In the 1970’s, a high school student named Bruce Rocke became active in quizzing at his church. More than 40 years later, Bruce oversees FEC quizzing, a job that he has had since 1995, impacting generations of young people. Recently, over 200 students gathered at Pine Hills Church to compete.
On Saturday, May 8, 27 teams from 13 different churches competed in the third and final quiz event of the year. The day began with round-robin quizzing until the top eight teams emerged. This year’s focus was the gospel of Matthew, and each question challenged a team to finish a verse and give the correct chapter and verse reference for it (within five verses). This year’s junior high champions came from Highland Gospel Community, Fort Wayne, IN, and the second place team came from Berne Evangelical Church, Berne, IN. The senior high champions came from Dewey Community Church, Champagne, IL, and the second place team came from Cornerstone Baptist Church, Morton, IL.
Pastor Bruce Rocke estimates that nearly 5000 students may have been involved in quizzing since the 1950’s. “Our churches are full of adults who know God’s word well because of quizzing.” He recalls hearing from one quiz team coach that a young girl on his team participated one year and didn’t seem to learn much. After high school, she left the church and turned away from God. Years later, she returned to the church and said, “There’s one thing that I could never throw out. It was the scripture that I hid in my heart from quizzing.”
