Bible Society campaigns to reverse poor Bible reading habits

Bible Society Australia has launched a Bible reading campaign called “Live Light in 25 Words” to address the poor Bible reading habits of Australian Christians.

The Society conducted a survey* of Australian church-goers and found that only 20 per cent had a daily Bible reading habit. Christians are saying that they don’t have enough time to read the Bible or they are finding it hard to understand.

The “Live Light in 25 Words” campaign will run throughout the month of October, but churches are encouraged to register now and prepare to run the campaign in their churches throughout the whole month.

The campaign addresses the reasons why people say they don’t read the Bible with the Society creating resources to help answer these questions.

In launching the campaign, Greg Clarke, CEO of Bible Society said, “We live in an age of SMS, Facebook and tweets of just 140 characters. So how can we bring them back to a book of over 700,000 words? The answer, of course, is in what God gives us. It’s the Bible itself. The Bible has been broken up into books, chapters and pithy statements of around 25 words, which we call verses.

“And, interestingly enough, a verse or 25 words is roughly the number of words that go into a tweet, a text message or a social media update. And that is the whole idea behind our campaign for 2012. It’s called: Live Light in 25 Words.”

He said, “This Australia-wide campaign is an invitation to Christians simply to make a fresh start on their Bible reading habit with just 25 words. It can grow from there. And when they do, they’ll begin to experience more of what Jesus promises — to lighten the burdens we all carry.”

The Society’s resources include a 30 Day Bible Reading Plan with just one verse a day together with suggested further reading.

Conversations Starters are one or two verses with a short commentary, designed to be used with friends or a family member as they “Read, Talk and Pray” together. Both publications are available in a printed form, or they can be downloaded as a PDF onto a Smartphone or tablet.

Conversation Starters are available in English, Korean and Chinese as well as in 20 Indigenous languages.

“The whole aim of this campaign is to help people who are too busy to engage with the Bible,” said Chris Melville, Manager of Bible Society Programs and Campaigns.

The Society has also commissioned well-known Bible teachers and preachers to present a series of recorded sermons on the Bible which can be viewed on DVD by churches in place of a sermon.

There are also a series of public lectures on the topic of ‘Can we believe the New Testament’ and these will be held in every state during September and October.

In addition, there are a range of other printed resources which look at why the Bible is important, and how it relates to everyday life.

Churches are encouraged to register at www.biblesociety.org.au/25words to ensure they receive the regular updates from the campaign and can access the range of resources.

Registration is free of charge.