The 47th National Bible Quiz Finals, featuring special speaker General Superintendent George O. Wood, will open with a bang on Sunday, July 12, 2009, at the Renaissance Airport Hotel in St. Louis, Missouri. An advocate for ministering to the next generation, Dr. Wood will kickoff our National Finals week at the Sunday worship service. Dr. George O. Wood was elected chief executive officer of the Assemblies of God at the 52nd General Council in August of 2007. As general superintendent of the Assemblies of God, USA, part of the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world, he is a member of the denomination s Executive Leadership Team and Executive Presbytery. The church has over 12,300 congregations in the United States with some 2.8 million members and adherents. The U.S. Assemblies of God is part of a larger World Assemblies of God fellowship with a membership of over 60 million. In an interview with Dr. Wood, he states, People have been asking me, George, what s your vision for the Assemblies of God? What are you going to focus on as general superintendent? The first answer is that I will do my level best to fulfill our three-fold mission worship, evangelism, and discipleship; and to serve the entire Assemblies of God. There are five core values on my heart as we seek to fulfill our mission. You will hear me repeat them often throughout the time the Lord gives me to serve you: Passionately proclaim, strategically invest, vigorously plant, skillfully resource, and fervently pray. In regards to strategically investing in the next generation, Dr. Wood remarks, Both the Old and New Testaments reflect over and over a deep concern for the transmission of the Faith (Psalm 71:18, 2 Timothy 2:2). Thus, we must strategically invest in the next generation. We have over 1.1 million under the age of 25 in our 12,333 churches. National studies indicate that between 50% to 70% of youth from evangelical homes will be lost to the Faith by the time they are four years removed from high school. We must not let this happen in the Assemblies of God! We must carefully watch over transition moments in our youth, while reaching millions of unsaved youth all over the land. We are blessed to have a new generation of men and women ministers. They are passionate for Christ but not so sure about ecclesiastical structures. They are looking for encouragement, nurturing relationships and teamwork; not command and control. Let s listen to their voices, welcome their gifts, and help them reach their fullest capacity. Superintendent Wood will join us at the 2009 National Finals, investing in the next generation of Bible Quiz student leaders. Please be praying for an incredibly impacting time for all involved. To read more interview questions with Dr. Wood go to http://ifphc.wordpress.com/2007/10/02/george-o-wood-on-enduring-core-values/. Assemblies of God Bible Quiz March/April 2009 Coach s Connection Page 1
MARK SCHOLARSHIP QUESTIONS NOW AVAILABLE! Coaches don't miss this piece to the puzzle! The Mark Scholarship Questions are an excellent resource for your team as they prepare for official competition over the Gospel of Mark. For a donation of $100 to the Assemblies of God Bible Quiz scholarship fund, your church can get a preview of the difficulty level of the questions that have been written for National Finals. These questions are drawn from the same pool as the official National Finals questions. These are great additional practice questions for all teams at all levels. Your Scholarship Questions will be sent to you by e-mail as soon as payment is received and processed. To order, go to www.biblequiz.com, download your form, and send the completed form and payment to: Bible Quiz, 1445 N. Boonville Ave., Springfield, MO, 65802. You can also send the form by e-mail or fax to bq@ag.org or 417.862.1693, ATTN: Abby Smith. REGIONALS & NATIONALS 2009 The following are the dates and locations for each of the 2009 Regional Finals competitions. If you have questions concerning your Regional Finals, please contact the appropriate coordinator listed below. DISTRICT 2009 DATES LOCATION CONTACT Great Lakes May 8-9 Dayspring Assembly of God, Bowling Green, OH Julie Steel at julie@thesteelfamily.com Gulf May 2 Solid Rock Assembly of God, Conway, AR Fred Fortunato at ffortunato@cebridge.net North Central May 15-16 Redeeming Love Church, Maplewood, MN Don Jones at donvjones@comcast.net Northeast May 1-2 First Assembly of God, Binghamton, NY Dave Pizzolo at dave@pizzolo.com Northwest May 1-2 Meridian Assembly of God, Meridian, ID Kent Kloefkorn at kentkbq@comcast.net South Central May 1-2 Bethel Life Center, Wichita, KS Steve Fowler at slf1106@aol.com Southeast May 15-16 Dayspring Assembly of God, Rome, GA Doug Black at dougb@bellsouth.net Southwest May 1-2 Mesa First