​In Nazarene-style Teen Bible Quizzing, a quiz match is composed of five different question types, randomly distributed over twenty questions.  The number and type of questions differ slightly between a single- and multiple-book Bible Quiz season:

​As you can see, the General questions make up the majority of the game.  However, it is unlikely that every quizzer will memorize the entire scripture in order for the team to answer all 11 of these questions.
 
In most sports, having players on a team with different talents is essential in order to not be weak in any one aspect of the game.  Babe Ruth may hit 4 home runs in a game, but the Yankees will still lose if their defense gives up 5 runs.  Similarly, if none of your quizzers commit to learning the memory verses, you are only participating in 85% of each match.  In 1 Corinthians 12:12-20, Paul says:

If you are considering quizzing or practicing from remote locations due to a pandemic, inclement weather, or supervolcano, I am pleased to report that technology exists to make it at least possible. Of course it is not as easy, accurate, or satisfying as an in-person quiz meet. But if you want to maintain continuity or momentum of your quiz ministry, I recommend giving this a try.

​In my previous post I highlighted a method of using the video conference software Zoom to quiz pioneered by a group of Youth Bible Quiz leaders to complete their 2020-21 season. Using that as a template, I looked for other methods of "buzzing in" remotely that were much more consistent and reliable to ensure the legitimacy of the results. If the quizzers don't trust the system, they will soon lose interest and their competitive mindset. What I found was an extremely simple system called BuzzIn.Live. Here is how it works and compares to the other method of using the Zoom chat to "buzz in":

​As we anticipate the 2020-21 Teen Bible Quiz season for Matthew, we have many questions due to the COVID-19 virus pandemic:

• Will we be able to meet and function normally by September?
• How can we protect quizzers who will be within 6 feet of others quizzers for 20 minutes at a time?
• Even if we find ways to follow CDC Guidelines at a quiz meet, would people feel comfortable traveling together and gathering in classrooms?
• Would students return to quizzing if we decide to skip this season? We really don't want to lose this powerful discipleship tool in our ministry arsenal and the momentum we’ve built over the past several years.

 
As a leader for an essential business that has stayed open during this pandemic, I have been challenged to find ways to eliminate close-contact situations for my employees when possible and to protect them when it is not. And the truth is some answers change from one day to the next. Similarly, in order to keep Teen Quizzing going we have to be ready for anything.

​Given the positive responses from fellow math aficionados regarding my last post which introduced the Advanced Quizzer Rating, I decided to push my luck with one more technical article. Plus, many who have downloaded the revised Naz Quiz Scoresheet have asked “what do all these new numbers mean?” So, consider this post your instruction manual as we navigate through each tab and explain the changes.

Before you read any further, I want to warn you that this blog post contains a significant amount of algebraic equations applied to Teen Bible Quizzing explained in excruciating detail. Well, it may be excruciating to you but not to me. I’m actually pretty excited with the result. So, if you are brave – or just curious – please read on.

Though we all use a Quizzer’s average points per game to determine individual placement at the conclusion of a quiz meet, it does not tell the whole story. Say, for example, that Diane and Bruce both finish a 10-game tournament tied for 10th place with a 40 average. Bruce averaged 1 Error per game while Diane had 2 Errors per game. So, Bruce gets the medal for 10th place. However, what we do not consider is that Bruce missed all 10 of his Bonus opportunities while Diane answered all 10 of hers. Also, Bruce’s 1 Error each game happened after Question 15, costing his team 10 points each time. Also, every error turned into 10 points for the opposing team when they correctly answered the Bonus. Diane was more careful and did not error after question 15 in any game. Only one of Diane’s two errors each game resulted in Bonus points for the opposing team. Looking at the net points contributed to their respective teams, Bruce averaged 20 points per game while Diane averaged 40.
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Though the details of this scenario are fictional, something similar does happen at every quiz meet. So it seems odd to me that the only statistics that we really track are team wins, individual averages, and individual errors. While I understand why we do not include points from Bonuses as part of an individual’s average, there are so many more events that happen during each match that contribute to the final score: cumulative team errors, error-outs, perfect game bonuses, and errors after question 15 to name just a few. It would be as if the NFL only tracked each team’s wins, total yards per game for each offensive player, and turnovers. 

