How Church Leaders Are Aiming for Higher Biblical Literacy

By Meredith Flynn, reposted from Lifeway Research

Increased biblical literacy only comes through increased immersion in God’s Word. How can you help your church invest in biblical literacy?

Alyssa Caudill was a college student studying the Bible with her dormmates when God impressed on her the real purpose of reading His Word. Caudill, now a pastor’s wife in Carmi, Illinois, realized she was great at coming up with answers to her friends’ questions. But they—and she—needed more.

“Alyssa, you are giving them your own thoughts and opinions, and they don’t need that,” she sensed God saying then. “They need My Word; they need Me.”

Caudill is one of a growing number of leaders focused on increasing biblical literacy in their churches. And the need is big. A recent Lifeway Research survey found that while many churchgoers are familiar with certain Old Testament stories, a significant portion may still lack basic understanding of God’s Word and the stories in it.

For Caudill, that initial realization—that studying the Bible is transformative because of the work God does in the reader—still informs how she leads women today.

“Biblical literacy only comes through really immersing yourself in the Word continually,” she said, noting that’s more difficult in a culture bent on instant gratification. Caudill said if people don’t easily grasp something, they have this idea they must not be smart enough to get it, so they give up.

“To truly understand the Word, you have to spend time.”

Part of the journey

In Marion, Illinois, people checking out First Baptist Church (FBC) are invited to ask a big question: If I become part of your church, what are you going to do with me?

The answer, said Pastor Bob Dickerson, is to give them a plan, a clearly defined discipleship pathway based on the Bible and eight markers of spiritual maturity. FBC Marion uses Lifeway’s Bible Studies For Life curriculum, based on these eight markers: serve God and others; live unashamed; build relationships; seek God; exercise faith; share Christ; engage with Scripture; and obey God and deny self.

In their weekly Sunday School classes, Dickerson’s church studies each of those attributes every year, tackling two every quarter. In the worship service, his preaching builds on the topics they discuss in class. For instance, if Sunday School covered the Cain and Abel account in Genesis, Dickerson might preach on a different aspect of family responsibility.

Instead of reinventing the wheel, Dickerson said, his church returns to the Bible Studies for Life plan every year, and clearly shares it with people. On this year’s slate: living on purpose, navigating family conflict, the heart of worship, all signs point to Jesus, an Old Testament study of Elisha, and a summer study on risk-takers and walking by faith.

The hope is that the continuity will breed more biblical understanding for adults and kids, who study the stories of the Bible through a discipleship lens. Additionally, FBC Marion is working to increase biblical literacy among kids through its Sunday evening Awana program focused on memorizing Scripture and understanding what it means.

It’s all part of the plan, said Dickerson. “In our preschool, children, youth, and adult classes, we have a plan. For the next year, here’s what we intend to teach you, and here’s why.”

‘Seconds to recall, a lifetime to remember’

Helping kids learn and know the Bible is a life-long calling for Maria Brannen. The children’s minister is executive director of Georgia Baptist Bible Drill and Speakers, a non-profit formed in 2019 to continue to build on the long-running ministry of the Bible Drill program.

“It’s the best discipleship resource to lay spiritual foundations in the lives of our kids and for them to know God’s Word and to recall it years later,” said Brannen, a 37-year Bible Drill veteran. That’s the goal of the program that helps kids memorize verses and key Bible passages, Brannen said—that what they recall in seconds as kids and teens, they’ll remember for a lifetime.

Brannen’s ministry runs a digital app loaded with Bible Drill content, including memory verses for kids, middle schoolers, and high schoolers. Bible Drill resources are also available through Lifeway Kids.

In Bible Drill, Brannen said, young people learn how to handle a Bible and to understand its basic structure of two divisions and 66 books. They also learn to look up verses and memorize Scriptures that become life passages, she said. Their knowledge is tested in the short-term through Bible drills held locally and at the state and national levels.

“These are the things that, hidden in their lives, are going to make a difference as young adults,” Brennan said. She recounted an email she received from a young man who participated in Bible Drill despite a busy teenage schedule. “I never understood why you and mom thought it was so important for me to do Bible Drill,” wrote the college student. “But now, I know how to share my faith with my friends.”

A systematic approach

Alyssa Caudill had a long-time practice of meeting with one other woman to study the Bible. She had developed a system for studying Scripture and was eager to share it with others, who would in turn use it to teach others how to engage God’s Word.

It’s not easy work, said Caudill, who now meets weekly with a group of 21 women currently studying the book of James. They talk about the historical context of the passage they’re studying and how it fits into the overall framework of the Bible. Throughout their weeks of study, they make observations from the text, interpret the passage, and make application to their lives. By the time you’ve spent several days with a particular passage, Caudill said, it’s easy for the Lord to say, “Here’s what I want you to do.”

Along the way, she tells her fellow Bible students: “This is a new way for you to look and understand and try to read the Scripture. You’re not going to do this perfectly on the first try.”

Biblical literacy is hard work, she said.

“We often struggle because we are so used to instant gratification. It’s hard work to get into the Word and dig deep, and it’s hard work to help others do the same. The end result, though, is worth the work,” Caudill said.

“When the Lord teaches you Himself through His Word, those lessons have a tendency to stick for the long-term.”

Also check out the 16-page Bible Skills for Kids booklet that provides information on how to teach Bible skills to kids, handy lists of foundational Bible Stories for preschoolers and kids, the most important memory verses for kids, and what to look for in a Bible for kids.

This article was originally published on LifewayResearch.com.