By Christy Gates
The latest American Bible Society State of the Bible (SOTB) report reveals that “Americans are less likely than ever before to say that the Bible is influencing the way they live out their faith in relationship to others.” This is no surprise, especially for those of us in college ministry who have seen a progressive decline in biblical literacy among freshmen.
But what we have seen is that people are still open to exploring the Bible if they can learn how and study in community. Take this story about a student Bible study leader as an illustration. When asked to lead on her college campus, Tori felt ill-equipped and nervous because she had never led others through Scripture. She soon realized, however, that she did not need to know more than the other people – she just needed to be curious and open like they were. Soon, Tori’s group had grown, and the Bible study method she was using was also adopted by her home church, leading to growth in Tori and in many others in her church community.
Those of us in campus ministry accept that we face real challenges: often, the spiritual climate is neutral or hostile toward the Christian faith, and many students are either unfamiliar with the Bible or have not been taught how to engage Scripture well. Yet many in college ministry have learned how to thrive in the midst of these obstacles.
This is good news for churches! We believe that low Bible engagement among Americans presents great opportunities for growth and increased ministry impact in local communities. Allow me to share three realities and three prompts we need to consider before becoming discouraged by what the latest SOTB report reveals. Read More
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