Florida Team Captures National JBQ Festival Title

In a tightly contested Level 1 finals, the Spirit Squad of Haven Worship Center (AG) in Winter Haven, Florida, came away with the 2026 National Junior Bible Quiz (JBQ) Festival title on Saturday.

THE FESTIVAL

Eighty JBQ teams from across the country participated in the three-day national festival held June 11-13 at Word of Life Church in Springfield, Virginia.

JBQ is a program for kids, first through sixth grade, that helps them memorize key facts and Scripture verses from the Bible. Featuring 576 questions of varying difficulty and corresponding points from the Bible Fact-Pak about the Bible, contestants attempt to “buzz in” first to give their answer.

The Spirit Squad (see below for an inside look at the team), after making it through pool play as a top-10 team, went on to lead all 10 Level-1 teams with a 7-2 finals record, edging out the ATC Flames of Atlanta Tamil Church from Norcross, Georgia, and the Keepers of the Command of First at Firewheel from Garland, Texas, who both finished with 6-3 records and second and third place finishes, respectively. Rounding out the top five were ATC Fire, also of Atlanta Tamil Church, followed by Anointed Ones of Atlanta Indian Prayer Fellowship from Marietta, Georgia.

New this year at the festival was an individuals JBQ challenge. According to National JBQ Festival Coordinator Barry Jorris, 85 individuals from the 80 qualifying teams signed up to also compete in the individuals category.

“The individual quizzers quizzed down to the final eight on Thursday,” Jorris explains, “then on Saturday, before we announced all the team winners, those eight kids went up on stage — the first to buzz in and get five answers right would be the winner, but quizzers were limited to getting only two wrong answers.”

Jason Daniel of Atlanta Indian Prayer Fellowship won the inaugural individual event, buzzing in and answering five questions without a mistake. Judah Benito of Cornerstone Faith Ministries came in second, and David Sepke of First at Firewheel and Jeremiah Klco of Painesville (Ohio) AG tied for third. 

The overall top scorer for the festival was Jeremiah Helgerson of New Life AG in Sparta, Wisconsin, who averaged 120.75 points per match. He was followed by Jethro Gaspard of Hopedale Bible Quiz in Mendon, Massachusetts, with a 118.25-point average; Samuel Jia of Living Water Bible Church in San Diego with a 114.05-point average; Jeremiah Klco of Painesville AG also averaging 114.05 points; and Finnegan McGee of Gracehouse church in Whiteland, Indiana, with a 110-point average.

For additional statistics, all JBQ team pool play, level, and individual results can be viewed on the Bible Quiz website’s JBQ national results page.

BEYOND QUIZZING

The National JBQ Festival is more than just quizzing. In addition to the coming together of those of like faith, there’s also a coming together of like minds — those passionate about their faith and the Word of God.

“Pastor Dan Dangerfield of Minot, North Dakota, was our opening speaker and led the Friday-afternoon service on the Holy Spirit,” Jorris says. “In that service we saw numerous kids filled with the Holy Spirit and many more drawing closer to God. We also presented to 99 sixth graders, who are in their last year of JBQ eligibility, a Revive Bible that includes thumb tabs to the Romans Road — Scripture passages for sharing the gospel with friends.”

Jorris adds that pastor John Morgan and the Word of Life Church did an outstanding job hosting this year’s festival, even securing a special deal for JBQ participants and guests to tour the Bible Museum in nearby Washington, D.C.

The dates for the 2027 National JBQ Festival will be June 10-12. However, the location is still being determined. Jorris says to watch the National JBQ Festival website and social media posts for a site announcement later this year.

NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

When Haven Worship Center launched its JBQ ministry five years ago, neither the coaches nor the quizzers knew how soon one of their teams would stand atop national rankings.

When the Spirit Squad, a team of six quizzers composed of third through sixth graders, captured the National Junior Bible Quiz Festival title, it marked an exciting milestone for the students and their church family who had invested greatly in their discipleship throughout the year.

The championship team included Kynlee Hayes, Abigail Soriano Batista, Quinyell Alston, Manuel Baez, Misael Soriano Batista, and Braylynn Behrens, as well as coaches Laura Horton, Reannah Horton, and Nikki Hayes.

Horton was also among the original leaders who helped establish the ministry at Haven Worship Center.

“We started JBQ here five years ago and every year they have gotten a little better. To see them finally become national champions has been incredible,” Horton says.

The road to the championship required more than memorizing Bible facts, though. Horton says one of the team’s greatest challenges was learning how to function as a unit.

“They had to learn that success wasn’t about individual recognition; it was about working together,” she explains. “None of them made the Top 10 individually. They were sharing points as a team and working together like we’d taught them.”

The championship represents years of growth for both the students and the church’s JBQ ministry. Currently, Haven Worship Center has five JBQ teams and two Teen Bible Quiz teams with 32 quizzers in the program in total.

JBQ DISCIPLESHIP

Jeff Connor, Haven Worship Center’s lead pastor, says the church’s commitment to discipleship has made programs like JBQ a natural fit with the established culture. Founded in 1991, Haven Worship Center began in a converted taco restaurant and has grown into a thriving congregation averaging approximately 4,000 attendees across its five weekend services.

“JBQ is one of the strongest discipleship tools we have,” says Connor.

Horton agrees, noting that the impact extends far beyond the competition.

“JBQ teaches kids how to study God’s Word, but it also teaches them how to apply it when they’re stressed, discouraged, or facing challenges,” she states. “Even after a few early losses at nationals, we talked to the kids about coming back from hard losses in life and it turned into a great discipleship moment. They took it to heart, and it paid off for them.”

Lessons such as these are taking root in the lives of Haven Worship Center’s quizzers and life-changing transformations are taking place.

JBQ APPLICATION

Horton says that the victory was particularly meaningful for her on a personal level. Horton has been involved with JBQ for 21 years, starting in third grade as a quizzer at Victory Church in Lakeland, Florida. When she got too old to continue on in JBQ, she volunteered her time officiating at events and eventually coaching teams of her own.

As a child, she says JBQ helped her transform from a shy student into a bold Christian who was capable of defending her faith and answering tough questions.

“JBQ gave me confidence and taught me how to answer questions about what I believe and why I believe it,” she says.

One high school experience cemented that lesson. Horton remembers a teacher who frequently challenged her faith. By the end of the school year, however, his perspective had changed because of how she responded to his pushback.

“On the last day of class, he told me he respected me and respected Christians because I could explain what I believed,” she says.

Today, Horton sees the same transformation occurring in the lives of the children she coaches.

During a recent Southeast Regional event, three of the students responded to salvation invitations. And for Connor and Horton, that is a reward far greater than trophies.

“JBQ echoes what pastor Jeff says all the time,” says Horton. “Give us one year of your life and you’ll never be the same.” She states that he also talks about the “15-minutes-a-day” strategy, a concept the JBQ program reinforces.

“Pastor Jeff encourages people to spend five minutes in worship, five minutes in prayer, and five minutes in the Word every day to begin building a foundation of discipline in life,” says Horton. “And in JBQ, we teach them how to study Scripture, but more importantly, they see God begin to transform their lives.”

The national championship may be the latest achievement for the Spirit Squad, but church leaders believe its greatest victory is helping children build a lifelong foundation in God’s Word and be discipled in ways that will forever change the trajectory of their lives.