Meet Emma Fernandez, Philip Minica, and Timothy Reed, members of your 2026 Alumni Service Team! They make up the Contest Team portion of the AST, which means they are in charge of creating the AST Practice Tests and other areas of the competition aspect of NBBC.
Here are some quick and fun facts to help you get to know each of them:
Emma is from Fort Worth, Texas. She is 20 years old and participated in the National Bible Bee for 12 years, from 2014-2023. She enjoys classical literature and scouting out coffee/tea shops (where she always gets a matcha latte). Outdoor activities are a big favorite of hers, including hiking, birdwatching, and flower identification. She loves listening to music, ranging from film scores to musicals to classical music. As a music theory nerd, she also spends a lot of time practicing the piano, with Debussy, Brahms, and Ravel being her favorite composers. She has also dabbled in composition herself and is working on a piano trio that is going to premiere this summer. She is currently preparing to return to college in the fall to pursue her master’s degree in piano pedagogy. She runs a private piano studio, and this summer she is helping with several NBB host groups in her area.
Philip is from San Antonio, Texas. He is 22 years old and participated in the National Bible Bee for 12 years. When he was 17, he was able to start his own business. He comes from a large family that has eleven kids in all! He also rebuilt the transmission of his truck all by himself. At this point in his life, he is working full time for a construction company, which specializes in remodeling residences.
Timothy is from Crawfordville, Georgia. He is 18 (though he will turn 19 before this year’s NBBC) and participated in the National Bible Bee for 6 years from 2020-2025. He graduated high school when he was 15 years old. When he visited North Dakota he learned how to extract honey, and he loves doing impressions and making people laugh. He has an odd birthmark on his right hand that he has been able to trick people with, making up stories ranging from a lion attack to a burn, and even to stress. He is currently working with many organizations: Landmark Events, a Christian history tour group; Agenda Weekly, a Christian news company; and The Worldview in 5 Minutes, a daily Christian Newscast. He is also very involved in local and state politics.
Hey, guys! Welcome to the National Bible Bee Blog! Tell us a little bit about each of your NBB journeys.
How did you first start participating in the National Bible Bee?
Emma: In 2012, my mom found an advertisement online, and signed me up! We eventually became involved in a local host group, and each year our community and involvement grew more and more. This is now my 15th year being involved in the National Bible Bee, first as a participant and now as an alumna, and it’s incredible to see what the Lord has done through the years, and the incredible friendships He has brought into my life through the National Bible Bee.
Philip: My family read about the National Bible Bee in World magazine back in 2009. I was too young at the time to participate, but I started in 2011 when I was old enough.
Timothy: We first heard about the National Bible Bee probably in 2017, but for years, we resisted doing the Bible Bee, as we already were in the Word, were memorizing some, and we thought that the National Bible Bee was basically just some random prize money competition that focused more on the glitz than the Word. Come 2020, we were finally convinced to try the Summer Study. Right off the bat, I LOVED doing Bible Bee, and I ate up that first summer study, devastated though I was that I wouldn’t be able to go to Nationals most likely due to Covid.
What’s a lesson you learned from your time in the National Bible Bee that has practically influenced your life?
Emma: The ability to routinely study God’s Word and store it up in our hearts is a habit that is so important to build. The National Bible Bee definitely has had a huge impact on my life in this way by giving clear tools and strategies for studying and memorizing the Bible, while keeping the true purpose in mind. The importance of taking time to do this and dedicating it to the Lord is something that I learned through the National Bible Bee and a habit that I need more than ever now that I am older. The National Bible Bee also provided me with a community of others who are serious about storing up the eternal word of God in their hearts. I’ve especially realized how crucial this is in the past few years now that I have aged out and am deeply thankful that God placed the National Bible Bee in my life and the fruit that had come from it.
Philip: I have learned the value of good Christian community, through Bible Bee. Fellowshiping with fellow believers is so important as it draws us closer to God, and we can encourage each other every day!
Timothy: Most contestants or alumni will probably say this, but there are really a myriad of lessons that I’ve learned and taken away from participating in the National Bible Bee. Determination, diligence, direction, and so much more.
But a practical lesson? Cherish. Embrace the moments that you have to study God’s Word. Sure, I heard from people older than me that one day it’d get hard to study for hours at a time, or memorize 30 verses in a sitting. For a while, I didn’t listen well enough. Then I heeded, and decided to make the most of EVERY moment I had in the Bible Bee. And when I aged out, I realized just what a blessing and a mark that Bible Bee left on me. Thousands of verses memorized, hundreds of acquaintances and dozens of actual friends made, multiple critical life lessons learned, and many seasons of life lived through the lens of studying God’s Word, deeply, for months at a time. (And on a side note, that study never stopped, even after Bible Bee seasons came and went!)
