John Anderson
Columbus First Free Methodist Church
Columbus, IN
Quizzed 1969-1972
Inducted 2015
Bio
When I was a pre-teen, growing up in Columbus, Indiana, I had dreams of playing basketball or driving a race car in the INDY 500. Of course, growing to the full height of 5’10” and coming from a family that did not have the exorbitant amount of money it takes to race in the INDY 500, my child-hood ambitions were not meant to be.
I was not raised in a religious family and specifically not a Christian family. I began attending the Free Methodist Church because I wanted to get to know a young lady who was a member of the Free Methodist Church. Eventually, I was introduced to Bible Quizzing and the competitiveness of Quizzing intrigued me.
In 1969 I started attending the Columbus Free Methodist Church. But it would not be until 1983 that I would accept Christ as my personal Saviour.
In early 1970, I was invited to the FMY Bible Quiz practice and I thought it was interesting. It was competitive, it was physical with the jumping aspect, and I thought it would be an opportunity to meet girls and have fun. In 1970/71, I became more focused on the techniques of Bible Quiz study, rules and competition. It was during the process of learning to memorize segments of Matthew that I discovered a technique that helped me to overcome my dyslexia.
In 1971/72 the Columbus Free Methodist Bible Quiz team competed in every tournament within the Wabash Conference and a few nearby conferences. We won the International Championship of Bible Quizzing in 1972 at the University of Illinois.
Although I became very successful in business my personal life began falling apart. In the mid-1977 I became a cocaine addict. In October of 1982 I lost everything and was homeless. While homeless in San Diego, California, I went to a Rescue Mission where Romans 6:23 was boldly painted on the side of their building. On January 17, 1983, I fell to my knees and accepted Jesus Christ as my Saviour.
God delivered me from my addiction and gave me a new heart and a love for the lost. After accepting Jesus, I joined the San Diego Rescue Mission’s discipleship program. In January of 1991, I was asked to serve as interim Executive Director. In August of 1993, I was called to the Bay Area Rescue Mission and on January 1, 2000, I became the President/CEO.
In 2015, I contacted Free Methodist Bible Quiz with the idea of implementing Bible Quiz Bible Study at the Bay Area Rescue Mission. We hope to bring a men’s team and a women’s team to participate in QUIC Quizzing. It is truly an amazing honor to be included in the Free Methodist Bible Quiz Hall of Fame.