After a year without Bible Drill, popular ministry comes roaring back

By Tony Martin
Associate Editor

The final tournaments of the 2021 Bible Drill season were held at Parkway Church, Clinton, on April 24, the culmination of a year full of challenges for churches and drillers.

Angie Boydstun, consultant in the Discipleship/Sunday School Department of the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board, noted the Bible Drill ministry was revived for 2021 after a missed year during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We faced the same challenges that churches were facing, when they found a way to have church,” she said. “That was our theme; we just needed to find a way. Churches were doing Bible Drill outside, and to be honest we considered that for state drills.

“We had to consider spaces in churches. We had to go in larger spaces than we did in the past. We had to have drills in worship centers, fellowship halls, and other places. We had the crowd issue… Some churches did the drills in ‘waves’ or ‘groups,’ to accommodate the crowds. We had to figure out a way to [accommodate people].”

It was important that observers not be left out completely. “We had to figure out a way to limit it as much as possible,” Boydstun continued. “This was the least popular thing we did, but we know it was something we needed to do. Churches found a way to have Bible Drills, and we wanted to do the same thing.

“We were one of the few state conventions that decided to have Bible Drills this go-around. We knew we didn’t want to miss it for another year.” The state had the same number of sites for drills this year as in previous years. Sites included:

— First Church, Starkville.

— Emmanuel Church, Grenada.

— Harrisburg Church, Tupelo.

— First Church, McComb.

— Petal Harvey Church, Petal.

— Brandon Church, Brandon.

— First Church, Batesville.

— Poplar Springs Drive Church, Meridian.

— First Church, Clinton.

— Hillcrest Church, New Albany.

— Parkway Church, Clinton.

“We chose not to eliminate any sites,” Boydstun said. “That helped us because we knew our crowds would be down and the volunteer base would be down.

“Our volunteers — judges, callers, and others — well, we couldn’t have done this without them,” Boydstun pointed out. “They stepped up and were a part of Bible Drill. Kids won scholarships this year which they would not have been able to do, had we not done Bible Drill.

“Kids learned Scriptures that hopefully will be with them forever, and that couldn’t have happened if churches hadn’t held Bible Drills.”

Nine Year Scholarship Winners

— First Place: Vickie Parks — First Church, Clinton (Metro Association).

— Second Place: Katelynn Blackwell — Silver Creek Church, McComb (Pike Association).

— Third Place: Jake Ables — Pinelake Church, Brandon (Rankin Association).

— Fourth Place: Jeanna Winbourne — First Church, Jackson (Metro Association).

High School Selection Tournament (Grades 10-12)

— First Place: Samantha Stokes — Lighthouse Mission Church, Greenville (Washington Association).

— Second Place: Katelynn Blackwell — Silver Creek Church, McComb (Pike Association).

— Third Place: Lottie Ann Stokes, Lighthouse Mission Church, Greenville (Washington Association).

Middle School Selection Tournament (Grades 6-9)

— First Place: Autumn Cochran — Longview Point Church, Hernando (X-Tended Missions Network)

— Second Place: Carley Mitchell, Ephesus Church, Forest (Scott Association).

— Third Place: Chandler Leach, Hickory Ridge Church, Florence (Rankin Association).

Each participant in the church, association, or state drill is awarded a participation certificate if he/she does not already have one. Certificates will hold six seals, with one awarded each year to designate the highest level of achievement for that year.

Ribbons are given to first year drillers in children’s and student bible drills. Medallions are awarded to those drillers who have completed three years in Children’s Bible Drills at State Drills.

Plaques are awarded to drillers who have completed their fourth year of the Student Bible Drill, not counting participation as children. These plaques have the participant’s name engraved and have interchangeable plates for the number of years that the student is involved.

As he/she completes the fifth and sixth year, the replaceable plates are given to the student at the State Drill.

Scholarships are awarded to the winners of the Nine-Year Scholarship Tournament by the three institutions of higher learning affiliated with the Mississippi Baptist Convention, with the exception of the Participation Award.

Blue Mountain College – Blue Mountain

— First Place: $7,000 scholarship renewable on an annual basis for up to four years.

— Second Place: $2,500 scholarship renewable on an annual basis for up to four years.

— Third Place: $2,500 scholarship renewable on an annual basis for up to four years.

— Participation Award (for nine-year participants): $200-$500 one-time award.

Mississippi College – Clinton

— First Place: Four-year room and board scholarship.

— Second Place: Four-year room scholarship.

— Third Place: Four-year room scholarship.

— Fourth Place: Four-year room scholarship.

— Nine-Year Participation Award: $500 one-time award.

William Carey University – Hattiesburg

— First Place: $6,000 scholarship renewable on an annual basis for up to four years.

— Second Place: $3,000 scholarship renewable on an annual basis for up to four years

— Third Place: $3,000 scholarship renewable on an annual basis for up to four years.

— Nine-Year Participation Award: $500 one-time award.

High School Scholarships (Grades 10-12)

Note: One-time award good for any college or university the student chooses to attend.

— First Place Winner: $500 scholarship.

— Second Place Winner: $300 scholarship.

— Third Place Winner: $200 scholarship

The Bible Drill ministry in Mississippi is supported by gifts to the Lord through the Mississippi Cooperative Program. For more information on the Bible Drill ministry, contact Angie Boydstun at aboydstun@mbcb.org. Telephone: (601) 292-3294.