Alabama Baptist students show skills in state Bible Drill

Fifty-four students in grades 7–9 competed for top honors in the state Bible drill May 1 at Taylor Road Baptist Church in Montgomery. Seven senior high students also participated in a state speakers’ tournament. Winners from both events are eligible for scholarships to state Baptist colleges.
  
Taking first place in Bible drill was Russ Stokes of First Baptist Church, Tallassee. Second place winner was Ellen Lawrence of Whitesburg Baptist Church in Huntsville. Third place was a tie between Rebekah Clements, also of Whitesburg Church, and Garrett Gammon of Locust Fork Baptist Church, Friendship Association.
Named first place in the speakers’ tournament was Darby Jernigan, First Baptist Church of Atmore, who spoke on “Love: To Wait or Not to Wait.” Second place went to Tiffany Ford of Rehobeth Baptist Church, Columbia Association, who spoke on the same topic. Mary Carlisle of First, Tallassee, took third place, speaking on “Just Like Jesus.”
   
Jernigan said she chose the subject of love because the typical teenager misunderstands it, especially in light of what one sees on television. “I guess love is something that’s always been close to me,” she said. A high school junior, she is the daughter of Steve and Kimberly Jernigan.
   
Sonya Tucker, an associate in the office of discipleship and family ministries of the Alabama State Board of Missions (SBOM), reported increased participation among churches in the Bible drill throughout last year, particularly at the district level.
   
“I think it’s growing,” Tucker said.
   
Still, she noted that, because of the demands on students’ time, many who participate at lower levels choose not to compete at the district level.
   
Eight students were recognized during the first round for achieving perfect scores. These included Stokes; Gammon; Ellen Lawrence and Paul Henley, Whitesburg; B.J. Prince, Sixth Avenue Baptist Church, Birmingham; Joseph Last, Moulton Baptist Church; Tyler Patterson, Lighthouse Community Church, Harpersville; and Richard Wullschleger, Cottage Hill Baptist Church, Mobile.
   
Bible drill winners are awarded scholarships to Judson College, University of Mobile or Samford University with award amount dependent upon the number of years of participation, from $2,400 up to $3,600. The Baptist Foundation of Alabama partners with the SBOM to provide renewable scholarships for speakers’ tournament winners in amounts of $3,000 or more. 
   
First-place winners in both the Bible drill and the speakers’ tournament are eligible to compete in a national competition to be held June 11 in San Antonio.
   
Erin McLaurin, a ninth grader from Lighthouse Church in Harpersville, participated in the state competition after starting Bible drill last August. “I really like it,” she said. “I like the challenge.”
   
After starting to attend church as a seventh grader, she discovered that Bible drill helped her get ahead in Bible education. “Before I started I didn’t even know all the books of the Bible,” McLaurin said. She is the daughter of Kim and Jeff Cox.
   
This was B.J. Prince’s second year in the Bible drill. A member of Sixth Avenue Baptist Church in Birmingham and the son of Willie and Sandra Prince, he said he enjoyed the speed challenge. “It’s helped me learn God’s Word better,” he said.
   
Although Locust Fork Baptist Church had only a tiny group of students who participated in Bible drill this year, the church produced another winner, continuing a legacy that includes two first-place state champions in a row.