DALLAS – The 2024 Assemblies of God Teen Bible Quiz National Finals concluded with Radiant Life Church of Dublin, Ohio, securing an impressive victory after a week of intense competition at the Hyatt Regency Dallas. This year’s tournament, which focused on the books of Acts and James, saw Radiant Life Church dominate from the outset, clinching the championship title before the final day of competition.
Radiant Life Church’s path to victory was marked by a commanding performance in the preliminary rounds on Monday, where they secured seven consecutive wins, most by substantial margins exceeding 100 points. Progressing to the Championship Division’s main round-robin stage from Tuesday through Thursday, the team continued their strong showing, claiming victory in 16 out of 19 games. This achievement placed them ahead of seasoned contenders like Trinity One from Trinity Church in Cedar Hill, Texas, and Precious Ladies from Braeswood Assembly of God in Houston.
Trinity Church and Braeswood Assembly, both renowned for their longstanding presence in the National Finals, finished tied with 13 wins and six losses each. Following tiebreaker rules, Braeswood Assembly secured second place overall by virtue of their victory over Trinity Church in the round-robin phase.
Radiant Life Church faced some early challenges, including losses to Trinity One and Calvary Church from Naperville, Illinois, led by their formidable “J” team coached by Jolene Papendick Powell. However, their early successes allowed them to maintain a decisive lead throughout the competition, culminating in their inaugural national championship victory.
The fourth-place position in the Championship Division was claimed by Hope Church of Springfield, Missouri, who edged out fifth-place Cedar Park Church of Bothell, Washington, in a tiebreaker. Notably, Radiant Life Church was the only team in their division to achieve an average team score exceeding 200 points per game, finishing with a precise average of 200 points over 19 rounds and a total of 3,800 points.
Individually, Jayden Nimako of Radiant Life Church emerged as the top scorer of the tournament with an impressive total of 2,260 points, averaging 118.9 points per game. Steve Joy from Atlanta Indian Prayer Fellowship in Marietta, Georgia, and Madison Day from Oconto Assembly of God in Wisconsin followed closely, securing second and third place, respectively, in individual scoring.
Bernie Elliot, the National Bible Quiz coordinator, described the tournament’s commencement with a powerful worship service and message delivered by Dr. Robert Eby from the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary. The event featured 40 teams of teenage quizzers from across the nation, initially divided into groups for preliminary rounds, with the top teams advancing to compete in the Championship Division.
In addition to the main competition, the Challenger Division showcased competitive fervor, with First Assembly in Lexington, Kentucky emerging as the victors. Despite narrowly missing the Championship Division, Lexington’s resilient performance secured them the divisional title over Atlanta Indian Prayer Fellowship’s Greatly Beloved team and Trinity Alpha from Cedar Hill, Texas, based on total points scored.
Elliot highlighted the dedication of many quizzers, with 101 participants demonstrating complete memorization of Romans and James, and 39 achieving the Master Memorization award for quoting both books within a strict time limit and minimal errors.
The National Bible Quiz concluded with a poignant ceremony featuring hymns and the awarding of $168,000 in college scholarships. Looking ahead, the 2024-2025 season will shift focus to the book of Acts with adjustments, with finals scheduled to take place in St. Louis.