The Good Way Bible Challenge

Have you ever read the entire Bible, from Genesis all the way to Revelation?

If you haven’t, we’d love to challenge you to do it. And if you have, why not do it again?

The Bible is worth returning to throughout our lives. There is always something more to learn, a passage we understand better than we did before, or a familiar truth that speaks to a new season of life. Even after years of reading Scripture, we can still be surprised by what we discover.

That’s what the Good Way Bible Challenge is all about: making time for God’s Word, growing in our understanding of Scripture, and enjoying the journey along the way.

You don’t need a theology degree, a complicated reading schedule, or hours of free time. You just need a Bible, a little consistency, and a willingness to learn.

Our challenge is simple: Commit to reading the entire Bible over the next year.

We’ll help you along the way with free resources from The Good Way Library, including commentary for every chapter of Scripture. But before anything else, we want to encourage you to spend time in the Word itself.

So, are you ready? Let’s get started!

The Challenge: A Few Chapters a Day, the Whole Bible in a Year

The Bible contains 66 books and 1,189 chapters. That may sound like a lot, but spread across a year, it becomes a much more manageable goal.

Here’s the entire reading plan:

• Five days each week: Read 3 chapters.
• Two days each week: Read 4 chapters.
• Keep going: Start with Genesis, work your way through the Old and New Testaments, and finish with Revelation.

That’s 23 chapters a week, enough to complete the entire Bible within 52 weeks!

You can pick whichever two days work best for your extra chapter. Maybe weekends are easier. Maybe you have a quiet morning during the week. It’s completely up to you.

And you don’t have to wait until January 1 to begin. Start today, tomorrow, or whenever you’re ready to make the commitment. Your year begins when you open your Bible.

The goal isn’t to race through Scripture. It’s to build a habit of spending time with God and learning his Word.

Some chapters are short. Others are much longer. Some are easy to follow, while others take patience and careful thought. That’s part of reading the whole Bible. You’ll encounter passages you already love, stories you may have forgotten, and entire books you’ve perhaps never spent much time studying.

Keep reading. There’s so much worth discovering.

Start With 15 Minutes in God’s Word

We recommend beginning with a simple goal: Set aside at least 15 minutes each day for Scripture before opening any commentary or study resource.

Fifteen minutes is a great starting point for building the habit. Depending on the length of the chapters and your reading pace, you may need a little more time to finish that day’s reading. That’s perfectly fine.

Find a time that works for your life. Read before work, during lunch, after the kids go to bed, or whenever you can give Scripture your attention.

If possible, we especially encourage you to read from a physical Bible. There’s something wonderful about sitting down with an actual Bible, turning its pages, and setting aside the distractions that often come with our phones and computers.

A physical Bible also pairs nicely with Good Way Library. Keep your Bible open beside you while using our online commentary to investigate passages that interest you.

But a hardcopy Bible isn’t required. The best reading method is one you’ll actually use consistently.

You have plenty of good options:

• A physical Bible: Our favorite recommendation when practical. Find a comfortable place, open your Bible, and read.
• A Bible app: Great for reading on your phone or tablet, especially when you’re away from home.
• A free online Bible: The World English Bible Updated (WEBU) is freely available online and is the translation we use for Good Way Library.
• An audio Bible: Listen during your commute, while walking, or while taking care of things around the house. You can also explore the free WEBU audio recordings available online.

Audio Bibles can be especially helpful when life is busy. If listening helps you spend more time with Scripture, take advantage of it! You might even enjoy listening while following along in a printed Bible.

However you choose to read or listen, try to give the words your attention. This is time spent learning from God’s Word, and it’s worth protecting.

Scripture First, Commentary Second

This is probably the most important encouragement we can give you during the entire challenge.

Read the Bible for yourself first. Always.

Before looking up explanations, interpretations, or what someone else thinks a passage means, spend time with the actual words of Scripture.

Pray for understanding. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you as you read. Pay attention to what the passage says, what it teaches about God, and what it might be calling you to change.

The Holy Spirit is our divine teacher, and Scripture is God’s inspired Word. We want you to grow in your ability to read it faithfully, recognize its truths, and understand how its many books fit together.

You won’t understand everything on your first reading. Nobody does. And that’s okay!

