Contests encourages kids to read the Bible
FROM STAFF REPORTS Gulf Breeze News news@gulfbreezenews.com

Picture courtesy of Melodi2@morguefile.com A new contest encourages children to read the Bible to answer trivia questions.

Year after year the Bible remains the best selling book in America, yet pollster George Gallup has dubbed Americans "a nation of biblical illiterates" who revere the Bible, but don't read it.

Syndicated columnist Carey Kinsolving wants to change that.

Children all over the world can write and draw to win one of a dozen dude ranch vacations offered as prizes in the Children's International Arts Festival. Kids ages 5-12 can enter by answering and illustrating Bible-related questions for an online book the festival organizer plans to publish. Each winner may write an essay telling why his or her teacher should win one of the trips.

"These trips are major prizes," says Carey Kinsolving, organizer of the festival. "Each child winner and immediate family will get to spend a week at a dude ranch, including food, lodging, horseback riding and other activities."

The Children's International Arts Festival is sponsored by Kids Talk About God, an online ministry that grew out of Kinsolving's syndicated column of the same name. He began writing the column after years of writing feature stories for The Washington Post and other newspapers.

Festival entries will be accepted through March 31, 2009. Kinsolving plans to announce some winners before this summer and others before the summer of 2009.

The best children's writing and art will be published in the "Kids Color Me Bible Gospel of John." This online storybook Bible will be patterned after Kinsolving's popular "Kids Color Me Bible." Each chapter features children's writing and art. Children who print pages from the free, online book can add their writing and art making each chapter a personalized keepsake.

The first three festival questions are:

Why does the Bible call Jesus "the Word" (John 1:1-5)?

2) How does Jesus give light to everyone (John 1:6-13)?

3) What does the Bible mean when it says Jesus was full of grace and truth (John 1:14-18)?

Children who wish to enter the festival can get their parents to download an entry form at www.KidsTalkAboutGod.org. The entry form contains festival guidelines and the address where entries should be mailed. Periodically, new festival questions will be posted on the website and sent to those who want to be notified by email.

"Art is a universal language," said Kinsolving. "Children have a way of cutting right to the heart of a Bible story when they draw art to illustrate it. Their answers to Bible-related questions can be humorous and insightful. We're hoping that opportunities to win dude ranch vacations will motivate many children to share their insights while increasing their Bible literacy."

Of the 12 dude ranches offering vacations as prizes, six are in Colorado and two are in Idaho. The other four are in Montana, Wyoming, Arizona and even east of the Mississippi in upstate New York. All abound with inspiring views, a wide variety of wildlife to observe and photograph, and plenty of horseback riding.

What one dude ranch owner wrote: "You'll find that good riding, good food and good friends will leave you peaceful and content. You'll discover the luxuries of silence, the wind on your face and the stars shining brightly."

KidsTalkAboutGod.org is a non-denominational, Christian ministry that empowers children by publishing their faith expressions and making them available without charge to website visitors. Its website (www.KidsTalkAboutGod.org) features 60 Kid TV Interviews, Children's Bible Art Gallery, "Kids Color Me Bible," "Mission Explorers Streaming Video" and a Bible Lesson Archive. Visitors may download pictures from the Art Gallery and lessons from the "Kids Color Me Bible" for free. As a newspaper column, Kids Talk About God has been in syndication for more than seven years.