Scripture is immersive for Bangor Parish Church
Discipleship is one of the three strands in Bishop David’s 10 Year Vision for the diocese and personal Bible reading is one aspect of that. We’ve invited Revd Nigel Parker, rector of Bangor Parish Church, to talk about the impact that the Immerse Bible Reading Experience has had on his church family.
“During the challenges of the global pandemic, we began in the parish to hunger for a more robust faith. These words of Scripture seemed to sum up the invitation that we received from the Lord, ‘let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think’, (Romans 12.2 NLT). So, we immersed ourselves as a whole church family in the story of the Lord’s love.
“The tool we have used to help us engage with the big story of Scripture is Immerse: The Bible Reading Experience. It’s a high–quality resource which has been developed through decades of prayer and research. The Bible is presented in straight–forward literary form, (New Living Translation), without chapters, verses, dual columns or footnotes. The New Testament is delivered in one Immerse book called Messiah. The Old Testament comprises five Immerse books; Beginnings, Kingdoms, Prophets, Poets and Chronicles.
“We invited our parishioners to read Immerse: Messiah over eight weeks – about 25 minutes of Scripture reading a day. Then to meet each week for eight weeks in Immerse Groups, ideally of 8–10 people, to discuss what we’d read. There was also an Immerse Group on Zoom.
“As we rose to the challenge of reading together the New Testament in eight weeks, we were refreshed, surprised, challenged and sometimes puzzled. We were caught up in the overall flow of the story and glimpsed the bigger picture. Above all, we were confronted with the love of God, the magnificence of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.
“The style of the Immerse Groups is like a book club, so that family, friends, work colleagues and neighbours can be invited along. People are also only asked to commit for 8 weeks at a time and participation has been very good indeed with around 120–130 engaging.
“We have found that conversations around church more frequently gravitate towards what we’ve recently been reading in the Scriptures. Members of our in–person and online Immerse groups come full of questions and comments. Group leaders have found their task light as members are excited, ready to engage and curious as to how to apply God’s truth.
“So far at BPC we have read Messiah, Beginnings and are reading Kingdoms. So, we are nearly halfway through. The Old Testament has thrown up different challenges as we encounter passages full of conflict and bloodshed. We are thinking (and preaching) more deeply about the authority of scripture and our understanding of God’s character as we let the Bible speak for itself.
“In His generosity, our Lord Jesus Christ is renewing us by His Spirit and equipping us for His glorious purposes as we immerse ourselves in His great story of making all things new. I would be very glad to share more about our experience with anyone who would like to know more.”
The Resource
Premier promotes and represents Tyndale’s Immerse within the UK and Richard McChesney of Premier has been very helpful in giving guidance and in helping to order resources.
Immerse comes in several formats including large print and e–book and an audio version.
There is also a Family Guide, which provides a daily reading over 40 days (five days per week for eight weeks). This could sit on the kitchen table and help all ages to be immersed in Scripture, by reading the bible aloud and chatting for a few minutes, using the Talking Together section to promote conversation between generations.
For more information visit www.tyndale.com/sites/immersebible
Or email Richard: richard.mcchesney@premier.org.uk
Revd Nigel Parker