Psalm 119:11—“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” (KJV)
Memorization has somehow earned the distinction of being boring, uninteresting, and undesirable in today's world. As an alternative, modern conventional wisdom often offers students activities or discussions that appeal to the student’s own wisdom or desires. However, such an approach may teach something that caring teachers do not intend: what if, by catering to a student’s wisdom or desires, students are taught to value their own passions above learning God’s Word? Shouldn’t we consider the question of whether a student-centered approach is the most effective? Is it possible that students are thus acculturated into valuing their own experience and reason when they consider questions about God's truth? After being taught to effectively "listen to their hearts," will young adults look first to God’s Word rather than their own reason and emotion when they encounter real questions and real problems in the world?
In contrast, learning by memorization is by definition dependent on an outside authority for information. On a basic level, it trains the student to look outside of their own fallible human reason for truth. As an added benefit, teaching by requiring memorization is effective for solidifying pieces of information in the mind, the very thing that children excel at early in their development (language and vocabulary acquisition being some of the most profound examples). Though the purpose of rote methods is not recreation or interest, memorization can be quite enjoyable with the right tools. In fact, it can sometimes be more enjoyable than the more common classroom setting since it meets students with methods that they are already employing! Most importantly, memorization implants God’s Word into students’ memories for ready access to deal with whatever situation comes their way. Psalm 119:11 makes it clear that committing God’s Word to memory has a profound application... the ability to resist sin: “Thy Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
Why? Knowledge First, Understanding Later
The goal of the Equip Phase in Bible Quest™ is for students to have mastery of the material, NOT for them to comprehend its meaning. This may seem like a strange concept. After all, how can a person learn something if they don’t understand it? But most people have ready examples in their own childhood of this concept being put to good use.
One common example is counting from one to ten. Children learn to count to ten (perhaps even with their fingers) without fully grasping the interrelations between the numbers and how they can be manipulated to gain other results. Indeed, it would be foolish to teach applied mathematics without the child first knowing the numbers themselves.
A second common example from childhood are the ABC’s. Children do not first learn to read or write and then learn their alphabet. They begin with the most basic part of the learning process: knowledge.
Numbers and the ABC’s are both specifically learned in a certain order. This means that some of the understanding of how the numbers are related is taught implicitly at the same time that the names of the letters and numbers are taught. However, the clearer meaning of those relationships (greater than, less than, alphabetical ordering, etc.) are not taught until the child masters the basic knowledge of all of the ordered pieces. In the same way, some of the relationships in the Biblical concepts—characters, places, and so on—are imbedded in the fabric of the Bible Quest content, but in such a way that they can be used later to impart understanding.
Why? Valuing God's Word over Human Reason
It seems an obvious practice to teach numbers and letters before teaching how they relate, but it is very common for teachers to present very small children with broad theological lessons when the students have little or no basic knowledge in the Bible for context. Teachers (using published material or content of their own) rely on activities and reasoned arguments to bring the students to an understanding that the teacher wants the students to have about a particular part of the Bible. For example, a teacher might present examples of the damage of sin (which is a very true reality) and then argue that the child ought not sin so that they don’t get damaged or damage others. While the intent of such a lesson is very good, on some level the teacher has relied on the child's own reason for establishing Biblical concepts, not on Scripture itself. When a child that is trained to rely on their own reason grows up and they encounter a problem, will they turn to God's Word or their own reason? The teacher has taught them to value human reason rather than what God says, albeit unintentionally. Is it really all that surprising when these same students rely on flawed human reasoning as adults?
There is nothing wrong with human reason when it is applied correctly, of course, but human reason must be a support to our understanding of God and His world, not as the foundation of our understanding. 1 Corinthians 1:25 - “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (KJV)” Start with God’s Word and build Godly wisdom from there—placing God’s Word as the foundation of human thinking correctly orders both human thinking and human priorities.
How? The Equip Phase
The Equip Phase in Bible Quest applies to any age group, but the most profound influence from it will be seen in younger students, from very young children up through about age 10 to 12. We decided to ask and answer five big questions about each of the 80 weeks presented in Bible Quest: “Who?,” “What?,” “When?,” “Where?,” and “Why?” The first four questions are answered by direct Scripture and supporting factual information. As students are asked each big question about the subject matter, they will also learn to answer each one with a specific, concise, verbatim answer. An excellent Equip Phase can take about thirty minutes once a week, followed by fifteen minutes a day each day for the rest of the week. This repetition builds mastery of the material.
The “Why?” section is provided as a special resource for parents and mentors so that they are better prepared to answer difficult questions that could come up. The “Why?” helps explain the concept to the parent and give them further avenues of study.* The “Why?” section can also be used as devotional materials for the families in your congregation, or as excellent discussion fodder for conversations in the next phase in the Bible Quest process, the Empower Phase.