There will be difficult passages, unfamiliar customs, complicated arguments, and questions you can’t immediately answer. Sometimes you’ll need help. Maybe sometimes you’ll need to read a passage twice. Sometimes an answer will become clearer several chapters later.

That’s where good Christian teaching and study resources can be useful.

At Good Way Library, our goal is to help you understand Scripture more deeply, never to replace your own reading of it.

Think of our commentaries as a companion to your Bible. They can explain historical background, walk through difficult verses, introduce Christian interpretive differences, and point you toward related passages.

But the Bible itself should always remain the center of your daily study.

Your Daily Bible Challenge Routine

Here’s a simple routine we recommend. Adapt it however you like.

1. Pray and open your Bible. Ask God to help you understand his Word and put it into practice.
2. Read your assigned chapters. Spend your first 15 minutes or more in Scripture itself. Read straight through and follow the flow of the passage.
3. Think about what you read. What stood out? What did you learn about God? Was anything confusing? Is there something you need to remember or obey?
4. Visit Good Way Library. Look up the chapters you just read. Explore the explanations that would be most useful to you that day.
5. Put something into practice. Consider one lesson, encouragement, correction, or truth from your reading that you can carry into your day.

That’s it!

You can spend five minutes in our commentary or an entire hour if something really catches your interest.

You do not need to read every word of all three commentary pages every day. That would quickly become a much bigger commitment than the Bible reading challenge itself.

Instead, let your questions and interests guide you. Some days you may want only a quick summary. Other days you might find yourself digging into a difficult passage, following cross-references, or learning about a historical setting for much longer.

We want the library to be a resource you genuinely enjoy using, not another assignment you feel obligated to complete.

How to Use Good Way Library During the Challenge

One of the wonderful things about this challenge is that you won’t have to go searching all over the internet whenever something is confusing.

Our Commentary Library includes an overview of every book of the Bible and a dedicated commentary page for every chapter, from Genesis 1 through Revelation 22.

Each resource is organized to help you find the information you’re looking for. Here’s how we recommend using them throughout your year.

Start Each New Book With a Book Overview

Whenever you begin a new book of the Bible, take a little time to explore its Good Way Library overview.

For example, before or after beginning Genesis, you can visit our Genesis Book Overview.

Our book overviews introduce the major themes, historical setting, purpose, structure, important people, and key events of each biblical book. They also help explain how a book fits into the larger story of Scripture and points toward Christ.

You don’t have to study the entire overview at once.

Start by reading the Overview: The Big Picture, Outline: The Structure, and Historical Setting: The World Behind the Book. These will help you understand where the book is going and why it matters.

As you continue through the book, return to sections such as Key Themes, Christ and Canon, and Interpretive Issues whenever you want to explore something more deeply.

Understanding the big picture makes individual chapters much easier to follow, especially in longer or less familiar books.

Use the Chapter Summary to Review What You Read

After finishing your daily Bible reading, the Chapter Summary: The Point is one of the easiest places to begin.

Each chapter summary gives you a straightforward explanation of the chapter’s main events, arguments, and theological message.

It’s a quick way to check whether you followed the central point of what you just read.

You may discover that you missed an important connection, misunderstood the order of events, or overlooked a major theme.

You can also look at Outline: The Structure to see how the chapter is divided and how its different parts fit together.

For a busy day, reading the chapter summary may be all the extra study you need.

Explore the Context and Historical Background

One of the most rewarding parts of Bible study is learning about the world in which Scripture was written.

Every chapter includes Context: The Setting, which explains the chapter’s literary setting along with relevant history and culture.

The Literary Flow and Genre portion helps you understand how a chapter connects to the chapters around it and to the larger biblical book.

The History and Culture portion provides background that can make unfamiliar places, customs, events, and situations easier to understand.

This is especially helpful when you’re reading Old Testament history, the prophets, the Gospels, or passages involving ancient laws and customs.

Sometimes just a little historical background can make a passage you’ve read many times suddenly much clearer.

We encourage you to check this section regularly. It’s one of the simplest ways to expand your understanding of the Bible without adding a lengthy study session.

Turn to the Walkthrough When You Have Questions

Did you finish a chapter and think, “Wait, what exactly does that mean?”

We’ve all been there.

That’s why every chapter has a Commentary: The Walkthrough section.

