Announcing The Bible Course at Wokingham Baptist Church
We’re excited to announce that from September 2026 we are going to devote substantial time to exploring Bible Society’s The Bible Course (New Edition) as a whole church.
The aim is to give everyone a Bible Overview: a sense of how the Bible’s big story all fits together; the story of God’s plan of salvation from Genesis to Revelation.
The course can be done in 8 weeks. We will be doing it for more than 8 months! The aim is to give a significant discipleship focus: great grounding for newer believers and not-yet believers, and a healthy reminder for those with more existing Bible knowledge.
How We Will Do The Course
The Bible Course is best experienced with others! So we will be engaging with the course at our main services each Sunday, but also through Small Groups and other groups through the week.
The Course gives an overview of the Bible's Big Story, divided into 7 sections with an initial 'Introducing The Bible' session at the start.
This introductory session will be launched at our service on Sunday 13th September. Exceptionally, and as a one-off for a ‘normal’ Sunday, after the children’s and young people’s groups have gone to their activities, we will devote the rest of the service to watching the ‘Introducing the Bible’ session video, followed by opportunity for discussion with neighbours. Don’t worry, there will also be prayer and sung worship as part of the service, although Communion this month will now take place at our Harvest Service on Sunday 27th September.
After this, a new section of the Course (and so of the Bible's ‘Big Story’) will be introduced on the 3rd Sunday of each month (apart from during Advent and Holy Week). The relevant video, with discussion, will be shared at Connect and Reflect on the 3rd Sunday morning (beginning with Genesis on Sunday 20th September), and we will spend the subsequent weeks exploring stories from that part of the Bible.
In this way we will be following this course and the Bible overview it gives us right through till next June when we will explore Revelation! The schedule looks really good, with some great stories and themes. We’ve managed to integrate Advent and Holy Week into it too.
If you can't get to Connect and Reflect, no problem! There will be further opportunities to see and discuss the video, including special The Bible Course sessions on the 3rd Sunday evening at 6.30pm in the Hall, and a new midweek small group too (please sign up to express an interest in any of these groups so we can plan them – see below for details).
Also, our existing Small Groups will be able to access the video to show in some of their own sessions – we are liaising with Small Group facilitators about arrangements and resources for that.
Resources
There are some great resources for The Bible Course which Bible Society have produced:
The Bible Course Guidebook
Bible Society recommend each participant has their own copy of the Guidebook. In their words: ‘Packed with notes, visuals, journalling ideas and further content, it will help each person get the most from the course.’ Guidebooks can be collected from and paid for in the Vestibule at church any Sunday. RRP is £9.99 but they are costing us £8 each thanks to a bulk discount. Please just pay what you can - we want everyone to have one, as it's a great resource and will enhance your experience of the course over the coming months. You might even choose to ‘pay it forward’ by paying £10 to cover the cost for someone who can’t. Either way – get your copy!
The Digital Hub
Anyone can access the Digital Hub (by creating a free profile with Bible Society) to get the best out of your online experience of The Bible Course. Once registered (you can do so here) you can re-watch course video content and explore extra resources, including Digging Deeper videos, and the Daily Bible Plan.
The Daily Bible Plan
Between each session there’s a daily Bible Plan for participants to follow. This is available on the Digital Hub and in the Guidebook. The Bible passages are taken from the relevant section of the Course, so reading these really brings the course to life. The more people commit to the daily Bible Plan (although we in fact get a whole month to do them, not just one week!), the more they get out of the course. If your small group has a WhatsApp group you could post the passages for that month and everyone can share their thoughts as they read and reflect on them.
Sign Ups
If you would like to sign up for EITHER The Bible Course 3rd Sunday Evening sessions (especially if you can’t get to Connect and Reflect) OR if you are interested in joining a new midweek The Bible Course Small Group to go through the course together with others, please either sign up on the paper form in the Vestibule, providing your name, email address and an indication of what days and times you are available,
OR email the Church Office, indicating which group you are interested in, and in the case of the midweek group, all the daytimes or evenings you are available.
While you’re signing up for things, another discipleship opportunity this Autumn is the chance to read and discuss John Mark Comer’s highly regarded book ‘Practicing The Way’. Richard and Maggie Walker are gathering a group to study it together and encourage one another in putting it into practice. If you are interested, again, either sign up on the form in the Vestibule or email the office, indicating your availability.
And finally…! If you’re wanting to explore the basics of the Christian faith together with others, then why not sign up for The Alpha Course in the same way. It starts on Monday 28th September.
Thank you for reading this far!
We’re excited to embark together on this journey through the Bible, setting out on Sunday 13th September. We hope you’ll join us for the ride!