The Amazing Bible Race FAQ
Running the Race
1. What are the dates for the official race?
The official race runs from September 1, 2007 to September 30, 2009. The race kicks off at Youth 2007 (www.youth2007.org), a gathering of thousands of youth from around the world in Greensboro, North Carolina, July 11-15, 2007. At Youth 2007, youth will be immersed in the Amazing Bible Race experience and will have the opportunity to study the Bible in teams, compete against other teams by completing quizzes and contests for points, and earn valuable prizes.
A second official race runs from March 1, 2008 to March 31, 2010.
2. Why should I run the official race and not just race on my own with my church’s youth group?
Running the official race will give you and your team a richer experience as you compete against other youth around the world. Your youth leader will register the teams from your youth group online. Your team will have a special place on the official website (www.amazingbiblerace.com) for a profile. Here you can upload team information, such as photos, a mascot, and a motto. You can view other teams’ point standings and how your team is lining up against the competition. You can issue race challenges to other teams. There’s also a place for you to keep a blog. The race ends September 30, 2009. In October 2009, the top ten point getters will receive a donation of $500 to the mission organization of their choice or toward their youth missions organization.
The second official race ends on March 31, 2010. Prizes will be awarded (as described above) in April 2010.
Following the race’s official end, print materials will still be available on Cokesbury.com and the website will be operational so that teams may run the race on their own timetable. After the official race concludes, however, the race will not be centrally monitored or administered and no further prizes will be awarded.
3. Can I run the race on my own with my youth group, beginning our Race before September 1, 2007 (or March 1, 2008, for the second race)?
Sure. The Amazing Bible Race is designed flexibly so that you and your group may begin the Race at any time and follow with successive Legs on your own schedule. (Depending on your schedule, you may not be eligible for the $500 prize awarded in October 2009 or April 2010.) Also, you will want to plan your Race according to the following proposed publishing schedule of the Legs (as print pieces are published, the Web components will also be available):
Leg 1: published May 2007Leg 2: published November 2007
Leg 3: published March 2008
Leg 4: publishes May 2008
Leg 5: publishes August 2008
Leg 6: publishes January 2009
4. Can I begin the race before or after September 1, 2007 (or March 1, 2008) and still be in the running for the $500 prize?
Sure. Flexibility has been built into the reading schedule so that players can read ahead or catch up with readings. Five readings are scheduled for each week, so two days of the week may be used for extra reading. Players may always take quizzes that they have missed, although each player may only take each quiz twice. Quizzes will only be "unlocked" for play according to the official race schedule; in other words, you cannot take quizzes ahead of time.
Any teams who begin the Race a few weeks to a few months after September 1, 2007 (or March 1, 2008, for the second race), should have no problem catching up to their peers who started on the first day. If a team begins nine months to one year late, then it's possible—though somewhat inconceivable—that the team could catch up to the official race and still have a shot at the $500 prize.
The race runs from September 1, 2007 to September 30, 2009. A second official race will run March 1, 2008 to March 31, 2010.
5. Will I complete a quiz each day?
Not necessarily. The race is designed so that you will log on to the website each day and have something to read or complete online. For example, some days may have one or two daily quizzes or a daily quiz and a Weekly Challenge. The numbers and types of online activities will vary.
6. How do individuals and teams earn points?
- Daily Bible readings: Up to 50 points per team per day for reading assigned Bible passages and corresponding Runner’s Reader pages. The Race Director ensures each student has completed the daily readings.
- Weekly reading bonus: 50 points per team if all students read all assigned Bible passages and Runner’s Reader pages each week (points awarded at the Race Director's discretion).
- Hurdles: Up to 500 bonus points per team based on student participation and accuracy
- Weekly challenge: 150 points per team
- Fast-forwards: 500 points per team
- Extra points: Occasionally, the United Methodist Publishing House youth ministry team will award bonus points to teams based on exceptional innovation and creativity as teams share their fast-forward projects, promotional ideas, and other online activity.
7. Why do I need Internet access to your website, www.amazingbiblerace.com? How often will the Race participants and the Race Director access the website?
AmazingBibleRace.com is the hub of group interaction during the race. Teams will go to the website multiple times a week to take online Bible quizzes, solve puzzles, upload photos or video (for which you give final approval) of their group in action, and check their point standings. Teams will have profile pages and can choose a team icon, team photo, and team name. You’ll manage all of your teams on your very own admin page.
8. How much Bible reading is involved in running the Amazing Bible Race? Do I have to read the Bible every day?
The Amazing Bible Race guides participants through reading the Scripture five days a week. Most days require two to three chapters of Bible reading per day. Weekend days do not have assigned readings, so participants may use those days to catch up or read ahead.
9. Can I use Amazing Bible Race in my youth Sunday school class?
Amazing Bible Race is not designed as a Sunday school curriculum. Sunday school teachers can certainly administer the race and serve as race directors. Sunday school (and youth group) are great times also to encourage the youth, but the main emphasis of the Amazing Bible Race is on personal reading and individual quiz-taking. Team members support one another, aid in the Weekly Challenges, and complete Fast Forwards together. The curriculum does not include help for teaching a Sunday school lesson. However, that said, creative teachers can use it in Sunday school. Sunday school teachers can be great champions for getting their youth involved and staying on track.
Sunday school teachers may want to use one or two Sundays to get the race going and then use maybe ten minutes of Sunday school time to cheer the teams on. However, part of the power of Amazing Bible Race is that youth develop habits of reading the Bible regularly on their own. Because each team needs to include an adult, Sunday school teachers do not have to be the only encouragers!
