Needing a break from the crowds and noise of last year’s National Convention in Raleigh, North Carolina, I slipped quietly into the back of a dimly lit ballroom. For 15 minutes, I listened to an elementary student quote impressive portions of Scripture. She listed the books of the Bible (by their division) then quoted a psalm, the Great Commission, the Romans Road passages, and 1 Corinthians 13. No hesitation. No doubt. The young competitor spoke clearly and confidently, likely unaware these powerful passages would travel with her throughout life and help determine her future.
The moment took me back to Anaheim, California, in 1983, and my own first experience in CTS competitive activities, an annual part of the Vertical Three Conference. The roots of the conference date to the Free Will Baptist League established during the early years of the National Association. The League held its first nationwide conference for youth in 1948 in Nashville, Tennessee, and began to sponsor activities and events at conventions that followed. In the mid-1960s, the newly organized CTS (Church Training Service) department introduced Bible Sword Drill and Declamation competition, soon adding the Bible Memorization, Bible Bowl, and Bible Tic Tac Toe categories.
The first “National Youth Conference” was described in the 1968 Contact magazine report on the Oklahoma City convention, and the Music and Arts Festival began in 1972 (just like me), expanding the existing competitive activities to include a broader range of categories, all designed to develop the talents of young people for Christian service.
CTS had a profound impact on my discipleship growth, both spiritually and practically. Spiritually, CTS sent me into the Word again and again, pushing me past “the basics” of the Bible toward a more complex understanding of God’s story.
Practically, I participated every year from third grade (1983) through my junior year of college. I competed in most categories: Scripture memory, art, writing, drama, singing alone and with groups, piano, sword drill, and Bible Tic Tac Toe. This broad experience set the stage for my current wide range of ministry responsibilities. Amazingly, many activities I first encountered in CTS are mirrored in my daily tasks at age 51. Training and traveling with YET (both as a student and later as the national youth coordinator) taught me a great deal about the diversity of the denomination,
the power of worship to bring Christians together, and the importance of humility when working side-by-side with other believers through long, hard days.
It may sound strange, but I am also grateful CTS competition taught me I didn’t have to “win” to be successful in God’s service. Over 13 years and nearly 200 entries, I only won at the national level a single time — my final entry as a college junior. I didn’t realize each “disappointment” in competition was preparing me for a ministry filled with moments where I would win some, lose some, and occasionally fall flat on my face. I am glad CTS taught me to handle “failure” early and to trust God with results, even when my best efforts didn’t seem to be enough.
Today, of course, I look back and understand the results of competition mattered little, but the Bible and ministry knowledge I acquired over those years changed my life forever.
Enthusiastic applause brought me back to the moment, as the relieved young lady offered the audience an enormous, dimpled smile, breathed a visible sigh of relief, and skipped from the stage.
I couldn’t help but smile.
Another generation equipped “for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12).
About the Columnist:Eric K. Thomsen is managing editor of ONE Magazine.
