What is Pray & Read?
Early in 2021, we officially rolled out the Pray & Read initiative. This is not a formal ministry of the church, but an initiative we are encouraging our members to take up.
We are encouraging everyone to commit to read the Bible one-to-one with someone you know who isn’t saved. To begin, we’re asking you to pray for your friend. We have a thirty-day prayer guide booklet at church which will help you intercede for your friend or loved one, asking God to ready their heart for when you ask them to read with you. This guide is also available for online free in print and as a digital download.
Then we’re asking you to read the Bible with them. Specifically, we are asking you to read Mark’s Gospel with them. It's a short, direct introduction to Jesus designed to bring about faith in those who read it.
When they say Yes to reading with you, we will continue to pray. Week-by-week, we will pray for our friends as we read the Gospel with them. And, Lord willing, as your reading partner encounters Jesus again and again in the text, God will open blind eyes and grant saving faith (Rom 10:17; 2 Cor 4:4–6). What a privilege to share in God’s work of saving his people and bringing them to himself!
When it comes to using Mark's Gospel, we are suggesting you use this brief guide from St. Helen's Bishopsgate. It that will help you walk someone through Mark a chapter at a time. Remember, this is not meant to be an in-depth study. When you meet, you'll read the the text out loud, then ask three simple questions: "From what we just read..."
- Who is Jesus?
- Why did he come?
- What does this mean for us?
If you're wondering how to get to the point of asking someone to read the Bible, you're not alone! Get seven suggestions for asking the question here.
What If I've Never Read the Bible One-to-One?
Pray & Read is simply reading the Bible with someone one-to-one. But maybe you've yet to read the Bible with someone like this. One-to-one Bible reading is a great way to leverage the power of God's word for evangelism as well for establishing believers in the faith or equipping them for ministry.
Part of the appeal of one-to-one Bible reading is its simplicity. You don't need to be a Bible scholar or even a mature believer to lead someone to see the gospel of Christ through reading Mark's Gospel one-to-one. It simply requires two people to read the text and discuss what they see. You can watch a testimony of one-to-one's effectiveness here.
But if you want more information on one-to-one bible reading, you can access some resources here.