The Church of the Nazarene in South Africa has continued to emphasize Children’s Bible Quizzing for the last 40 years, specifically in the RSA Gauteng District. The seed was planted in 1985, when Elaine Hamilton of Horizon Church of the Nazarene in South Africa learned about Bible quizzing from an American.
The idea took root for Hamilton, and she pursued Children’s Bible Quizzing with a few other churches. Word spread quickly, and soon more churches joined the quizzing fun, allowing them to hold zone and district quizzes.
South Africa went through changes in 1994 with the end of Apartheid, and new districts were formed. The RSA Gauteng District was formed, and Hamilton carried the seed of Bible quizzing with her into this new district. Many churches heard about the idea and expressed interest in having a Bible quizzing program for children. The word spread across the district, and soon each of the five zones had multiple teams that wanted to compete. By 2003, Children’s Bible Quizzing had become a key feature on the district calendar, and it continues to be so more than 20 years later.
In the early years of Bible quizzing, the district used imported materials from the US, but each year they became increasingly expensive. Hamilton recognised this challenge and began adapting the American curriculum to the South African context herself. She also created new rules that reflected the local district’s needs, including changing the age at which children could start.
Hamilton also expanded the books of the Bible covered from three (Genesis, Exodus, and Matthew) to six books (Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Acts, and 1-2 Samuel). This addition allowed the children of South Africa who start quizzing in grade 1 to repeat only one book of the Bible if they continue quizzing through grade 7.
Practically speaking, churches create their quizzing boxes from cardboard, wood, paper, cereal boxes, or whatever they can find—no special supplies needed. The top quizzers from each of the district’s five zones come together in October to crown the district’s top zone. Through stiff yet friendly competition, the children excitedly participate, competing for bragging rights for another year.
As Hamilton began to age, she mentored Penny Davids from a nearby church to take up the baton of quizzing in the Gauteng District.
“Over the years, I’ve seen firsthand how much quizzing impacts children’s lives,” Davids stated. “Honestly, I could write a book about its benefits!”
Davids added that the children were always celebrated for their achievements, which motivated the kids to keep going and for new children to join.
“Most of our youth and young adult leaders in [my local] church today are former quizzers — a true testament to how deeply God’s Word takes root,” said Davids.
Since 2022, Miranda Mileke has led quizzing on the RSA Gauteng District. More than 350 children in the district participated in 2025.
“To quiz successfully requires having a structure in place,” said Mileke. “Each zone needs a leader…[but] training is also necessary. Quizzing materials will need to be made available to all participating churches/zones. Most important of all is the need for support from the local church, parents, pastors, and all those who love children’s ministry.”