Bible engagement is on the decline in the U.S. Many people don’t know what’s in the Bible. And if you put Bibles in their hands, there is a good chance those individuals won’t know how to navigate them.

About 4 in 10 U.S. adults (39%) were Bible users in 2022, compared to 50% in 2021, according to American Bible Society’s latest State of the Bible report. (The report defines “Bible user” as anyone who engages with the Bible outside of church at least three to four times per year.)

Pastors like me are seeing the fruit of these grim statistics, as many in our churches are among the biblically unengaged and biblically illiterate.

Quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, Jesus said, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4). Bible engagement concerns the very life of the Christian. Yet there are people in our churches who don’t even know they are starved for God’s Word.

So how do we address this problem? I believe the solution is simple. We need to develop a culture of Bible reading in our churches. Below are six ways to begin.

First, put Bibles back in the hands of congregants. People won’t learn their way around the Scriptures until they hold physical Bibles.

Boys and Girls Missionary Challenge helped us purchase Bibles for our sanctuary. Kids and adults alike now pick up Bibles every Sunday and read them together. And if someone does not own a Bible, we invite them to take home a pew Bible.

Second, teach congregants how to navigate the text. At our church, we always provide a page number for the passages we read together. This is particularly helpful for people who are new to the Bible. After using page numbers a few times, congregants will begin to get a feel for where different books of the Bible are located.

We are always patient — especially with children — to make sure everyone has time to turn to the passage. I sometimes invite kids to give me a thumbs-up when they find the passage. This communicates the importance of the entire church participating.

Third, read the Bible during worship. We read three passages every service: two during worship and a third during the sermon. With each reading, we invite everyone to open their Bibles together.

We offer no commentary during worship, but the passages always connect to the sermon text. The person delivering the sermon then refers to the earlier passages, showing how they relate to the message.

Usually we have at least one passage from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament. Alternatively, we sometimes read consecutive passages that lead up to the sermon passage.

For example, if I am preaching on Jesus’ baptism, we might first read about the crossing of the Red Sea, since Paul said that was Israel’s baptism (1 Corinthians 10:2), and Romans 6:1–4, where Paul described baptism as our burial in and with Jesus.

Or we might read the introduction of John the Baptist’s ministry (Luke 3:1–6), followed by John’s proclamation (verses 7–20), before I preach on Jesus’ baptism (verses 21–22).

Bible engagement concerns the very life of the Christian. Yet there are people in
our churches who
don’t even know they are starved for God’s Word.

Fourth, preach the Bible piece by piece. In higher education, this is called expository preaching. Put simply, it means teaching people how to read the Bible from the pulpit.

It is difficult to teach people to read Scripture while preaching topically. It is equally difficult for congregants to grasp the Bible if the preacher jumps from book to book, reading one or two verses at a time without any attention to context. The Bible is not a series of tweets, and we must be careful not to treat it that way.

As you preach, show the congregation how you are reading and interpreting the text. Explain how you came to your interpretation. Highlight the particular and sometimes odd details in a passage, talking about why they are important.

Help people see how every passage fits within the broader context of a Bible book. And show them how the story fits within the grand story of Scripture, from creation in Genesis to the new creation in Revelation.

This might sound like a lot to accomplish, but I do it every Sunday. With practice, study, intentionality, and the help of the Holy Spirit, it is possible.

Fifth, set an example. I once attended a pastor’s retreat where we divided into small groups to discuss our devotional habits and encourage one another. As it turned out, I was the only pastor in my group who read the Bible every day. I was heartbroken, and I could tell the other pastors felt embarrassed by their confessions.

If we are not reading the Bible devotionally as pastors, we will not be Bible engaged. And if pastors aren’t Bible engaged, we can’t expect our congregants to be. (We will also forfeit our pastoral authority with the few church members who happen to know the Bible.)

I wake up in the morning and spend time reading the Bible and praying. Sometimes I am exhausted, and I stare at the pages bleary-eyed and only halfway attentive. But the Holy Spirit uses even those moments to build me up and strengthen me “with all power according to his glorious might” (Colossians 1:11).

Again, think about it like eating. We still eat when we’re tired because our body needs fuel to survive. How much more do we need the words that come from the mouth of God for spiritual life?

Finally, promote Bible engagement beyond the pulpit, making it a focal point of all your ministries. There are many tools available for use in classrooms and small groups. Visit the My Healthy Church website for information on the Bible Engagement Project, small group resources, and Sunday School curriculum.

Ministry leaders need to continue educating themselves as well. Our church makes commentaries available to our Sunday School teachers. The series The Old Testament for Everyone by John Goldingay and The New Testament for Everyone by N.T. Wright make deeper study accessible to lay leaders.

I grew up hearing Pentecostal mothers and fathers of the faith praying and preaching. They could rattle off a series of Scriptures in prayer with little to no effort as they interceded for provision and healing and asked for God’s kingdom to come. They taught me Bible stories and memory verses. They told me the Bible was my sword of the Spirit, and I took it to heart.

In those days, there was a passion for Bible engagement fueled by the presence of the Holy Spirit among us.

It will take time and intentionality, but we can develop that culture again. Just imagine what God will do in our congregations and communities when more churchgoers know — and live — His Word.

This article appears in the Fall 2022 issue of Influence magazine.