Assembly of God, Mesa, AZ Michael Stogner at tbq@azbq.com You will need to plan financially and decide now if your team(s) will be attending the 2009 National Bible Quiz Finals in St. Louis, Missouri, if making it through Regional competition. Please get your pastor's permission and all parent's permission now in case you will be attending. Teams who do not plan on attending will need to inform their Regional coordinator as soon as possible. If your team places in the top five at your Regional event and you will be attending National Finals, National Finals paperwork will be available to you at www.biblequiz.com this year. You will be able to access the Nationals packet and paperwork after your Regional Finals. ALL NATIONAL FINALS PAPERWORK MUST BE POSTMARKED BY MAY 26, 2009. Also, if you have not started your fundraising for travel, you will want to start now. If you have any questions, please contact the national Bible Quiz office. NATIONAL ONE-ON-ONE COMPETITION 2009 National Youth Ministries Bible Quiz continues to expand National Finals with new ideas and events so that your National Finals experience can be one of the best weeks of the year. So don t lose heart if your team does not advance to National Finals this year. The 2009 One-on-One Competition at the July National Finals is open to any A-league quizzer quizzing with an Assemblies of God district over the Gospel of Mark. 2009 categories that individuals may participate in include the 2009 National One-on-One Tournament, Dramatized Quoting, Preaching category, and the Quoting Bee. For forms and registration information, go to www.biblequiz.com. Student participants must meet the 2008-2009 eligibility requirements outlined on www.biblequiz.com in order to participate. Competition registration with an Assemblies of God district will be confirmed for all students. Questions? Contact Pastor Bernie Elliot at elliotbq@aol.com. Assemblies of God Bible Quiz March/April 2009 Coach s Connection Page 2
2009 NATIONAL FINALS AIM MISSIONS PROJECT July 11, 2009, will be the first-ever Bible Quiz National Finals missions project. Bible Quiz students and sponsors will be working in conjunction with the fire department in St. Louis to install smoke detectors in as many homes as possible in a three hour period. If you and your team will be at National Finals you will want to be part of this amazing outreach. AIM insurance is available to all participants. Complete details and information will be posted at www.biblequiz.com in April. MARK 2009 NATIONAL FINALS SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES There are many sponsorship opportunities available for the 2009 National Finals. If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution to National Finals or to the Bible Quiz Endowment Fund, information and forms are available at www.biblequiz.com. Some contribution opportunities are: $1+ ADDITIONAL OR ANONYMOUS DONATION OF ANY AMOUNT. $25+ BIBLE QUIZ BOOSTERS: Support the National Bible Quiz Scholarship Fund with your gift of $25 or more! Donors will receive recognition in the National Finals program and in a 2009 Coaches Connection e-newsletter. $100 ALUMNI SPONSORSHIP: Former Bible Quizzers show your support to the quizzers at the 2009 National Bible Quiz Finals by participating in the alumni ministry! Assist the Bible Quiz ministry in providing scholarship opportunities for these students that were not available to you as a quizzer. $250 ROOM SPONSORSHIP: Sponsor a room at National Finals and place your family, district, ministry, business, college, organization or product name on the Bible Quiz room sign. Example: (National Finals Artwork) Championship Room P, Sponsored by the Penn-Del District of the Assemblies of God, DYD-Doug Sayers. $500 ADULT QUIZZING SPONSORSHIP: Donors will receive recognition in the National Finals program and in a 2009 Coaches Connection e-newsletter. $500 FEMALE QUIZZER OF THE YEAR SPONSORSHIP: Donors will receive recognition in the National Finals program and in a 2009 Coaches Connection e-newsletter. $500 MALE QUIZZER OF THE YEAR SPONSORSHIP: Donors will receive recognition in the National Finals program and in a 2009 Coaches Connection e-newsletter. $500 SENIOR SHOOT-OUT SPONSORSHIP: Support this category that is for seniors only! All seniors will compete at the same time over a set of questions. One question will be asked per senior competing. Each question will be worth a pre-determined amount of scholarship money. Donors will receive recognition in the National Finals program and in a 2009 Coaches Connection e-newsletter. $500+ THURSDAY NIGHT FELLOWSHIP SPONSORSHIP: Help sponsor the 2009 Thursday Night Fellowship. Donors will receive recognition in the Nationals Finals program and in a 2009 Coaches Connection. Minimum donation of $500. $650 DRAMATIZED