Visionary

Six ways to engage with the Bible 

Appoint a Bible champion (team) for the churchreading bible
Is there someone in your church that has got a real fire in their belly for the Bible. Someone who can inspire and energise without inducing guilt. Why not approach someone now who will think creatively about helping the church engage afresh with the Bible. Make sure you get a copy of the Biblefresh handbook (available in May 2010) to them as soon as you can - as it is packed full of creative ideas to get them started.

Push Bible reading materials at key moments in the year
Being prepared well in advance for these annual landmarks will enable you to ensure that your congregation is well equipped and resourced just when they are most hungry for God's Word.


- January - speak to your local christian bookshop to make sure there are lots of good bible reading notes and guides available from the start of the year. Encourage readers to give testimonies and feedback from their preferred materials.

- Lent - challenge your congregation or housegroup to read a book together before Easter. "The Book of Books" or "How to read the Bible for all it's worth" come highly recommended.

- Summer - The Good Book Company have a great line of family devotional material that are fun to do together on holiday, or recommend some bestsellers, or organize a bookswap to encourage your church members to read during their vacation.

- Autumn - use the 'back to school' feeling to help the church think about taking another step forward in their Bible reading - perhaps encourage something more academic for the new academic year like Foundations21, or introduce your congregations to fantastic online resources such as Bible Gateway or Wordlive.

Give your bookstall a makeover
With fewer local Christian bookshops around, the church bookstall is a vital ministry. Why not begin the Biblefresh year with a particular emphasis on Bible-based books. Stock up on Bible-reading notes and Bible-study guides. Bulk-buy a book for the month. See the Biblefresh website for some great examples. Perhaps it would be appropriate to channel any proceeds into our Bible translation appeal.

Tie it in to the preaching programme
It is often difficult to decide the teaching programme, but for Biblefresh year why not kick off with some Old Testament narrative, then use the gospels at Easter, tackle some wisdom and prophetic literature in the Summer and finish off in the Autumn with an epistle? Bring your small groups on board by choosing complementary books.

Plan some retreats
Firstly why not spend some time with your church leadership team focussing on the simple question "what can we do as a church to help the congregation develop confidence and appetite for God's word". Engaging with the Bible is infectious. If the leaders are enjoying reading God's word regularly, and hearing God speak through his word it becomes quite normal for the church to follow suit. Perhaps the whole church would benefit from a retreat to meditate on God's word and minister to one another.

Change the prayer culture
Pray with the Bible open during Biblefresh year. Whether at the beginning of an elders meeting, or in your youth groups, or after one-to-one counselling, use Scriptures to inspire your prayers and give you words to speak to encourage, challenge or train. Make sure your prayer team members are familiarising themselves and others with Scripture.

 

Download the Biblefresh Leaders Guide for more helpful ideas.