Date

4-2021

Department

Rawlings School of Divinity

Degree

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Chair

Douglas Munton

Keywords

Bible, Reading, Motivation, Increase, Christians, Literacy

Disciplines

Christianity | Religion

Abstract

Scholarly discussion abounds on the subject of low Bible readership within the Body of Christ. However, gaining an understanding of key the factors that motivate or hinder Bible reading among adult Christians, and developing strategies to reverse this trend through preaching and Christian Education, is an area of the research that was sparsely addressed by the precedent literature. As a result, the purpose of this study is to help pastors and Christian educators better understand the motivating factors that influence regular Bible reading and to propose action steps that can increase Bible reading among the Body of Christ. This study follows a qualitative and phenomenological research design. It is based upon the Bible reading experiences of six adult, Christian, research participants selected from the locales of central California and Norfolk, Virginia. Each research participant completed a single Bible reading questionnaire about their Bible reading beliefs and practices. The results of this study revealed that motivation to read the Bible is significantly influenced by the positive, personal, experience that the reader gains from engaging the teachings of the Scripture. Reading the Bible with others was also found to be crucial to maintaining Bible readership. In contrast, the key hindrance to regular Bible reading was the perceived lack of time created by life and work responsibilities. Based on these motivating factors, this research provides targeted recommendations to help foster regular Bible reading through both preaching and Christian education.

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