Ruth Bromley, PCI Children’s Development Officer, describes living the dream of family discipleship with reading the Bible up front and central.

I have a dream

‘I have a dream’. This phrase is synonymous with Martin Luther King when he famously spoke during the march on Washington for jobs and freedom on 28 August 1963, calling for civil and economic rights and an end to racism in the United States. I studied this period in history at both school and university and was fascinated by the events of this time. King’s dream was huge, it still is. But I have a bigger and yet also simpler dream than his.

I have a dream that 2021 will be a year that our children read God's Word and grow in their faith.

I have a dream that in 2021 children across the Presbyterian Church in Ireland will become active, passionate disciples of Jesus.

I have a dream that in 2021 we will release our children in faith, knowing that God gifts them with the Spirit, just as much as he does adults.

I have a dream that in 2021 the Presbyterian Church in Ireland will be impacted by the active, living faith of the children in our congregations.

Back to reading the Bible

What if this this might happen best as children in our congregations immerse themselves in God's Word and discover more of who he is by exploring it for themselves, rather than just being told what it says by adults?

A friend of mine from Donegal, Andy, and his son Peter aged 7, have been exploring reading the Bible over the last months and noticing the difference that it makes. They have discovered some things that are important to note and think about as we encourage children to immerse themselves in God’s Word. Below is a summary of what they have observed in the hope that it helps and inspires other parents.

1. Buy them their own

While you wouldn't necessarily buy two of any other book for use in your family, it is special and important to give children their own Bible. Make the day you give the Bible important so that it is special. You may want to inscribe it or highlight a particular verse for your children like 1 Timothy 4:12b, ‘set an example in how you love and in what you believe.’

2. Choose the right version

Finding the right version for children to read is really important. This family have chosen the NIV Reader’s version, which is friendly for early readers without dumbing anything down. As an adult, it can be read and you won’t feel short changed. It's full, complete and easy to read. Some versions also include some fun features. The child in this family loves these and is consistently writing out the 'words to treasure' in a notebook.

3. Start with what they already know

Children will engage well with the stories that they have heard before from Bible story books as they engage with the ‘real story’.

4. Get ready to see new things

For parents who have been brought up reading the Bible regularly, some stories can lose their freshness and impact. Nothing will bring that back like your seven year old crying because someone mocks Jesus and slaps him in the face (John 18). You will learn a lot about these stories and possibly notice new things simply by reading them with a first-time reader or as you answer questions like, did Jesus go to the soldiers to get his clothes back after he rose from the dead, or why did God organise plagues?

5. Variety of response

Every reading from the Bible is different. With story books it's always the same. With the Bible, children often have questions, sometimes just listen or may ask to do something in response. This will encourage you to have a revitalised belief that God’s Word evokes response every time it is read.

6. Fuel for prayer

Another skill in reading the Bible is to encourage children to pray using what they have read in the Bible. It may usually be "thank you for Noah". But maybe, one out of every four times it's something profound, like: "Lord, help me grow more love" or "I'm still afraid of the dark but I know you are with me".

7. Joining a bigger conversation about faith

It can be really important to connect children with other adults to talk about what they have been learning from the Bible. We can teach our children lots, but they need other voices who are saying the same things but maybe from a different angle to reinforce and challenge our children in their biblical thinking. It might be grandparents, aunts and uncles or other adults in your church like a children’s ministry leader. This can empower children for genuine fellowship and engage them early in the practice of encouragement.

8. Letting God do his work through his Word

Sometimes resources alongside reading the Bible are really helpful for children. Other times it can be great to simply read it straight and to see what they take from it.

9. Build it as you go

Don’t expect children to immediately want or be able to read it every day. But pray and plan for that to come in the future. We want children to enjoy other Christian storybooks too but encourage them to read the Bible and love the Word of God as well.

10. Learning Scripture

One thing that you may want to consider doing is to learn some parts of the Bible together as a family. Have a memory verse of the week or month and learn it together. Hiding God’s Word in the hearts of children is a gift that will last for all eternity.

Dream into reality

As a family, we have also committed to reading through the Bible this year. We have a five-year-old so we are reading a chapter of the Bible each week, using the 52 Bible resource from The Bible Society NI. You can take a look at it here.

The content of the resource will take us through 28 Old Testament and 24 New Testament passages, helping us see the big story of the Bible, but equally importantly. It will help us to form good family devotional habits. Each week we will read one chapter of the Bible, ponder some simple questions, take on a challenge, pray and learn some memory verses. This is a great resource to use as families or children’s ministry groups, small groups or a group of friends or families in your church. We have always used simple children’s Bibles, like the Beginner’s Bible and the Jesus Storybook Bible, and will continue to do so, but introducing reading an actual translation (we are using the International Children’s Bible translation) has been great so far.

So how about this year we all have a dream of encouraging children, families, our congregations, to read the Bible more? What better encouragement could you give your families and children in these months of stress and lockdown than to read the Bible together, even simply for ten minutes each day.

I think we will be blown away by how God will work!

(Thank you to Andy and Peter for their insights into reading the Bible together as father and son.)

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Ruth Bromley is the Presbyterian Church in Ireland's Children's Development Officer.

This blog is part of the digital programme series, Refined, to help move our denominational conversation on from what was needed to initially respond to the Coronavirus pandemic, to seeking God’s leading and guiding for this next season of church life together.

Visit the Refined hub here.