A young man from El Salvador finished as champion of the five-year cycle of the largest youth Bible contest of the Inter-American Division. According to the IAD (interamerica.org), Ruben Maltez, 22, from the Salvadoran Union, won the Bible Connection grand final on May 6, 2025, totaling 1,513 points and answering 55 questions correctly.
The test brought together the five best competitors from the annual contests held since 2020 and determined the program's quinquennial winner. According to the IAD, Maltez, who had already won in 2020, secured with this result a spot as a youth delegate at the 2025 General Conference Session and a scholarship.
What happened at the grand final
According to the Inter-American Division (IAD), Ruben Maltez, 22, connected to the Salvadoran Union, clinched the title of the Bible Connection grand final on May 6, 2025. The young man finished the contest with 1,513 points and 55 questions answered correctly, a number that placed him ahead of the other contenders.
The IAD reports that Maltez was no newcomer to this stage: he had already been champion in 2020. According to the division, that earlier victory had earned him a scholarship that he had been using to study accounting and administration at the Antillean Adventist University in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. Also according to the IAD, Isaac served as his "Bible coach."
Who the five finalists were
The grand final is not an isolated test: it closes a cycle. According to the IAD, the decisive stage brought together the five best competitors from the annual contests held over five years, since 2020, each representing their union within the vast Inter-American territory.
According to the division, in addition to Maltez (1,513 points), the final standings had Yerid Ruiz, from Nicaragua, with 1,502 points; Héctor Merico, from the Mexican Inter-Oceanic Union, with 1,375; Anthony Guevara, from the West Venezuela Union, with 1,325; and Bryan Rodríguez, from the Cuban Union, with 1,229. The tight margin between the top two shows the technical level required in this final stretch.
How the Bible Connection works
The Bible Connection is the Bible study and competition program of Inter-America's Youth Ministries. According to the IAD, the initiative was created in 2004 and, since then, has become one of the largest Scripture-reading movements among Adventist youth on the continent, mobilizing more than 1.5 million participants across the division's territory.
The IAD details that the 2025 grand final was disputed in six rounds of questions, with study material based on the Gospel of Luke and selected chapters of The Desire of Ages, by Ellen G. White, in addition to excerpts from the Adventist Bible commentary. The division also mentions novelties in the format, such as scoring by time and risk-and-reward questions. Those who want to better understand this type of contest can check out the overview of Bible contests and the PBE.
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More than a trophy, the quinquennial title came accompanied by concrete rewards. According to the IAD, Maltez secured a spot as a youth delegate at the 2025 General Conference Session, the worldwide administrative meeting of the Adventist Church, in addition to a new scholarship.
The presence of a Bible contest winner among the delegates of a worldwide session helps give visibility to youth leadership within the church. For the participant, it is the chance to closely follow decisions that shape the denomination in the following years, a recognition that goes beyond the knowledge test.
The background: Youth Ministries in Inter-America
The Inter-American Division is one of the worldwide administrative regions of the Adventist Church and covers countries in Central America, the Caribbean, Mexico, and northern South America. It is a territory of enormous cultural and linguistic diversity, which helps explain why a program like the Bible Connection manages to bring together competitors from such distinct unions. To understand how this map is organized, it is worth seeing what the world divisions are.
Bible contests like this have, for decades, been a hallmark of Adventist youth work, with parallels in other regions of the world, including the Bible knowledge tests linked to the Pathfinder and Adventurer Clubs. By encouraging systematic reading of the Scriptures from childhood, these initiatives transform study into a collective and healthily competitive experience, uniting memorization, discipline, and fellowship.
Why this news matters
The closing of a quinquennial cycle is a symbolic milestone. It shows the continuity of a program that, according to the IAD, has spanned generations since 2004 and sustains the habit of Bible study among millions of young people. The victory of the same participant in 2020 and again in 2025 highlights how much long-term dedication is valued in this format.
For Brazilian readers, linked to the South American Division, the story works as a window into what happens in a neighboring division. It reinforces a value common to all Adventist Youth Ministries: putting the Bible at the center of formation, whether in a local Club or in a continental final broadcast to several countries.