Teach Your Child How to Navigate Their Bible with a Bible Drill

Bible literacy rates are falling. According to gallup.com fewer than one in four Christians read their Bible with any kind of regularity. As a pastor, the number one reason I hear for why people don't use their Bible's is due to a lack of understanding how to navigate their Bible. Bible Drills are a good way to teach anyone of any age how to use their Bible and how to find the books of the Bible. Use this guide to get started.

1. Find a good Bible. A good bible is key when doing Bible drills. You will need a Bible that has a sturdy cover, and fairly thick pages with medium to large print. If your bible is stiff work it back and forth to loosen it up. When performing a Bible Drills competition make sure that all students competing have the same exact bible with no markings.

2. Teach your student how to learn the table of contents. Doing this first gives your student the ability to find the smallest of books in the Bible. This may be a slow method for a student to find a passage, but knowing how to use the table of contents insures they will never be out of a Bible drills call.

3. Establish a call sequence. I always make sure to have my students place their left palm on the front cover, and their right palm on the back cover with the pages up. A call can begin in any way you choose, but I choose the Ready, Present Bible, call passage, Search method. Passages called should include the book, chapter, and verse. Once your student learns the rhythm you use as a call they will anticipate when they can begin to open their bible. Make sure when doing bible drills that your student knows the appropriate time to start. Most often this is done as soon as the call is finished.

4. Begin by teaching your student the two main parts of the Bible. During your first Bible drills session it is important for your student to know the difference in the Old Testament, and the New Testament. Make sure and end the Bible drills session by calling about 20 passages of Old Testament books, and 20 passages of New Testament books.

5. Use the first, middle, and last approach. The second session of Bible drills should teach your student about the first book of the Bible. Genesis is the beginning, so it makes sense to start here. Take this opportunity to explain what the book of Genesis is about. The second book they need to know is the book of Psalms. Psalms is most easily found by having your student place their fingers on the middle portion of the pages. Often when a Bible falls open to the middle, it will open to Psalms. Finally, teach them about the last book of the bible Revelation. After teaching them these books your student will be able to distinguish the first, middle, and last book of the Bible. Perform a series of about 20 calls and encourage a race between two students, or see if your student can beat the clock. Use small gifts such as gum, candy, or tickets for prizes as motivation to keep going.

6. Now that you have the Old Testament differentiated from the New Testament, and the first, middle, and last books of the bible learned, you should now begin Bible drills with groups of books. Some groups that are easy to learn are the 4 Gospels, The Pentateuch, The Wisdom Books, The Minor Prophets, The Major Prophets, and the New Testament Epistles or Letters. If your student can find these major sections, they are well on their way to learning how to use their Bibles.

If you are unsure of what the major sections of the Bible are then you need to make sure and ask your Pastor, or someone else with good knowledge of the Bible. If he is anything like me, he will be overjoyed that someone wants to learn more about their bible.