CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Members of the New Life Church Junior Bible Quizzing Team — from left to right, Ella Reed, Urijah Romero, Averly Romero, Javier Gomez and Makenna Reed — are currently raising money to attend the national competition in Branson, Mo. from July 18-23.

A group of dedicated youngsters from New Life Church in Marshalltown — Ella Reed, Urijah Romero, Averly Romero, Javier Gomez and Makenna Reed — have been hard at work learning their Bibles from front to back and testing their abilities at various competitions since last October under the leadership of their coach, Gloria Casillas. Now, they’re actively working to take their talents to the next level and raise the necessary funds for a trip to the North American Junior Bible Quizzing Tournament (NAJBQT) in Branson, Mo. from July 18-23.

On Tuesday night, they helped out at Culver’s as part of a tip night, and they’ve also been present at the downtown farmer’s market with plans to hold a pancake breakfast and sell lemon shake-up drinks on Saturday morning. The ultimate objective is to raise $5,000.

Casillas told the T-R the church hadn’t had a team in several years, and Michelle Reed — the wife of pastor Rushton Reed and mother of Ella Reed — suggested the idea of reassembling one.

“So we asked some of the parents around, and we got kids involved. And It just went from there. We got all of our material. We started practicing with one another. The kids had five scriptures they had to learn a week at the beginning, so they were learning them, and we had different strategies on how we were learning them,” Casillas said.

Competitions started in January, and since then, they’ve attended one every month, winning first place at most of them. In addition to the special events and sales at the church, the team is seeking sponsorships from local businesses. Gomez, who will be entering second grade in the fall, loves the challenge of learning verses, and fifth-grader to be Makenna Reed enjoys the chance to travel to different places, acquire souvenirs and make new friends through the process.

“Even at church when (Rushton) is preaching, he’ll quote them, and they get really excited. They’re very passionate. They had to endure some hard moments with doing it, but they do love it. And they love the word,” Casillas said.

Ella Reed loves getting to meet the other teams, and all of the team members hope they can raise the necessary funds to take the trip to nationals. According to Michelle Reed, all of the kids were super excited about joining the team.

“I say a lot that I think Bible quizzing is one of the toughest sports out there. I mean, these kids learn 120 to 160 scriptures by memorization,” she said. “Every scripture that they memorize is getting them a little closer to the Lord. It’s teaching them a little bit more about who Jesus is, and it’s just strengthening their faith. So it’s fun to watch them compete. It’s fun to watch them compete. It’s fun to watch them memorize scriptures, but more importantly, it’s just fun to watch them grow closer to God.”

The quizzing consists of a wide variety of questions from moderators in reference to the scriptures the competitors have memorized. Making it to nationals has been a major goal from the get go, and Michelle is optimistic that they and the Lord will find a way to get them there.

“What is fun and what the kids know is that, yes, we’re gonna go compete, but we get to go and we get to have fun also,” she said. “So we get to celebrate all of their hard work, and we get to go to Dixie Stampede and some other fun events that are there in Branson. They’ve worked hard, and they deserve it. So we’re excited for them.”

For anyone unable to attend one of the special fundraising events, donations can be made by check or cash to New Life Church, 2101 S. 1st Ave, Marshalltown, IA 50158 or securely online at https://buy.stripe.com/6oU00i3O78C8czBblwbfO05.

Contact Robert Maharry at (641) 753-6611 ext. 255 or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.