Book 66 drives across Florida

Sept. 21, 2007

JACKSONVILLE (FBC)—“Book 66” is taking Florida by storm. With a fresh look and approach, the newly-themed and redesigned Bible Drill materials are fast becoming an important discipleship tool in many of the state’s churches.

With a theme highlighting the number of books in the Bible and inspired by the Bible verse John 17:17, Book 66 seeks to “lead children, youth and adults to worship by learning His word,” said Gary Nichols, associate in the Florida Baptist Convention’s Discipleship and Family Department.

Bible Drills are a competition in which participants are challenged to memorize Bible verses and locate them in a set amount of time. These competitions extend to state and national levels which are held annually in the Spring.

Since the introduction of the Book 66 theme, the Discipleship and Family Department has received an above average number of requests from churches for Bible Drill workshops. “People are making the connection between God’s word and life with Book 66. They associate the theme with adventure, journey and destination,” said Nichols.

New resources for discipleship through Bible Drills have been developed along with the new theme. One such resource is Bible Skills, Drills and Thrills, a program of lessons, games and activities based on the Children’s Bible Drill verses.

Through the help of the video website UTube, many churches are taking the Book 66 theme to a new level. Congregations are creating their own videos, some for promotion and others for demonstration, to educate the public about Bible Drills. Covenant Community Church in Sanford created a Book 66 music video to the tune of “Route 66,” sung by Nat King Cole, and posted it on UTube.

Everyday 100 million videos are viewed on UTube, enabling the Biblically-centered message of Book 66 to reach a wider audience. “This is one way to communicate some good news in a medium that is mostly used for less than redemptive purposes,” said Nichols.

For the first time, adults are taking the Bible Drill challenge. “We wanted to make Bible Drills a family affair,” said Nichols. “Adults who participate in Bible Drills can be an encouragement to children, youth and high school drillers.”

Bible Drills are used as a method to teach children and youth Bible memory skills. Children’s Bible Drill, Youth Bible Drill and High School Bible Drill focus on verses that teach doctrine and salvation Bible verses. Youth Speakers Tournament teach youth skills in verbalizing their faith and using the Bible in all of life’s situations. Adult Bible Drill pulls verses from all of the Drill categories, connecting them to the younger participants.

Adult Bible Drill does not have State level competitions like the other Bible Drills. Instead, churches and associations are free to design their own events. Some churches have created College Bible Drill, while others have Bible Drill Family Feud games or adult Sunday School classes compete against one another.

“A church, a family or just one child can participate in Bible Drills with the one necessary resource: the Bible. Nothing else is needed,” said Nichols. “Every church needs to be intentional about making disciples and Bible Drill an easy way to accomplish that mission.”

For more information on Book 66 go online to www.flbaptist.org/bibledrills.