Kids and parents crowd into an auditorium on November 16 in the mountains of Western North Carolina. The overhead lights dim. Footlights illuminate the stage. Kids count down with joyful shouts: “Three, two, ONE!”
Five kids take the stage and stand in the spotlight: Viaan Oggi, Joah Moore, Faith Pentimone, Matthew Lee, and Julie Pan. These finalists have spent months memorizing more than 500 Bible verses. They’re about to find out who knows the passages best.
The Bible Bee began in 2009. Since then, thousands of kids have joined in the Bible memorization contest each year.
Joah Moore, from Brentwood, Tennessee, is a first timer at the annual Bible Bee. “Being on this Bible Bee journey has been a dream come true that I didn’t see coming,” he tells the contest monitors. Joah didn’t even know about the Bible Bee until May when his parents noticed his gift for memorizing scripture and nudged him to compete.
Now Joah looks straight ahead and repeats a long passage of scripture. The audience sits in silence, awed not just by his memory but also by the beautiful words he recites. “Wow,” he says under his breath as he finishes and the audience applauds.
Julie Pan of Austin, Texas, recites in the center of a spotlight. She then gives advice to those aspiring to win their first Bee: “Nothing is impossible with God. It won’t always come at the beginning, but eventually your brain will grow.”
Faith Pentimone recites with her head down and eyes closed, as if she can see the words written in her brain. The kids in Faith’s large family from Conway, Arizona, have a long history with the Bee. Matthew Lee of Cranbury, New Jersey, races onto the stage and recites with all his might, seemingly as quickly as he can. “I want to be done reciting,” he jokes.
The pressure builds as the competition moves between buzzer rounds and recitation rounds. Each contestant demonstrates excellent memory and delivery. But nobody can catch Viaan Oggi. The 11-year-old from San Jose, California, won the Primary-level finals two years ago. Just before taking first place, he stands calmly in a suit vest and white collar, hands in his pockets, gazing forward. He repeats Isaiah 11 word by word: “He will give decisions for the poor of the Earth. . . . Righteousness will be His belt, and faithfulness the sash around His waist . . .”
Viaan’s family joins him on stage to celebrate his big win—which comes with a prize of $25,000. His mom says “it’s a win-win” for all the contestants because each has memorized God’s word. His dad says he hopes Viaan will stay humble. And Viaan? “I feel pretty good about most things right now,” he smiles. And he offers some wisdom for future prize winners: “Put it in the bank, and do not spend it on gum!”
