Opening a New Door to Bible Fun and Learning

For decades Junior Bible Quiz (JBQ) and the Bible Fact-Pak have been a powerful combination that have encouraged and enhanced the memorization and learning of Scripture for kids.

But what if kids aren’t sure about quizzing, the church only has a few children, other churches in the area have JBQ teams you can’t compete against, or you really just want to have fun while kids learn Scripture?

“We understand that each church has its own unique challenges,” says Mark Entzminger, AG Children’s Ministries senior director, “and let’s face it, sitting behind a buzzer and never having a chance to buzz in is not fun. So that’s why we’ve come up with some fun family- and church-friendly ways to take games kids already love and integrate the Bible Fact-Pak for an advantage.”

Entzminger explains that Kids Ministries is creating ways to make learning and knowing the answers to Bible Fact-Pak questions a benefit in games kids already play.

“For example, in the game of UNO®, an adaptation is when players get hit with ‘Draw Two,’ cards, they can draw a Bible Fact-Pak card,” Entzminger says. “If they get the answer to the Bible Fact-Pak card right, they don’t have to draw two cards.”

For a church/activity setting, the game of dodgeball can be modified so that when a player gets hit and is out, he or she can go to the sideline, correctly answer a Bible Fact-Pak question, and then is eligible to get back into the game.

“In this way, kids are having fun and learning Scripture, all without having a buzzer system,” Entzminger says. “This places the emphasis on fun, which is a powerful incentive to learn.”

Over the past few months, there have been numerous upgrades done to enhance Junior Bible Quiz and the Bible Fact-Pak — from an updated logo and a new, easier-to-use website to new promo videos (see JBQ tab) and a “BIBLESTRONG” hashtag connected to JBQ.

And recently, Dan Dangerfield, an AG minister, has created 10 new original games that use the Bible Fact-Pak as a part of the fun.

“We’re posting the adaptations as well as the new games as part of our blogs on the National JBQ website,” states Sam Reaves, Children’s Ministries communications strategist. “We already have about a dozen game ideas out there, and we’ll be posting more as time goes on.”

Another “well-kept secret” that’s tied with the Bible Fact-Pak is the Bible Master Award program, where people of any age can participate. There are several levels, all of which require answering a certain number of randomly selected Bible Fact-Pak questions, with the difficulty increasing at each level.

“Anyone who achieves the Bible Master level has their name and date of the accomplishment added to our online listing of award achievers, which dates back to 1977,” Entzminger adds.

Entzminger explains that while kids are having fun as they learn Scripture, it also, if the church desires, helps prepare kids to participate on a Junior Bible Quiz team. Playing these fun games with Bible Fact-Pak adaptations at home and for short periods of time at church over the course of a year makes the transition to Junior Bible Quiz easier and not so intimidating to kids.

For more information about the new opportunities to integrate the Bible Fact-Pak into everyday family and large-group games, see the KidMin website and scroll down to “Articles” or click here and do a search for "Bible Fact-Pak Advantage."