Winning Spelling Bee Word Is One Every Christian Should Know: Koinonia

We do it every Sunday and sometimes on Wednesday night for Bible study – koinonia. 

It is a word that is defined as "Christian fellowship or communion, with God or, more commonly, with fellow Christians," and for one 14-year-old it was the spelling word that won him the biggest Scripps National Spelling Bee in history.

Karthik Nemmani never expected to win the spelling bee. As one of the participants who entered into the competition by the new wild-card program, he was up against a tough field. 

"I didn't really think I'd be able to do it," he said. "I had confidence that I could do it, but I honestly didn't realistically think it could happen."

There were 515 spellers this year, about 200 more than in previous years, and with the launch of the "RSVBee" wild-card program, local level newcomers faced some of the nation's best.

In the past, those who lost on the local level were ineligible to compete at the national competition, but that all changed with the "RSVBee." 

Karthik's toughest competitor, 12-year-old Naysa Modi, was expected to win the entire competition. Karthik faced Naysa before in the Collin County, Texas bee and lost, but he had another shot Thursday night. 

Naysa had to spell "bewusstseinslage," but mixed up the single and double "s" in the German-derived word. 

"She's a really, really good speller. She deserved the trophy as much as I did," Karthik said of Naysa. "I got lucky."

Karthik admits he did not know how to spell about eight or nine words that came up during the prime-time finals, but he did know "koinonia." 

It's a Greek word that appears 19 times in the New Testament. It is first used in Acts 2:42-47CloseActs 2:42-47 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord's Supper*), and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord's Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity*— all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) where it talks about the believers coming together every day in unity.  

"The spirit of koinonia was expressed most perfectly in the "breaking of bread" (Acts 2:42CloseActs 2:42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord's Supper*), and to prayer. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ), the communal celebration of the Lord's Supper," reads an article on the term on cbn.com. 

"It remains true today that real Christian fellowship stems from our fellowship with God," it continues. "Our shared fellowship with God has many dimensions, each of which serves as a basis of koinonia."

The soft-spoken boy spelled the term correctly and was showered with confetti and given more than $42,000 in cash and prizes.

Karthik is the 14th consecutive Indian-American competition champion.