10. What if kids miss some of the daily puzzles or just don't do them? Would that hurt the team score?
Yes, they will hurt the team score. But knowing that, youth can encourage each other. The weekly commitment is only about twenty minutes a day for five days. It’s possible to catch up if a team member misses a day. The team may collaborate on the Weekly Challenges. The team does the Fast Forwards together, but those are not every week.
11. I notice that some teams have only adult members. Are they eligible to win the $500 prize?
No. Adult-only teams are encouraged to run the race, but only those teams comprised of more youth than adults are eligible to win the $500 prize.
Race Terminology
12. What’s a Race Leg?
One leg of the race is 12 weeks long. Six total legs make up the entire race. Students read through the Bible as follows:
Leg 1: Genesis through Deuteronomy
Leg 2: Joshua through Esther
Leg 3: Job through Solomon
Leg 4: Isaiah through Malachi
Leg 5: Matthew through Acts
Leg 6: Romans through Revelation
13. Why do the daily quizzes have tricky answers and why do they ask about seemingly unimportant details, like putting Adam’s descendants in order?
The daily quizzes aren’t meant to be tricky or worthless. The primary goal of completing the quizzes correctly (and the overall goal of the Amazing Bible Race, in general) is to encourage youth to READ THEIR BIBLES! Deeper theological themes, interpretive perspectives, contextual facts, life application skills, and reflective tools are presented through the individual’s use of the Runner’s Reader and interaction with his or her teammates and youth leader during the Race.
Race administrators will also include timely updates to the race site with posts of interesting and relevant news items, facts, and cultural references. These updates will further emphasize the Bible’s importance in the lives of youth in the 21st century.
We acknowledge that some of the quizzes “test” minute, seemingly irrelevant details of the text. We, however, think it’s a lot more fun to take a quiz while reading through the list of Adam’s descendants than becoming dizzy and “vegging” out once you’ve read past the first three names. We also maintain that, while our ultimate goal is seeing youth live out biblical truths, we must first get them to actually read the Scripture. We trust that the Holy Spirit will use these little quizzes covering the often-overlooked aspects of God’s Word to work an “a-ha” moment in the hearts of youth.
14. What’s the Runner’s Reader?
The Runner’s Reader is the student book for the Race, a travel journal for each participant. The Runner’s Reader is divided into five daily readings per week. The Runner’s Reader features summaries of the Scripture passages, reflection questions, printed prayers, definitions and explanations of words and phrases from the Scripture, and instructions for the Weekly Challenges, Fast Forwards, and Hurdles.15. What’s the Race Director’s Guide?
The Race Director’s Guide CD-ROM contains everything you need to start your Race. The CD-ROM has a Director’s Guide, Kick-Off party outline, art and logos for publicity, handouts, Finish Line party outline, and a promotional DVD. Most importantly, your CD-ROM has your web registration for all that amazingbiblerace.com offers your group.
16. What’s the Weekly Challenge?
The Weekly Challenge is printed in the Runner’s Reader for each week. Each reader will hunt through the Scriptures for answers to the questions. Each reader will complete an online quiz about the Weekly Challenge for 150 points per team. Each team member must log onto the website at www.amazingbiblerace.com and successfully complete the Weekly Challenge quiz individually in order for the entire team to earn the 150 points. Team members are encouraged to work together to find the answers for the Weekly Challenge quizzes before taking the quizzes individually.
17. What’s a Fast Forward?
Fast Forwards are printed throughout the Runner’s Reader and give teams the opportunity to apply their learning to life experiences or contemporary situations. Teams complete activities outlined in a Fast Forward and journal about, photograph, or videotape the activity. Teams will be able to upload their pictures and video to the Amazing Bible Race website. Teams will receive 500 points per each Fast Forward completed and documented.
18. What’s a Hurdle?
Hurdles are printed throughout the Runner’s Reader. They tell the reader to visit the Amazing Bible Race website to find extra help for hard passages. Hurdles offer passage summaries, contextual information, and quizzes to aid the reader. Successfully completing a Hurdle quiz gives the student 50 bonus points.
19. What’s a Pace Pusher?
Pace Pushers are printed throughout the Runner’s Reader and offer additional biblical insight into the day’s passage. Pace Pushers may refer the reader to other Scriptures that expand on the day’s passage.
20. What’s a Road Block?
Road Blocks are printed throughout the Runner’s Reader and offer additional biblical interpretation and contextual insight into confusing passages.
21. What’s a Water Break?
Water Breaks are printed throughout the Runner’s Reader and occur at natural breaks in the Race, such as finishing the reading of a book of the Bible. Water Breaks give the reader an idea of how much he or she has read thus far and offer encouragement to keep reading.
22. What’s a Racing Tip?
Racing Tips are interesting facts printed throughout the Runner’s Reader. Racing Tips offer special contextual insight to the day’s Bible passage.
23. What are Trailblazers?
Trailblazers are printed on each day. Think of this feature as the “main characters” of the day’s Bible passage. In the Trailblazers’ list, you’ll find descriptions of the persons, their relation to others in the passage, and their significance to the day’s passage.
24. What are Road Signs?
Road Signs are printed throughout the Runner’s Reader. They feature a list of important words and phrases in the day’s Bible passage. You’ll find pronunciation guides as well as definitions and explanations of key words and phrases.
