Growing engagement with Scripture

Bible memory was a big deal when I was in Sunday school. My reward for memorizing the most verses in the class was a Winnipeg Blue Bombers game and dinner at Boston Pizza! Core memory.

I opened my Bible in Sunday school (to earn points), and later at youth group, and occasionally in a church service, but I didn’t read through the whole Bible until I was in Bible college. Don’t get me wrong, I was committed to following biblical principles and I knew the stories, but my irregular interaction with scripture left my relationship with the Bible on the rocks.

Photo by Meredith Spencer on Unsplash

So how do we foster a relationship with the living Word of God? Daily practice.

In a research study of more than 100,000 people world-wide, the Center for Bible Engagement found interesting trends. They “consistently found that engaging the Bible four or more days a week has a profound impact on an individual’s life” (https://www.centerforbibleengagement.org/post/bible-engagement-a-key-to-spiritual-growth). The odds of people drinking to excess dropped 62%, viewing pornography dropped 59%, and having sex outside of marriage dropped 59%. Consistent reading of scripture also saw the odds of struggling with bitterness drop by 40%, experiencing loneliness drop by 30%, and anxiety drop by 14%. It increased an individual’s odds of giving financially to a church by 416%, discipling others by 231% and sharing their faith by 228%. Something significant happens when we spend daily time reading Scripture.

So how do we help the next generation spend daily time reading Scripture? To start, make Scripture reading a priority in your life. This has been an ongoing challenge for me personally. I’ve often said I am good at two weeks of self-discipline. I recently found that participating in reading plans with other people helps me to keep going and I’m currently on 90-day streak!

Joel B. Green says, “formed by our reading of Scripture, we become better readers of Scripture” (Cultivating the Practice of Reading Scripture” https://fullerstudio.fuller.edu/cultivating-practice-reading-scripture). The more we practice the better we will be at seeing God, ourselves and the world from God’s perspective.

As you regularly engage Scripture, invite those in the upcoming generations to join you. This can take many forms. With young children, have them participate in reading Scripture with you. Ask them to point out something they found interesting from the passage or story. With teenagers, invite them to join a reading plan on a Bible app with you and share insights with each other. Practice responding to the words of Scripture together.

In ministry, have students look up passages in their Bibles as many times as possible. Normalize the reading of Scripture in all your ministry contexts. Don’t feel you need to try to make the Bible relevant to culture. Let the reading of Scripture affect the culture of your group.

Reading Scripture is the best way we can learn God’s plan for us and the world. Scripture gives us a way to live, it points us to Jesus and gives us hope for the future.