QUOTING SPONSORSHIP: Débuted at the 2005 National Finals, the Dramatized Quoting competition is a huge success. Donors will receive recognition in the National Finals program and in a 2009 Coaches Connection e-newsletter. $650 INDIVIDUAL QUIZZING SPONSORSHIP: Support the Individual Quizzing competition. Donors will receive recognition in the National Finals program and in a 2009 Coaches Connection e-newsletter. $650 ONE-ON-ONE QUIZZING SPONSORSHIP: Support this individual category for quizzers from around the country, many of whom have never been to National Finals! Donors will receive recognition in the National Finals program and in a 2009 Coaches Connection e-newsletter. $650 PREACHING MINISTRY SPONSORSHIP: Donors will receive recognition in the National Finals program and in a 2009 Coaches Connection e-newsletter. $650 QUOTING BEE SPONSORSHIP: Support the 2009 Quoting Bee. Sponsor will receive recognition in the National Finals program and a 2009 Coaches Connection. $1000 AWARDS CELEBRATION SPONSORSHIP: Help sponsor the 2009 Awards Celebration ceremony and banquet. Each sponsor will receive a full page black and white ad in the National Finals program, as well as sponsorship recognition in the National Finals program and a Coach's Connection e-newsletter issue. Booth space will be provided all week at National Finals. A three-minute slot will be provided for each sponsor to promote his ministry, business, college, organization or product during the Awards Celebration the highest attended event of the week. $1,200 AWARDS CELEBRATION UPGRADE PACKAGE: In addition to the Awards Celebration sponsorship benefits, a full page color advertisement upgrade in the National Finals program and a 1 4 page color ad in a Coach's Connection e-newsletter are available for an additional $200. $1,000 tax deductible. MARK CHAPTER ANALYSIS CORRECTION Correction: In Mark Chapter 15 there are six geographical locations, not seven. Golgotha and the Place of the Skull are the same location. Assemblies of God Bible Quiz March/April 2009 Coach s Connection Page 3
2009 NATIONAL ADULT BIBLE QUIZ COMPETITION Come be a part of the 2009 Adult Bible Quiz National Finals! Teams from around the country will meet together on Friday, July 17, 2009, to compete for the Adult Bible Quiz national championship in St. Louis, Missouri. Registration fees are as follows: Adult Quiz Early Registration (postmarked by May 11, 2009) $ 75 Adult Quiz Regular Registration (postmarked from May 12-June 12, 2009) $125 Adult Quiz Late Registration (postmarked after June 12, 2009) $175 DIVISIONS ARE AS FOLLOWS: Novice: Writer Bryce Jensen Mark 2-4 104 verses A division consisting of adults who were never teen quizzers or who did not compete at the Regional or National level as a teen quizzer. Veteran: Writer Mark Gilmer Mark 1-6 248 verses A division mostly consisting of former quizzers who have quizzed at the Regional or National level. All persons fitting this criteria are required to compete in this division, although the division is open to any non-regional/national participants who would like to compete. 100% of Adult Quiz registration funds will go to support teen quizzer scholarships at the 2009 National Finals. (Refunds are not available for teams that cannot attend the competition.) If you would like to be a part of this event, information and forms are available at www.biblequiz.com. Assemblies of God Bible Quiz March/April 2009 Coach s Connection Page 4
MARK OFFICIAL COMPETITION PREPARATION SETS River Classic Question Sets for Sale Want the question sets from the 2009 River Classic for yourself? Now you can own them. Purchase 25 A-league sets by Seth Sundell (20 team sets and 5 individual competition sets) for $50 or 25 Novice league sets by Brian Lewis (20 team sets and 5 individual competition sets) for $40. For a package deal, purchase both competition level sets for only $75. To order or for more information contact John Porter at jporter4@us.ibm.com. Tyler Turnage Sets Six-time National Finals quizzer and coach Tyler Turnage has many practice questions available for your Regional and National preparation. Nearly 3,000 concordance questions, organized by category $35 25 regional-level practice sets $20 50 national-level practice sets $35 Packages may be purchased individually for the above prices or all together for $80 (a $10 savings). Written in a similar style to the official question writer, these questions will be a great help for teams preparing for Regional and National competition. For more information or to place an order, contact Tyler Turnage at thepianomanstillreigns@yahoo.com. CORINTHIANS BREAKDOWN AND INFORMATION What an exciting time as we get ready for a new season and fresh books 1 and 2 Corinthians. New products are already available! Start recruiting your