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Bible quizzing program takes off in India
DELHI, India – A Bible quiz team of four young adults from eastern Pennsylvania helped launch a Bible quizzing program at a school run by a partner of Eastern Mennonite Missions in north India.
Team leader Jason Ranck, from Parkesburg, Pa., explained that 99 percent of the school’s 450 students come from Hindu or Sikh background. [full story link] Open evangelization in the region is not possible, but the local community welcomes the Christian school and the services it provides.
“We used the Gospel of John, chapters 1-3, as our quiz material,” Ranck explained. “It was a wonderful opportunity to share the gospel in the context of quizzing.”
When the team, which also included Ranck’s sister Marla, Jeremiah Lapp of Gap, and Jerusha Dyson of Philadelphia, arrived at the school on Tuesday morning, January 16, they began setting up for the quizzing program in an open dirt field. A cow from a bordering rice paddy placidly observed the action as the team tried out their battery-operated quiz lights, ideal for this primitive setting.
After an explanation and a demonstration quiz, each of the 12 teams organized by the school had a chance to practice quizzing.
“It was obvious that some had studied and knew the material, but others hadn’t even looked at it,” Ranck said. “We left the school that afternoon with many questions, but asking for God’s help.”
The tournament began the next day with five rounds of quizzing that took all day. “It was a good day, and we kept praying that God would bring the message of the gospel into the hearts of the students,” Ranck said.
When the playoffs and finals took place on Thursday it was obvious that many of the Indian quizzers had really taken the team’s encouragement to study and memorize the material. Excitement and school spirit ran high. The whole school turned out for the semifinals and finals. Some of the matches were not decided until the very last question.
“We rejoiced in God doing more than we asked or even imagined,” Ranck said. “Continue to pray for these children and for the community. God is at work, and there is a spiritual harvest beginning in the region.”
Long-term EMM workers in north India, who asked not to be named for security reasons, invited the team and coordinated their visit. The EMM workers had been involved in Bible quizzing for 26 years in the U.S. before moving to India last year.
-Jewel Showalter
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