Let’s Read the Bible Through in 2024 at HRBC!  Our goal is 100 members and friends of HRBC to read the Bible through in 2024.  Will you be one of the 100?  I hope you will join me!  Here is some important data to support this goal . . . 

Bible engagement (including Bible reading) has decreased significantly in recent years. In July 2020, Christianity Today (CT) published an article that states, “Between early 2019 and 2020, the percentage of US adults who say they use the Bible daily dropped from 14 percent to 9 percent, according to the State of the Bible 2020 report by the Barna Group and the American Bible Society (ABS).”  A June 2021 survey by the Barna Group reports that “at a national level, aggregated Barna data (collected between 2005 and 2021) show that about three in 10 U.S. adults reads the Bible at least once a week.”  This same Barna survey states that in the Richmond-Petersburg region, 45 percent of residents say they read the Bible at least weekly (the highest was Monroe, LA at 64% followed by Montgomery, AL at 61%).  While we are higher than the average, there is much room for growth.  

Finally, another CT report states that in the “US. From 2021 to 2022, Bible engagement—scored on frequency of use, spiritual impact, and moral importance in day-to-day life—fell 21 percent among American adult Bible users. It was the American Bible Society’s largest recorded one-year drop in its annual State of the Bible study. And almost 1 in 5 churchgoers said they never read the Bible.” 

If Bible reading and study are two of the primary ways we hear from God and grow spiritually, then these reports should be concerning to us. After all, God’s word is “alive and active.” (Hebrews 4:12)  The psalmist writes, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” (Psalm 119:105, KJV)  And Paul writes, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” (2 Tim. 3:16) 

Here’s how we can change the current trends and increase Bible reading and Bible literacy: 

The HRBC Vision for Discipleship is to develop fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. One way to support this vision is to cultivate the habit of daily Bible reading. In collaboration, the Discipleship Vision Implementation Team and I have initiated the churchwide goal of at least 100 people reading the Bible through in 2024.  

We will be using the One Year Bible which provides daily readings from the Old Testament, Psalms, Proverbs and the New Testament. There are online and print versions of The One Year Bible plan available as well as a checklist in PDF format. 

Please register and submit your options for ordering a copy of The One Year Bible right here.  The deadline to sign up is Dec. 15^th. Questions or need more information?  Please contact me at bob@hrbcrichmond.org or call the church office at 804-272-2072. 

Let’s join together to cultivate the habit of regular Bible reading in our church and in our families.  This will be one way we can help support God’s vision for HRBC as we seek to develop fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. 

➡️ Here’s that link to register again.

In Christ’s care,