Bible Drill and Speakers

This month we are beginning a new year, a new decade, and in the process of developing a new ministry with Georgia Baptist Bible Drill and Speakers. We would like to ask you to join us for 10 days of prayer January 22-31. If these dates don’t work for you and/or your church, feel free to adjust them. Download this prayer guide below and print it out (double-sided). We recommend to print it on card stock. Use it for your personal use and/or to distribute to your church family.

Yesterday we celebrated the life of Waldo Woodcock – a life-long champion for Bible Drill and Student Speakers in Georgia.  I first met Waldo Woodcock when I was in Children’s Bible Drill.  During my teenage years, as a Bible Driller and as a Speaker, Waldo Woodcock had an impact in my Discipleship Journey.  As a State Missionary, he faithfully served – championing the importance of hiding God’s Word in our hearts and sharing our faith. He retired in 1996 after serving for 28 years as a State Missionary in Discipleship Training at the Georgia Baptist Convention.  In March of 1998, before I began at the Georgia Baptist Convention, Waldo Woodcock, called me at the church where I was serving on staff and encouraged me with my upcoming journey of serving as a State Missionary with the responsibility of Bible Drill.  For many years after his retirement, Waldo continued to serve as a Bible Drill judge and presider.

Earlier this year, Waldo called me from the Georgia Baptist Retirement Community where he lived in Waycross and expressed his support and encouragement for our new Georgia Baptist Bible Drill and Student Speakers, Inc. ministry.  He was pleased that this vital ministry to our Georgia Baptist churches was going to continue!

Waldo made a difference in so many lives and invested in multiple generations through Bible Drill and Speakers.  I am thankful to have been impacted through his life and ministry.

This week our Youth and High School Drillers are having their Bible Drill Christmas Party and we were looking for a fun, Bible Drill Christmas Game to play at the party.

Thank you to LifeWay Kids for sharing a customizable Christmas Bingo template that can be used for a Bible Drill Christmas Activity. To download the template, click this link for the article sharing the Christmas Tree Bingo Board: Christmas Bingo

Items needed:

• A copy of the Christmas Bingo Card for each driller
• Permanent Marker (ultra fine point)
• Christmas Candy (We like to use Christmas M&M’s)
• Bible Drill Card

Prepare:

• Print out a copy of the Bingo Board for each driller
• Using the permanent marker write Bible Drill references in each square. (Make each card individually so that the references are in a different square on each card)
• Put Christmas candy in a small cup for each driller to use as the markers for their card

For Children’s Bible Drillers:

Call out the underlined portion of the card (like in a completion drill) and the drillers must put the candy marker on the correct reference.  

For Youth Bible Drill:

Call out a phrase of an Identifying verse, a Doctrinal Statement, or a Bible Answers Question and the youth must put the candy marker on the correct reference.

For High School Bible Drill: 

Call out a Key Biblical Passages statement or a What We Believe Question.  Drillers must put the candy marker on the correct reference.  For the rest of the squares – you may want to repeat some (that is what we did) or come up with your own options of what to put in the remaining squares.

We’d love to hear what Christmas Bible Drill activities you are using for your group.

Seeing millennials, Gen Xers, and Boomers investing in the Next Generation through Bible Drill this month during our October Challenge has been a blessing. To hear from a former driller from a few years ago about their gratefulness for Bible Drill and to see what God continues to do through this ministry is incredible.

Our October challenge is to raise $1,500 for the ministry of Georgia Baptist Bible Drill and Student Speakers, Inc. Due to the generosity of former drillers, speakers, parents, leaders, and Bible Drill Champions, we are half-way there. A big thank you to to everyone who has donated this month!

If you would like to be a part of the October Challenge, there is still time to donate. During this challenge, we are encouraging Bible Drillers, former Bible Drillers and Speakers, parents, and other Bible Drill champions to donate $10 or $20 this month to invest in the discipleship and Biblical literacy of the next generation of kids and students through Bible Drill and Student Speakers. You can donate by clicking this link: Donate

For the month of October, we would like to raise $1,500 for the ministry of Georgia Baptist Bible Drill and Student Speakers, Inc. We are encouraging Bible Drillers, former Bible Drillers and Speakers, parents, and other Bible Drill champions to donate $10 or $20 this month to invest in the discipleship and Biblical literacy of the next generation of kids and students through Bible Drill and Student Speakers. You can donate by clicking this link: Donate

Will you take the challenge to do one of the following?

