If you’re anything like me, one of the things that limits the enthusiasm you put into encouraging regular Bible reading is the state of your own Bible reading efforts. It’s something we all struggle with at some point, and often ends up with us wallowing in guilty feelings rather than coming up with a new strategy.
Just do it—as Nike’s adverts annoyingly told us a while back. Set yourself a time which you can fully commit to reading your Bible and praying most days. Make sure you have daily Bible notes or a reading plan—it’s much easier to jump into it every day if you’ve got a plan laid out. And if you miss a few days, or weeks, or even months, don’t wallow! Pick up where you left off, and get stuck in again. If your last Bible notes or reading plan weren’t your cup of tea, try something else.
Once we start reaping the benefits of regularly reading the Bible, it’s so much easier to encourage children and young people to do the same. Then we can start creating a culture of Bible reading within the Sunday School class, kid’s club or youth group. Encourage them to bring Bibles along to meetings, so that they expect to be reading the Bible. Show them that reading God’s word is normal and natural for young Christians. If any of them don’t have Bibles, give them one!
It’s obvious, I know, but we can be guilty of expecting unchurched kids to fit straight into our churchy ways, without meeting them half way. So you might want to give them a crash course on the Bible: what it is, who wrote it, what’s in it, how to find different books, the big picture etc. You could do a short Bible overview spanning a few weeks. And when you mention Bible passages or verses, get them to turn to them (and read them out loud), so they get used to handling the Bible and reading it for themselves.
If we take the alien-ness out of the Bible, it becomes a normal practice to turn to God’s Word, not a last resort.
Martin Cole was a staff writer at The Good Book Company for many years working on Discover and Engage. He now works for a children's charity. Martin is married to Kirsty and has two children. He is a passionate lifelong supporter of Chesterfield FC.
