Thirty-seven Southern Union Pathfinder teams gathered at the River Oaks Campground in Orangeburg, South Carolina on March 23 to test their knowledge of Joshua and Judges at the Southern Union Pathfinder Bible Experience (PBE).
The anticipation of the event was palpable as Pathfinders fixed their uniforms to perfection and participated in last minute studying. The studying, however, was not cramming; for some teams, it marked a year-long study of these books.
“We’ve been studying for about a whole year, maybe more,” said Nayari, Springhill Spanish PBE member.
For Daniel, a member of the Birmingham Highrisers Gideon’s 300 PBE team, PBE holds a special appeal: “I like PBE because it challenges me and it’s good to study God’s word.”
Greg Taylor, Southern Union youth director, said PBE is a good way to learn about God, and that no time studying the Bible is wasted.
“The promises they remember now they will know the rest of their lives, and they will come to them when they need it most,” said Taylor.
Nearpod Implementation
For the first time at the Southern Union level, participants used a Nearpod system to answer the questions.
Normally, the PBE floor is a bustle of activity with runners giving written answers to judges. This year, however, the Southern Union used a Nearpod system to more efficiently receive and judge answers.
Each team used a laptop located at their table to view and answer the questions. The teams also wrote down their answers in case of any technical issues. The Southern Union IT team was present to help resolve any technical challenges.
Taylor said the Southern Union Youth Department is excited for this new process, which is used at North American Division (NAD) PBE level testing.
“We were thinking we could best prepare them for [the NAD level] if we do it first at the Southern Union,” said Taylor.
Teams Advancing to NAD Level
The following 24 teams received first place and will have the opportunity to participate in the NAD PBE Finals in Greeley, Colorado on April 19-20, 2024.
- Raleigh Navigators the Warriors (Carolina Conference)
- Umoja Central Conquerors (Carolina Conference)
- Umoja Central Warriors (Carolina Conference)
- Eliathah Envoys (Florida Conference)
- Forest Lake Vamguards (Florida Conference)
- Lauderdale Spanish (Florida Conference)
- Lehigh Royal Knights (Florida Conference)
- Maranatha Torchbearer (Florida Conference)
- Miami Spanish Central (Florida Conference)
- Palm Coast Warriors Team A (Florida Conference)
- South Brevard Visioneers Team A (Florida Conference)
- South Brevard Visioneers Team B (Florida Conference)
- Spring Hill Spanish (Florida Conference)
- Tampa First Devoted (Florida Conference)
- Westchester Spanish (Florida Conference)
- Collegedale Korean Snow Leopards (Georgia-Cumberland Conference)
- Collegedale Korean White Tigers (Georgia-Cumberland Conference)
- Loganville Longpines Verbatim (Georgia-Cumberland Conference)
- McDonald Road Haws the Brethren (Georgia-Cumberland Conference)
- McDonald Road the Messengers (Georgia-Cumberland Conference)
- Birmingham Highrisers Water Cross (Gulf States Conference)
- Highland Warriors Covenant Keepers (Kentucky-Tennessee Conference)
- Waynesboro Knights (Kentucky-Tennessee Conference)
- Gethsemane Cougars (South Atlantic Conference)
For more photos from this event, please visit our facebook page: www.facebook.com/SouthernTidings
is Southern Union associate communication director.
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