Children's Bible Drill at Morningside Baptist Church is for children in grades 4-6 (other churches may have extended grade Bible Drill). There are three cycles that the children rotate through during their three year stay in Bible Drill. Each year a set of 25 verses and 10 Key Passages is studied and memorized. At the end of the Bible Drill year, the children compete in a Bible Drill at the church level. Those children who score at least 12 out of a possible 24 points will advance to the Associational Drill. Those in the Associational Drill who score at least 16 out of 24 points will move on to the State Drill for their region. All children at the state drill who attain at least 20 out of 24 points receive recognition as state Bible Drill winners.
There are four basic drill calls:
*Books of the Bible Drill - the child must find the book that is called out by the leader within 10 seconds. They must be able to name the book before, the book called, and the book after the one called. For example, if "Joshua" is called, the child must find the book of Joshua, place his finger on any verse in the book of Joshua, and step forward. If called, he would say, "Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges."
*Key Passages Drill - the child must find the Key Passage that is called out and place their finger on any verse in the passage within 10 seconds. If called upon, they would state the Key Passage title and give the reference. The caller would then ask them to read a verse from the Key Passage.
*Completion Drill - a Bible is not used for the Completion Drill. The underlined portion of the verses is called out by the caller. The child has 10 seconds to step forward. If called upon, they must give the complete verse, including the underlined portion, plus state the reference.
*Reference Drill - a Bible is not used for the Reference Drill. The caller gives the reference for the verse. The child has 10 seconds to step forward and to be prepared to quote the entire verse, including the reference.
If at any time the child steps forward and realizes that he did not have the correct verse or reference, he raises his hand to indicate a wrong answer (even if he is not called upon to answer).
If the caller asks the child to read a portion of the Key Passage that is not on the page he has turned to, the child asks the caller for permission to turn the page.
For an actual Bible Drill, there are 6 calls in each of the 4 types of drills listed above for a total of 24 calls.
Scoring:
There are three judges at each level of participation. The totals of the three judges are averaged to determine the child’s score.
Judges mark on a score sheet. Only one mistake may be scored for a participant on a single call. Mistakes are:
-Child fails to step out within 10 seconds.
-Child gives incorrect response. This includes any child who raises his/her hand, indicating error.
-Child fails to stand straight or keep eyes on the drill caller until the command “start” is given.
-When the Bible is used, the child steps forward before the index finger is on the correct response.
-Child fails to handle the Bible according to instructions or obviously misuses the Bible. The Bible should be held parallel to the floor with one hand flat on the top and one hand flat on the bottom with no fingers extending over the edges.