Young man studies the Bible to learn and to compete

Need to ask a question or want to know something about the Bible? You can start with Jay Mullens, an 11th-grade home-schooler who is a finalist in a international Bible quiz competition and has been studying the Bible for competition since fifth grade.

Jay has been competing in the Christian and Missionary Alliance International Bible Quizzing competition, which is for students in grades three through 12, since 2009.

The year for Bible quizzing starts in August, and since last August Jay has been memorizing Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians. Typically, a book or books from the Bible is studied during the year.

During the competition, quizzers are asked questions that either pertain to the topic of verses or are asked to actually finish the verse from their memory.

After competing against other quizzers in the Georgia region and placing in the top 10, Jay moved on to the South Atlantic District competition in April where the top five quizzers in the district advance to the international competition. Jay finished in fourth place, earning a spot in the international competition to be held July 9-24 in Spokane, Washington.

About a week prior to the competition, Jay will be meeting in North Carolina with the other South Atlantic District winners for a week of practice. From North Carolina, Jay will fly to Washington.

Jay is trying to raise two things for his trip — prayers and funds. In the prayer department, Jay has asked for several specific prayer requests — including prayer for him, his teammates and his coaches. He also requests prayers that he will be able to continue to memorize scripture and that the scripture he has learned will have a lifelong impact.

For those interested in donating toward the $1,200 Jay will need for expenses for his trip to Washington, gifts are tax deductible and checks can be made out to “South Atlantic District Bible Quizzing” with Jay Mullens in the memo line. Checks also can be mailed to the South Atlantic District Office, C&MA, 10801 Johnston Road, Suite 125, Charlotte, NC 28226-4490.

This story was originally published June 12, 2016 at 4:31 PM with the headline "Young man studies the Bible to learn and to compete."