In February the Cadillac Mighty Oaks Pathfinder Club, (a youth program similar to Scouts) successfully completed the first qualifying round Bible knowledge competition for northern Michigan in Traverse City.  On March 7, the local club has two completing teams who are advancing to the next level which is a statewide meeting. 

The event is called the Pathfinder Bible Experience, or simply known as P.B.E.  It is a North American-wide team effort to see which team has the most knowledge of the Bible. 

Each team/club starts by testing with other teams in their geographical area. The Pathfinder Club works as a team to memorize passages of the Bible. This year, they are testing on the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, Hosea, Amos, and Micah. When they test, they huddle in a group and answer all 90 questions as a group. Each question can be worth one or more points. It is a total recall test, so there is no multiple choice. The teams that complete the testing with at least 90% of the questions correct then move on to the next level--the State level. 

This takes place in the center of Michigan at the Cedar Lake Seventh-day Adventist Church near Edmore. A similar test will take place, and then those that qualify for the next level will move on to the regional state level. Pathfinder Clubs from Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Eastern Minnesota will all compete in Berrien Springs at the Pioneer Memorial Church on the campus of Andrews University. Another test then takes place, and those that qualify will move on to the testing for the North American Division in Washington.

P.B.E. was started in the late 1980s by Terry Dodge, Pathfinder Director for the Rocky Mountain Conference of Seventh-day Adventists at the time. (Dodge later became the Pathfinder Director of the Michigan Conference.) Originally known as “Bible Bowl”, P.B.E.’s name and format has changed several times during the past 30 years. It’s benefits and purpose remains the same though. “A hidden benefit of Pathfinder Bible Experience is teamwork. Each pathfinder has his or her assigned chapters memorized.  When the questions are asked, the team gets the point for a correct question. Thus, each team member must rely on each other to uphold the team,” says Craig Harris, the current Pathfinder Director for Michigan. “School grades have increased across the board from the memorization if scripture, without one exception!” Harris exclaimed.

We asked how P.B.E. has impacted several Cadillac Club Pathfinders participants. The results were exceedingly positive.  “P.B.E. has helped me grow closer to God and get a deeper understanding of Him through the group studies.” says Moriah Vogler. Another Pathfinder said, “PBE has helped me want to read the Bible more in my private life instead of skipping my personal devotional on occasion. PBE has made me excited to study the Bible again. It has definitely changed the way I view studying the Bible.”

Not only does P.B.E. impact the kids positively, it also helps the adults too. “Watching the kids’ study and memorize multiple chapters in the Bible has been such a blessing and a real inspiration for me.” says Kristi Schwartz, one of the P.B.E teachers.