All Posts
115. Church-Wide Reading Series
A church-wide reading series is when your entire church reads through the same Scripture together over a defined period of time. This transforms Bible reading from a solo habit into a communal activity.
How Churches Use This
Start by choosing one series a year, such as January Bible reading or a major sermon series. Feature a Plan, promote it during service, and publish weekly Posts connected to the reading. Encourage Plans with Friends to help with increased accountability.
Then, choose two or three series per year that you’d like your whole church to be on the same page for. Build a full launch Plan, including teaser Posts, a weekly rhythm, mid-series encouragement, and a celebratory close. Provide small group discussion guides connected to daily readings.
Here are some specific use-cases:
- January Bible reading challenge. Your church launches a “Read Through the Bible” Plan on January 1. You announce it on New Year’s weekend. Small groups start Plans with Friends around it. Monthly Posts celebrate milestones. In-service references connect Sunday teaching to the daily readings. By December, you celebrate everyone who finished—and invite the whole church to do it again.
- Sermon series campaign. Your fall series is on the book of James. You feature a 5-week James Plan, publish Posts with discussion questions from each day’s reading, create Events, and ask small groups to do the Plan together. The campaign has a clear beginning, middle, and end—and your congregation reads James deeply.
- Global Bible Month. Global Bible Month is 30 days of dedicated daily Bible reading—not just with your local church, but with the global Church. Your congregation joins millions of readers worldwide in a shared commitment to God’s Word. Feature a Global Bible Month Plan, publish daily Posts that connect to the readings, encourage Plans with Friends groups, and create Events for any in-person gatherings tied to the campaign.
Elevation Church in North Carolina uses Plans as the anchor point for their church-wide campaigns, “We use a YouVersion devotional as the anchor for how we communicate about a season. The devotional gets promoted on cards, snippets are used on social media, the same Bible verses appear in our print materials, and we link to it in emails. This helps all of our communication feel cohesive and roots strategic communication in spirituality, not hype.”
Operational Guidance
- Who owns this? Senior leadership owns the vision, communications team owns execution, and the small group pastor owns leader activation.
- Frequency: 1–3 major campaigns per year. Focus on quality over quantity.
- Preparation needed: 4–6 weeks of planning before launch: Plan selection, content calendar, promotion assets, leader communication.
Best Practices
- Start with one flagship series. Master one before adding more. January or Easter are natural starting points.
- Every series gets a clear beginning, middle, and end. Launch Sunday, weekly Posts, and celebration Sunday at minimum.
- Activate your leaders. Small group leaders are the bridge between a campaign and actual relational engagement.
Sign in to YouVersion Connect to start planning your next church-wide reading campaign.
