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By MADISON MATHEWS
Johnson City Press Staff Writer
Since joining the Bible Bowl team at his church in Winston-Salem, N.C., four years ago, 17-year-old Alex Morrison said his attitude toward life has completely turned around. When first starting out, his knowledge of the Bible was limited to just a few people — namely Adam, Eve and Jesus — but Morrison now is able to recite complete texts while also applying the Bible’s various lessons to his life.
“I really see what life is more about now, cause I’m more focused on what really matters in life,” the teenage Bible Bowler said Tuesday.
Morrison is in the band and plays tennis at
his high school, but he considers Bible Bowl to be the activity in which he has the most fun.
Morrison joined a group of students from across the country to compete in the 28th annual Bible Bowl tournament held at Milligan College. About 20 churches spent several days at the school during the tournament, which wraps up today.
The tournament at Milligan is one of the many tournaments held across the country leading up to the National Bible Bowl tournament during the first week of July in Ohio.
Each tournament focuses on certain texts from the Bible and features questions regarding people, places and the reciting of entire passages. This year’s questions were taken from the book of Genesis.
This was Morrison’s third year competing at Milligan, a venue that most Bible Bowlers say always serves as nice practice for the intense rounds at the national level.
“You see most of the top competitive teams who usually take the top 16 places in the national tournament and the competition is always very good and everyone really challenges each person’s knowledge of what they’ve studied,” Morrison said.
Studying for Bible Bowl is a year-round event. With most of the students buzzing in before the question has finished being asked, it’s safe to say these Bible Bowlers know their text inside and out.
Sixteen-year-old Kristin Jensen of Dayspring Christian Church in Fort Collins, Colo., said the most important thing when it comes to studying is memorization, which is a skill that can be applied to more than just Bible Bowl.
“The way we memorize I have used to memorize speeches in school or help me study for other tests, so it’s very helpful throughout life,” she said.
Jensen has been involved with Bible Bowl since she was in third grade. She said Milligan’s tournament is her favorite of those she participates in.
“My favorite thing about Bible Bowl is that you can communicate with other great kids from all across the country. I have best friends that live in completely different states that I would not have met without Bible Bowl, so it’s a great way to meet new people and also study the word of God in a fun atmosphere,” she said.
Through the tournament, students can be awarded scholarships from both Milligan College and the North American Christian Convention.
“It’s definitely a motivating factor knowing that you can get part of your college paid for just by doing well at these tournaments,” Jensen said.