• Collect your change for the month of October and donate to Georgia Baptist Bible Drill and Speakers, Inc.
• Donate the amount you would spend on coffee in a week
• Donate $10 or $20
• Encourage your friends and family to match what you donate

The ministry of Georgia Baptist Bible Drill and Speakers has transitioned to a separate non-profit ministry and is led by a team of individuals from across our state that is committed to investing in and nurturing the next generation of kids and students in Biblical literacy and scripture memorization.  LifeWay Research shared in the book Nothing Less – Engaging Kids in a Lifetime of Faith by Jana Magruder that the number 1 predictor of Spiritual Maturity as Young Adults is regularly reading the Bible as Kids.  Through Georgia Baptist Bible Drill and Speakers Inc, we will continue to provide resources and events/Drills to encourage a love for God’s Word and a growth in Christian Discipleship.  

Crossway, the publisher of the ESV pew Bible that we use for Bible Drill, has updated their Bible. The information for the new Bible Drill Bible is:

• English Standard Version (Black Pew Bible) – Copyright ©2001 Publish Date 2018
• ISBN 978-1-4335-6343-0
• These may be ordered from:
  • lifeway.com – currently on sale for $8.99 (9/30/19)
  • crossway.org – $11.99
  • christianbook.com – currently on sale for $7.99 (9/30/19)
  • amazon.com – currently priced $10.12 (9/30/19)

The main difference is that if you measure from the front to the back of the Bible across the pages (or at the spine) – the new Bible measures about 1 inch whereas the current ESV Bible Drill Bible we have used measures about 1 1/2 inches. The layout and page numbers are the same. There are no wording changes.

For the 2020 Bible Drills, we will use the current ESV Drill Bible (ISBN: 978-1-4335-2204-8) and the new ESV Bible (ISBN: 978-1-4335-6343-0).

I hope your Bible Drill year is off to a great start!

Even though, it’s fall, it’s not too early to begin planning for your drills next Spring. Here are four tips to assist you.

(1) Mark your calendar for the 2020 Regional and State Drills. These can be located on your state website usually on the Bible Drill page and/or events page. The 2020 Regional/State dates and locations for Georgia are:

• Tuesday, April 14, 2020 – Tom’s Creek, Martin
• Thursday, April 16, 2020 – FBC Douglas
• Sunday, April 19, 2020 – West Rome Baptist
• Monday, April 20, 2020 – FBC Lawrenceville
• Tuesday, April 21, 2020 – FBC Cochran
• Thursday, April 23, 2020 – Warren Baptist, Augusta
• Sunday, April 26, 2020 – FBC Douglasville
• Saturday, May 9, 2020 – State Youth/High School Bible Drill and Student Speakers Competition – First Baptist Church, Loganville

(2) Contact your association for the date and location of the Associational Drill and mark your calendar. If you are responsible for planning the Associational Drill, set your drill date 1-2 weeks before the date of the Regional/State Drill that churches in your association will attend. This will allow the churches to time to register for Regional/State Drills (if this is required in your state.)

(3) Schedule your church drill 1-2 weeks before your associational drill. Make sure to check with your church office/leadership team when scheduling the church drill in order to avoid any church scheduling conflicts. This is a great time to fill out any facility paperwork your church may have.

(4) Communicate the drill dates with your church families via e-mail, text updates, flyer, announcements, etc. Encourage parents to mark the dates on their calendars now and make plans to be at the drills. Make each date a big deal by celebrating before or after the drill with refreshments, ice cream, Chick-fil-a meal, or your own special traditions.

(5) Make sure you don’t miss any Bible Drill updates. Follow our blog by entering your e-mail on the right toolbar. This will ensure you receive the latest Bible Drill updates by e-mail as soon as blog articles are posted. While you are on our website, make sure to check out the extra tabs with additional Bible Drill information.

Enjoy these 3 fun Bible Drill Activities with your kids/students:

1. Verse Pop

• Cut strips of paper to match the number of words in your Bible verse.
• Write one word per strip of paper. Don’t forget to include the reference.
• Place one strip in each balloon.
• Blow up balloons.
• Have drillers pop balloons and assemble the verse.

2. Bible Drill craft – verse reminder

• Purchase a cheap frame from the dollar store
• Cut scrapbook or colored paper to fit the frame.
• Write Bible Drill verse for the week on the glass using a dry erase marker.
• Have drillers take the frame home and put it in a family area to serve as a reminder as they are learning the verse.
• Once they’ve learned the verse, erase and add a new verse!

3. Spoons – Books of the Bible

• Have fun reviewing the books of the Bible by playing spoons with your drillers.
• Cut 3 x 5 index cards in half and write a book of the Bible on each piece. Want to use a Books of the Bible printable instead? At https://mariabrannen.com, I have created Old and New Testament Books of the Bible cards printables that are free when you follow my blog by e-mail.

I am always on the lookout for something new to add to my Bible Drill bin of resources for each cycle.   This summer, Lifeway’s “In the Wild” VBS had 4 great Bible Drill Resources that you will want to add to your Bible Drill bin or file. Check out this video to learn more.