I'm kind of a reality TV show junkie. I started by watching "The Real World" on MTV, back in the day and today I try to watch as many as I can. From "Survivor" and "Project Runway", to "Top Chef" and "Hell's Kitchen," I I love them all. But my all time favorite reality TV show is "The Amazing Race."
For those of you who have not seen this show, let me tell you a little bit about it. 12 teams of two race around the world together and check in at Pit stops along the way. During each leg there are a variety of challenges that each of the teams must complete. The last team to check in on each leg is eliminated until one team remains as the winner. The two reasons this is my favorite reality TV show are because of all the interesting places around the world that they visit and the fact that it's about the team that can complete the challenge is the fastest, not about the "backstabbing" drama of other reality shows.
Abington Press has seized on the same idea of "The Amazing Race" and produced a Christian education program entitled "The Amazing Bible Race." Like the show, this curriculum is divided into "Legs" (6 in all that are 12 weeks long). And while you don't travel around the world to exotic locations, you do race through the entire Bible reading it from cover to cover. So here's how it works. Each group signs up a team (larger churches can have multiple teams.) Participants in the race earn points for completing daily Bible readings, a weekly reading bonus, weekly challenges and participating in quizzes which they call "Hurdles." There is usually a weekly team meeting to see how everyone is doing which can meet during your youth fellowship time or a youth Sunday school or Bible study.
There are some interesting components to this curriculum including web-based quizzes, the ability to upload pictures and have messages sent between the team members. This program is perhaps the most comprehensive biblical reading program out there for youth.
I encourage you to check it out and see how you could use it in your youth ministry program. There are options in how to use this material, including,doing one leg for a 12 week intensive Bible study, or selecting daily readings and quizzes to develop into a retreat. If you are a church who is a member of the Susquehanna Conference of the United Methodist Church in Central and Northeastern PA, you can preview copies of each leg from our resource center, Discovery Place or check out their website at www.amazingbiblerace.com.
Good luck, and don"t be the last team to arrive, because you may be eliminated
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