2025-2026 Bible Reading Plan
“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” (Psalm 1:1-3 ESV)
Harvest Mission Community Church will begin a new two-year Bible Reading Plan (BRP) on January 19, 2025. We believe that the Bible is God’s life-giving word, and that abundant blessings wait for those who read and meditate upon it. Said another way, it is impossible to live a fruitful Christian life without regularly engaging with the Bible. We pray that everyone in our church will commit to this spiritual discipline together, and that through it we will grow in wisdom, develop life-long rhythms of abiding in Christ, and grow to maturity as followers of Jesus.
Participating in this BRP is not the only way to engage with the Bible, so why ask everyone to do this together? Three core convictions guided us to this course of action:
- Daily Bible reading is the foundational spiritual discipline. How do we know to pray? To believe? To serve? To love? To forgive? To rest? The Bible tells us so. Everything we know and do in the Christian life comes from the Bible, so reading it daily supports everything else.
- All of the Bible is God’s word. Many Christians have only read certain books or parts of the Bible, but “All Scripture is breathed out by God” (2 Tim 3:16), and we want to make disciples of Jesus who treasure all of the Bible as God’s gift to us.
- There is value in reading and living the Bible together. It isn’t bad to read the Bible on our own schedule, but imagine the extra fruit that comes from brothers and sisters holding one another accountable, sharing lessons with each other, and reading in unity.
We will begin the new BRP on January 19 to coincide with the beginning of our annual One Desire Fast. It is our hope that beginning the year with fasting, prayer, and commitment to the Bible will prepare us for a full year of growing Deep & Wide together. We have chosen the two-year version of the M’Cheyne reading plan because it offers a balance of Old and New Testament passages, and a good pace that we believe anyone can keep up with (about 10-15 minutes per day).
We also want to highlight 2 additional resources that we believe will be beneficial as supplemental resources as you go through the BRP:
- For the Love of God (Volume 1 | Volume 2): Written by theologian D.A. Carson, each day's devotional will highlight one of the 2 passages from that day's reading. An electronic version is also available for free on The Gospel Coalition, and are linked in the Google Calendar listed below.
- Bible Project Videos: The Bible Project's book overview videos provide a great introduction to each book of the Bible
The BRP is available in the following formats:
- YouVersion App Reading Plan | Year 1 | Year 2
- Google Calendar (includes D.A. Carson's daily devotional and Bible Project video links) | hmcc.tech/brpcalendar
- Printed Handout | available in the T-Center foyer
- Digital Handout | Year 1 | Year 2 link TBD
May the Lord bless our commitment to His word together, and fill our church with greater spiritual fruit as we journey through the Bible!
HMCC Elder Team
P.S. - Here are some answers to questions we know might come up:
That’s amazing! If you have a conviction from the Lord to continue and complete your current plan, nobody is going to stop you. However, we would ask that you prayerfully consider switching to our church’s BRP so that we can pursue this in unity as a spiritual family.
If you miss a day and you’re able to go back and catch up with the reading, that’s wonderful. However, don’t let missing a day (or a few) become an obstacle to continuing the plan along with us. While we definitely want to read every chapter and verse, what will bear the most fruit in our lives is daily consistency.
Reading the Bible is great, but if you prefer to listen there are ways to do that, as well. The YouVersion Bible app has audio recordings built into it, and you could listen as you take a walk, drive to work, or however is most helpful to you.
Many of us have busy schedules and lots of responsibilities, and finding dedicated time to read can be a challenge. However, we make time for what is important to us, and whether you read the Bible is a choice you make, not a situation beyond your control. For example, could you read while on the bus? Before opening any social media for the day? While you eat lunch? We encourage everyone to make God our priority and not give Him our leftover time and attention.
Reading the Bible is a life-giving practice of abiding in our relationship with Jesus. If we turn it into legalism or obligation, that is a heart issue within us, not a problem with a reading plan. Like any important relationship, we have to make a choice to invest in it, communicate regularly, and pursue it out of love. Even if we struggle with our motivations, we can trust God to change our hearts as we seek Him with faith.