyone. As for me, memorizing the actual verses isn’t that much of a struggle. If anyone tries their best and is willing, memorizing is not as hard as it seems. However, Bible Quizzing does require a lot of commitment, from memorizing to quiz practice and quiz meets. This can be harder for the older kids (6-12 grades) because of school, homework, extracurricular activities, and their electronic devices.
Bible Quizzing has helped me become more disciplined because it forces me to control myself from the temptation of social media, to set that stuff aside, and to focus on what God is trying to say to me through His Word. So many people (including myself) take God for granted sometimes, so it’s important to have something to keep you on track. God answers prayers and speaks through his Word, and to me it’s been a blessing to be able to study it in this much depth over the past few years.
Editor: Jian Zhang