Contact: Kit Rasche, Bible Bee, 619-401-0385 ext. 101, krasche@biblebee.org

WASHINGTON, April 29 /Christian Newswire/ -- Due to the overwhelming nationwide response to the 2009 National Bible Bee, the deadline for enrolling in this year's inaugural competition has been extended to May 15, 2009. Bible Bee Headquarters reports that over 10,000 contestants have already enrolled and that hundreds of contestants are signing up each day!

Bible Bee Headquarters urges those interested in participating in the National Bible Bee to contact the nearest Local Bible Bee and sign up now. To locate a Bible Bee in a specific community, interested families can visit the National Bible Bee website at www.biblebee.org and click the U.S. Google Map. Using the Zoom feature to select one of the green markers in the desired area will bring up specific Local Contest contact information.

The Shelby Kennedy Foundation is the sponsor of this first-of-its-kind annual National Bible Bee, a motivating Bible memory competition for children and youth from 7 to 18. The goal of the Bible Bee is to build godly character in young people by calling them back to the lost discipline of Scripture memorization. Most people are familiar with the Scripps National Spelling Bee, where youth compete annually in the Nation's longest-running educational contest. While it is certainly beneficial for our children to commit the spelling of words to memory, imagine how much more life-changing it will be for them to memorize the Word of God!

Local Bible Bee Contests will be conducted throughout the United States on Saturday, September 12, 2009. One hundred finalists from each of three age categories will then advance to the National Bible Bee for a two-day, world-class competition which will be held in Washington, D.C. on November 5-6, 2009.

The Bible Bee Competition will distribute more than $260,000 in prize money with $100,000 being awarded to the first-place winner of the top age category.

The long-term vision of Bible Bee Competition is to equip children and youth to be bold ambassadors for Jesus Christ to the next generation.

If you would like more information about the Bible Bee or would like to schedule an interview, please call Kit Rasche at (619) 401-0385, ext. 101, or e-mail Kit at krasche@biblebee.org.