By Jackie Gorski
Times-Union
WINONA LAKE – As a demonstration of faith, members of at least 25 churches are reading the Bible aloud at Victory Circle at Limitless Park, Winona Lake, starting Monday.
This is the second consecutive year the Bible has been from start to finish in a local park. Last year’s event was at Central Park in Warsaw
Organizer Ty Legan said the spirit of the event is to be a communal type of thing, not necessarily a church event.
The entire Bible will be read aloud from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. starting Monday, going through Sept. 14.
On Monday, the books of Genesis through Joshua will be read. On Tuesday, the books of Joshua through 2 Chronicles will be read. On Wednesday, Ezra through Jeremiah will be read. On Thursday, Jeremiah through Mark is scheduled to be read. On Friday, Mark through Revelation will be read. On Saturday, anything that has not been finished will be read.
The mission of Every Word is to proclaim the Bible for the glory of God and the good of the community, according to Every Word’s website.
Legan said the idea came after he was in a personal Bible study and he read Deuteronomy 31, which has Moses telling the Israelites to read the law at the end of every seven years. Legan saw a poll that said 16% of Americans read the Bible. There was also a 2020 Gallup poll showing church attendance dropped from 70% in 2000 to 47% in 2020.
In Matthew 4:4, Jesus states, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Legan said the quote from Matthew 4:4 showed him that 84% of the U.S. population is spiritually starving because they don’t read their Bible.
Last year, Legan said the event ended at noon on a Saturday. It took 79 hours and 35 minutes to read the Bible and 96% of readers who participated last year said they’d read again.
Currently, there are about 30 half-hour slots available.
Anyone interested in reading can go to butoneveryword.com and go to the Sign Up For A Reading Time Here! button.