The other practical lesson; patience. Wait for the Lord, he will reveal himself. Through the hard passage, the random cross reference that will minister to you, through the friend you make who sticks with you through a tough season, or even through the deep desire to make it on stage to quote. Even through the pain of falling short of a goal, or goals, years on end. In the book of James, we learn that the husbandman waits for the precious fruit of the earth. God’s Word is our precious fruit, and yet he is also the Husbandman, and we are precious to Him. Every misstep we’ve made in life, He has been with us through it. Every gain we’ve made through life, it’s all because of Him. Bible Bee will bring the best (and sometimes the worst) of you to the forefront, and that’s because it’s NOT a competition for man or money, but because it’s a display of young people who have attuned their hearts to Christ. But be patient if you are waiting for the magic moment, the flash of inspiration…or more than that, content yourself that that moment never has to come as long as you are staying in the will of God, and staying in His Word, walking in His ways.
Can you share a favorite moment you’ve experienced while studying for NBB or attending the National Bible Bee Competition?
Emma: There are so many amazing memories I’ve stored up from studying for NBB and attending NBBC. Each year that I have been blessed to attend or compete, it’s been such a joyful time of reuniting with friends and getting to know new ones. It’s hard to choose, but my most favorite moment may have to be the opening ceremony at the National Bible Bee Competition, where all the attendees gather to worship and celebrate the accomplishments of the qualifiers. Now that I’ve been an alumna for a couple years and have been blessed to serve on the Alumni Service Team, the nerves from my time as a contestant have passed, but all the excitement is still there as the countdown begins and memories flood in. Being backstage and witnessing the encouragement and prayers of the contestants toward each other is also a beautiful moment and reflection of what the heart of the NBBC really is.
Philip: One of my favorite memories from Bible Bee each year is the hymn sing!
Timothy: Talk about an impossible question! I do write things down, and have saved several amazing moments through Bible Bee in writing.
Here is a brief description of just a few. In 2023, having a dear friend being called up FIRST for the Senior Semi Finals was quite literally a moment I cannot forget. The absolute ELATION one has for one’s friends in the Bible Bee is something that only comes from such a godly and tight knit community.
Making it to the Senior Semifinals in 2024 myself was a dream come true. I had worked towards this moment for five years. I made it in by the skin of my teeth, but sharing that moment with so many close friends was a moment that is once in a lifetime.
Making it to the Senior Semifinals for my last year in 2025 was an answer to prayer, and really a culmination for me. I made it a goal for the entire year to quote a passage on stage with my eyes open, and by the Lord’s grace, I did just that…twice! There was nothing of my own strength in that act, all of my natural instincts told me to close my eyes and try to stay focused. Yet that moment will stick with me forever.
Study related moments are another genre in themselves. But making practice tests with friends, playing Kahoots live with others, and doing MANY practice buzzer calls have to rank near the top of the list!
Before you go, is there one thing you’ve taken away/learned from competing in the National Bible Bee Competition that you would like to share with everyone?
Emma: Always be ready with an open heart prepared to internalize all you’ll hear shared and quoted as the Word of God is proclaimed. Whether during your studies, at local host group meetings, or at the competition. There is just so much more to the National Bible Bee Competition than meets the eye. While it is a competition, it is very much set apart from the others. Contestants see each other as brothers and sisters in Christ aiming for a prize that is not monetary, but eternal. Even as an audience member or someone watching online, you will be truly blessed by what you hear as people of all ages share Scripture. Each year, I look forward to the new things that the Lord teaches me as I follow along with the study and attend NBBC. I would highly encourage you to dig in deep this summer; nothing you learn in this study will return void. I for one cannot wait to see how the Lord uses this year’s study. May you be blessed as you dig into the book of James!
Philip: You will never regret any time spent studying the word of God! I don’t have all the verses memorized anymore, but they’re forever hidden in my heart, and the Holy Spirit brings them to my mind when I need them!
Timothy: These three verses come top of mind to me when I think back on how to boil down what I learned in the National Bible Bee. John 5:29 says, “Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which speak of me.” Malachi 3:6a says “For I am the Lord, I change not.” And Ephesians 4:21 tells us plainly, “The truth is in Jesus.” It all goes back to Jesus. Everything. Whether we win, whether we lose, whether we are eating, drinking, sitting, standing, walking, talking, whatever we do, and that means everything, goes back to Jesus. Are we pleasing him, are we communicating with him, are we fellowshiping with him, are we worshipping him? If you, the reader, take one lesson away from the National Bible Bee, or maybe you are actively looking FOR that lesson to take away, don’t let it be the thought of prize money, (it’s super elusive 😉 fame, or even magic moments. Let it be the thought that you get the opportunity to study God’s Word, to learn about your Savior, Master, Shepherd, King, and Lord. And then savor every moment, every verse, every line, every theme, and yes, every elusive cross reference. When the mindset of doing something for the Lord, because you want to KNOW the Lord, is the one that takes hold, things change!! And so be encouraged, that no matter what your mindset may have been in the past, from here on out it can be set to look to the Lord, in the highs, and in the lows.
Interview by NBB Alumna: Rachael English
