Brian Robbins works through the E100 Bible reading program. Photo by Throwinglight.com

What if a program existed in which key readings helped you understand the full narrative import and message of the Bible?

Such a program came to life last summer, when more than 130 churches in the greater Philadelphia area tested the American Bible Society’s newly sponsored The Essential 100 (E100). E100 uses 100 key Scripture passages to provide a comprehensive overview of God’s involvement in history.

More than 12,400 people, representing diverse denominations and socio-economic backgrounds, committed to reading the Bible with their church. Everyone was enthusiastic and positive.

Barbara Dougherty, a member of Calvary Temple in Philadelphia, explained that her whole church got involved. The children used the program as part of their Christian education curriculum. For her, “the involvement of the entire congregation really helped me stay on track.”

The E100 program allows people to work at their own pace

One goal of the E100 is to avoid the “Genesis to Revelation,” or so-called snowplow approach to reading the Bible. Developed with funding support from the American Bible Society, the E100 contains 50 Scripture passages each from the Old and New Testaments. The E100 program allows people to work at their own pace, through a church or small group, by providing the support and motivation that helps people finish.

Whitney Kuniholm, president of Scripture Union/USA and the chief architect of the E100, hopes that this program will help spark a “Bible reading revival” resulting in churches that are more passionate about God and more loving toward their neighbors.

“What happens when people start to read the Bible? They begin to realize that God is at work in history and in the lives of individual people,” he says. “When people begin to connect their story with God’s story, that is when the Bible comes alive.”

Brian Robbins, 16 years old, participated through his youth group at the Church of the Good Samaritan in Paoli, Pa. He started out strong but hit a dry patch in his spiritual life and stopped reading. “Everyone in my church finished the E100, and I was still in the Old Testament,” he says. “But that is the good thing about this program. It doesn’t matter if you fall behind, you can still pick it up at anytime and finish it.”

And Brian intends to do just that. Re-energized and excited about engaging in God’s Word, he says, “Over the past few months, God has really showed me what he wants to do with my life. I am really looking forward to the future, and really digging into the Bible by completing the E100 program.”