The Equip Phase is your opportunity to help your students master verbatim Biblical content. Every student learns differently, so mentors and parents can maximize their learning environment by including active, visual, and audio elements in their memorization activities. If you like to use actions and song, have a student demonstrate each action as it comes or post a picture of the action on a wall. If you like to have kids writing down and decorating a verse, perhaps have a verse song playing in the background. Maximize your learning environment!
An Overview of the week’s lesson
The Equip Phase is found on the left-hand side of any Bible Quest two-page spread and focuses on memory work; the answers to the four basic questions will be the material that you will have your student memorize. The most important questions are the “Who?” and the “What?” so if you feel overwhelmed, start with just those two. Bible Quest is designed to be revisited more than once to ensure total mastery, so more information can be added when your student goes over it again later.
Remember, the “Why?” section is for the mentor, to help them in answering any questions that come up and is not intended to be taught directly to the student. The ‘Bringing it All Together’ section on the second page of each week’s material can help you understand how all of the material fits together.
Familiarize Yourself with the Equip Phase Content
If you're a newcomer, it's a good idea to rehearse the memory content be sure that you are prepared to teach each part of the Equip Phase.
Listen to the Bible Quest verse song (the "What?") for the current week. Each song is designed to help you know how to sing each verse according to the melody given. Most of the songs will be familiar tunes. This is intentional, so that even young children can easily pick them up and retain them.
Find your week's card from the Bible Quest Review Card Game. All of the key word statements about the “Who?” are found on the lesson's corresponding card and each statement is backed up with specific Scripture (these are listed in the curriculum book). Additionally, there are general Scripture passages for each week. Ideally, parents and mentors could read these to better understand the context of the person or people they will be talking about, but this is not strictly necessary for beginners or younger students that will not be using the Empower Phase. If students will be using the Empower Phase, having parents and mentors read these passages is strongly encouraged.
Look over the map for the week to be ready for the "Where?". The page number for each week's map is listed in the "Where?" section and may be reproduced for personal use. Be aware of where the location for the week is and how that location relates to the territories around it geographically.
Finally, look at the historical time frame for the week’s material, answered by the “When?” question. The Big Bible Story Song corresponds with the Bible Quest timeline posters. Be aware of when your specific lesson’s material took place in relation to other points on the timeline. The “Time Note” for each week’s “When?” is optional, providing extra information for more advanced students. The primary goal for younger students and beginners should simply be to know approximately when the events of the week occurred and be able to point to that area on the timeline or identify when they occurred in the Big Bible Story Song.
Teach the Memory Content
First, begin by asking the question prompt above the “What?” (the Bible verse for the week), then play the song for your student. If you like, you can add actions to the song (these are totally up to you, but they are very helpful to kids and beginners!). Alternatively, more advanced or older students can help make the actions to help them remember! Repeat the song over and over until the student can recite (or sing) it when you ask the prompt question (the “What does the Bible say about…” question given above the verse). Seven times is a good target number, but more is even better.
Next, teach the student the “Who?” sentences verbatim. You may choose to use actions for those as well, or you may want to show them the corresponding card from the Bible Quest Review Card Game. Each sentence has key words that are in bold. One way to use these is to say the whole sentence without one of the key words. For instance, one sentence might be, “God is Father, Son, and… what?” The student would answer “Holy Spirit!” Do not do this exercise until the student has had a chance to hear the sentences a few times, first! Many of the sentences will be difficult for beginners to answer if more than one key word is removed at a time, but older students may find the challenge fun.
After teaching the "Who?", show the student the “Where?” on the appropriate map in the back of this book. Ask the prompt question a few times and have the student point to the location until they have it. It is also helpful to show where the location is on a world map or globe for context.
Then, sing the Big Bible Story Song with your student. Make up actions to the song if you like, or feel free to use the ones from our website. Tell your student when this week’s material takes place in the song, or have them memorize the time note.
Finally, review the material over and over! Make trivia games, review map locations, and play Bible Quest songs or sing the songs yourself many, many times so that the student (and everyone else around you!) masters the information! If you are leading a group and parents are not in the classroom with you, help them to know how to review the material at home. Review resources can be found in the form of all memorized content in list format and in review games in each Bible Quest curriculum book.
Congratulations on completing your first Equip Phase! In future Equip Phase sessions, be sure to include review material from previous weeks in your review time. Be encouraged that preparation becomes much easier as you gain confidence as a Bible Quest teacher; see our article series on how simple the process can be here. If you need some help getting started with Bible Quest, we have several introductory videos and resources on our website!
* - While great care has been taken in answering ’Why?” questions in Bible Quest, the answers written there are the author’s best attempts and should NOT be viewed as a final authority on the matter. If you have a question about the doctrine contained there, be noble-minded like a Berean (Acts 17:11) and do some of your own research in God’s Word. If you think a “Why?” answer is in error, please write us! A list of "Why?" topics is found in each Bible Quest curriculum book for easy reference.
Please note: This preparation guide gives specific, step-by-step instructions, but Bible Quest has many more options available for parents and mentors to individualize and maximize discipleship with their students. Preparation may vary if other options or methods are employed to help students memorize.
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