My family and I love to play board, card, and dice games. There is at least one game on my Christmas list every year. Though we all enjoy the bonding time and delicious snacks, it seems to me that my family has the most fun when they team up against me. While I prefer strategic games like Settlers of Catan, Risk, and Ticket to Ride, my wife enjoys simpler games like Mexican Train Dominos and Yahtzee. And when we play cooperative games like Pandemic or Escape Room the Game, I am often amazed by our genuine selflessness and impressed by our collective ingenuity to solve the challenges of the game.

It is not surprising then that I fell in love with Teen Bible Quizzing. In addition to the Bible study, disciple-making, and spiritual growth this ministry offers, the game appeals to my fondness for strategy and teamwork.

Yet at times home study or team practices can get routine or even boring. And if you are bored, you are not learning. To keep everyone engaged, it is good to add a little variety every now and again.
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With the goal of making reviewing at home and team practices fun and engaging, playing Tribute: The Youth Bible Quiz Board Game just might do the trick (assuming, of course, you enjoy board games as much as I do). Now you can review at home without it feeling like you are studying. Or play it during a team practice to keep practices from getting stale. In addition, the beauty of this game is that it is different every time you play. The types of questions are in a different order every game and you decide in advance from which chapter or chapters you want questions asked. There are 2 versions available: physical game board or a print-your-own version.
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While some of the board games I like to play are so complicated that they take hours to learn, this game is so simple that you can learn how to play almost faster than you can set it up.

​Though this topic was recommended to me by a subscriber to this blog, I am writing it as much as a reminder to myself as I am writing it to share with all of you.
 
After our November quiz, the weekends get very busy. First up is Thanksgiving. A week later, my District participates in the St. Louis Top 10 quiz tournament. Not too long after that is Christmas followed one week later by New Year’s Day. So, like many of you, our District does not have a December quiz. For our small District, the St. Louis Top 10 quiz is our December quiz. But as God continues to bless our ministry, we continue to grow in numbers. So much so in fact that for the first time ever we will have more teens not quizzing at the St. Louis tournament than those who will be quizzing.

Having been involved with Teen Bible Quizzing for two decades now *shudder*, I thought I had a firm understanding of the fundamental structure and shifting trends within this wonderful ministry.

But what I have since discovered is that - for some things – I simply didn’t know that I didn’t know. 

Earlier this year, I invited subscribers to this blog to participate in a survey about their local Bible Quizzing ministry. As an amateur statistician, even I knew this would not be a scientific study and it would have a large margin of error. Of the estimated 3,000 Teen Bible Quizzers and Quiz Leaders in the U.S., my sampling method would only capture those Quizzers and Quiz Leaders who are subscribers of this blog.

“So, what is the margin of error?”, your inner geek asks. “16%”, my inner geek replies. But I wasn't necessarily looking for precision of values. Rather, I was looking for patterns of evidence.

​Here are the results to the survey questions and how they either fundamentally changed or affirmed my assumptions:

I love Amazon. One of the biggest perks of any online store is that you get to shop from the cozy comfort of your own home while wearing pajamas. And besides being able to compare prices without burning a tank of gas and wasting your day, have you ever noticed that Amazon uses “frustration-free” packaging? That means no impenetrable hard plastic clamshell cases or M.C. Escher-esque wire ties, and a lot less – if any – chances of being one of the nearly 6,000 people who go to the emergency room annually for an injury inflicted by the razor-sharp shards of packing material. Additionally, the majority of Amazon orders are shipped in corrugated containers that contain 43% recycled materials and are 100% recyclable. So, in effect, I am helping the environment by ordering from Amazon!
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But while Amazon takes this whole “shopping from home” thing to a whole new level by offering everything from toilet paper to video games, coffee, adult Madagascar hissing cockroaches and more, they fall short with resources for Teen Bible Quizzing.

​The NPH Youth Bible Quizzing app for iOS and Android is back! Covering the Gospel of Luke, the app returns with all of your favorite features:

• Memory Verses: Listed in verse order and alphabetical order; pre-jumps highlighted
• Study Questions: Thousands of questions! Study by Chapter or by Question Type
• Team Practice Questions: Question sets organized by Chapter and by Groups of Chapters
• Scripture Portion: Memory verses highlighted, includes footnotes
• Coaching & Quizzing Guides: Study method for new quizzers, Team Practice ideas for coaches, Quiz Material recommendations, Official Rule Book
• Live updates: As errors or inconsistencies are found in the questions or scripture, corrections can be pushed immediately to your device. No need for you to update the app!

While these returning features alone are worth the price of the app, this year’s YBQ app includes 5 amazing new features. As we go through each one, I’ll share my thoughts regarding how to get the most out of them: