RMCNews with Sue Nelson – Denver, Colorado … The 2022 Pathfinder Bible Experience (PBE) competition kicked off January 29 at the Fort Collins Adventist Church, with nine RMC Pathfinder clubs vying for a spot so that they can advance to the Mid-America Union competition on February 19.

The annual event is similar to a Bible Bowl where teams study and memorize a book of the Bible. This year, Pathfinders are studying 1 Kings.

Nine teams were reduced to five after the first event on January 29. They returned a week later to compete for two spots in the Mid-America Union Conference PBE. Those two spots were secured by Aurora Las Aguilas and Loveland Cougars teams, who competed for first place in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Competing in the PBE is deeper than just another competition, explains Aurora Las Aguilas team captain Clemente Martinez Jr. “We feel like the main focus of this experience isn’t just the competition itself or the amount of studying that each one of us do. It’s all about learning that certain stories and experiences that the people of God went through [can be] used by us as examples of how we should live our lives, and to reflect on the power that God has shown throughout the Bible.”

Martinez Jr. explained the process the Aurora Las Aguilas Pathfinders use to memorize Scripture. “We always have one method to study for PBE, and that is to memorize the majority, if not all of the chapters. We ask ourselves questions like how, when, where, and why of every chapter. Every question that is presented to us, we analyze before answering because sometimes there are simple ones and sometimes, confusing ones. Analyzing has proved to give good results.”

The two RMC teams competed against 17 other teams to secure one of the four spots in order to advance to the North America Division PBE on April 22 and 23.

The Aurora Las Aguilas came in first and are looking forward to the NAD competition.

Reflecting on the 2022 experience, Lonnie Nelson, Mid-America Union Conference PBE coordinator, said, “We added 13 new job positions utilizing more staff from each conference than ever before. This year was a team effort that was enjoyable to be a part of. My hat goes off to all leaders and staff at all levels for helping PBE run smoothly.”

–Sue Nelson is RMC Pathfinder Co-Coordinator; photos by Tim Floyd, Kansas-Nebraska Conference youth director