students now. For tips on recruiting from coaches around the country, check out Recruiting Quizzers under Coaching Tips at www.biblequiz.com. The breakdown of material for competition will be: A-League Novice League Meet #1 1 Corinthians 1-9 204 verses Meet #1 1 Corinthians 1-6 124 verses Meet #2 1 Corinthians 10-14 151 verses Meet #2 1 Corinthians 7-10 113 verses Meet #3 1 Cor 15-2 Cor 3 141 verses Meet #3 1 Corinthians 11-13 78 verses Meet #4 2 Corinthians 4-13 198 verses Meet #4 1 Corinthians 14-16 122 verses Total: 694 verses Total: 437 verses INTRODUCING CORINTHIANS WRITERS RICHARD ELY & BRIAN LEWIS Announcing the new 2009-2010 Corinthians question writers Richard Ely and Brian Lewis! Richard Ely Starting with the Matthew Bible Quiz season in 2004 and going through 2007, Richard Ely wrote the official questions for Leagues, Districts, Regionals and Nationals. Richard wrote for 25 tournaments prior to being the official question writer. He returns for the 2009-2010 season over Corinthians as the official writer for the A-league. Richard began coaching in 1987 over Hebrews and 1 & 2 Peter and continued to coach at First Assembly of God, Lewisville, TX, until 2000. From 2000-2002 he coached the team from Abundant Life in Grapevine, TX. During his 1987-2002 coaching tenure, Richard coached three teams to National Finals. Welcome back, Richard! Brian Lewis Former National Finals quizzer Brian Lewis follows in the tradition of Aaron Kohler, bringing questions for quizzers, by quizzers. Brian will be the Novice league writer for the books of 1 & 2 Corinthians. He has been writing for tournaments since 2006, and this will be his first season as an official writer. Brian is a Senior at IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University of Indianapolis) studying informatics and will be graduating with a BS this May. While finishing his degree he works part-time at the Division of Biostatistics as a Data Manager Assistant doing web and database development. Brian also has been heavily involved with his church's music ministry since 2004 and currently plays electric guitar on Sundays and Wednesdays. Welcome to the team, Brian! Assemblies of God Bible Quiz March/April 2009 Coach s Connection Page 5
Karl Dawson 100 sets now available for $50 over the Gospel of Mark by Karl Dawson, former National Finals quizzer and coach and author of BQ Coach Blog. Sets are written to help A quizzers master material and to help Novice quizzers develop their skills. A new system was used this year to ensure sets are better organized. All proceeds go to help a new Bible Quiz ministry get started. To order, or for more information, details and samples, visit www.bqcoach.blogspot.com, www.agtbq.com or e-mail Karl at karltdawson@mac.com. Set breakdown includes: 2 sets per chapter (32); 4 sets per A section (16); 4 sets per Novice section (16); 16 sets over Mark 1-10; 20 sets over Mark 1-16. Richard Fair Former National Finals quizzer Richard Fair has 60 sets of questions available for the 2008-2009 season. These questions are a valuable resource for any team needing quality practice sets. Set breakdown includes: 1 set per chapter; 8 sets covering the first four league breakdowns; 3 sets written at League Finals level; 3 sets written at District Finals level; 3 sets written at Regional Finals level; 3 sets written at National Finals level. The price for these sets is $30. Please contact Richard at richardcfair@gmail.com or 417.818.9753. Kevin Dawson Kevin Dawson, former National Finals coach and quizzer with 20 years experience in Bible Quiz, has 100 sets of Mark questions for $40. Practice sets contain two sets per chapter, five per league and 48 comprehensive, including 24 comprehensive sets focusing on concordance. Questions ship via e-mail and can be ordered online by credit card at www.agtbq.com. To pay by check please e-mail kevinraydawson@gmail.com. Kevin is also available to write for tournaments. MONEY DOESN T GROW ON TREES, RIGHT? Assemblies of God Bible Quiz March/April 2009 Coach s Connection Page 6
FINAL REMINDER 2009 MARK MEMORIZATION AWARDS All memorization award forms are due in less than two weeks! Do not miss your deadline! Only the official National & Master Memorization Award form will be accepted. These forms must be postmarked or faxed no later than May 1, 2009. There will be no exceptions for forms that are postmarked or faxed after the deadline. Any nonofficial forms and/or any forms received after the deadline will be returned to the church or coach and an award will not be issued. If you have any questions concerning the 2008-2009 National or Master Memorization Award, please contact the Bible Quiz office by phone at 417.862.2781, x4041 or by email at bq@ag.org. Assemblies of God Bible Quiz March/April 2009 Coach s Connection Page 7