Rather than offering only a general summary, the walkthrough works through the biblical passage in smaller groups of verses. It explains important details, theological themes, wording, and connections that might otherwise be missed.

You don’t have to read the whole walkthrough every day.

If verses 12–16 left you confused, find that portion of the commentary and read it. If a particular story or statement interests you, spend a few minutes exploring it further.

Then return to your Bible and read those verses again.

Let the commentary lead you back into Scripture, rather than away from it.

Over time, you’ll become more comfortable recognizing literary patterns, following biblical arguments, and understanding passages that once seemed difficult.

Explore Interpretive Options Without Being Overwhelmed

As you read the entire Bible, you’ll encounter passages that faithful Christians have understood differently.

That’s normal, and it doesn’t have to be discouraging.

Our Interpretive Options: The Differences section introduces important questions and explains relevant interpretations within historic Christianity.

These may involve the meaning of a particular passage, how a prophecy should be understood, or differences between established Christian theological traditions.

We encourage you to read these discussions with an open Bible and a thoughtful mind.

Consider why Christians have reached different conclusions. Look carefully at the biblical evidence. Pray, reflect, and discuss important questions with trusted Christian teachers or fellow believers.

You don’t have to settle every difficult question immediately.

The purpose of these sections is to help you understand the issues, examine the reasoning, and develop more informed biblical convictions as you grow.

Use Common Misreadings to Check Your Understanding

Sometimes a passage seems to say something that it doesn’t actually mean when read in context.

Our Common Misreadings: The Mistakes section addresses misunderstandings that readers may encounter in individual chapters.

This is a helpful place to check your understanding, particularly after reading difficult passages or verses you’ve heard quoted in isolation.

You may find that a familiar expression has a more specific meaning than you realized, or that a passage makes better sense when connected to its surrounding chapters.

These short explanations can save you from carrying an incorrect assumption into the rest of your reading.

Put Scripture Into Practice With Application

Reading God’s Word should shape the way we live.

That’s why every chapter includes Application: The Practice, with practical lessons for personal discipleship, church and community life, and leadership or teaching.

Don’t feel as though you need to apply every point from every chapter on the same day.

Instead, look for something that genuinely challenges or encourages you.

Maybe Scripture calls you to be more patient with your family, forgive someone, examine your priorities, grow in prayer, or place greater trust in God.

Choose something specific and begin practicing it.

A wonderful goal for this challenge is to finish each day having learned something about God’s Word and considered how to live in light of it.

Our hope isn’t simply that you’ll know more Bible facts at the end of the year. We want you to grow in faith, understanding, and obedience to Christ.

Follow Cross-References When You Have Extra Time

Some days you’ll have only enough time for your daily reading. Other days you’ll find a passage so fascinating that you want to keep studying.

Those are perfect days to explore Cross-References: The Connections.

Each chapter includes related passages from elsewhere in Scripture that help illuminate its meaning.

This can be one of the most exciting parts of Bible study.

You may discover how an Old Testament promise connects to the New Testament, how a teaching of Jesus develops an earlier biblical theme, or how a passage in one book helps explain a difficult passage in another.

Over time, these connections help you see the Bible as one unified story of God’s creation, humanity’s fall, his unfolding work of redemption, and its fulfillment in Jesus Christ.

Don’t feel that you need to follow every reference. Pick one or two that catch your interest and see where they lead.

You might be surprised how often a short study turns into a wonderful discovery.

Some Days, Keep It Simple. Other Days, Dig Deeper.

Here’s what we really want you to understand about using Good Way Library during this challenge:

You have permission to keep it simple.

On a busy day, read your chapters, pray, and carry what you’ve learned into your day. That’s a good day. If you have a few extra minutes, read the Chapter Summary and Context sections. If something confuses you, consult the relevant Walkthrough or Interpretive Options. Or, if you have a quiet Saturday afternoon and want to study for an hour, explore the Cross-References, book overview, and related chapters.

There is no required amount of commentary reading. You don’t have to finish every section or remember every detail.

The Bible is a book you’ll spend a lifetime learning from. You don’t need to master it in one year.

And remember to keep your Bible nearby whenever you’re studying. Check the verses for yourself. Read the surrounding context. Let God’s Word remain the foundation of everything you’re learning.

What If You Fall Behind?

You probably will at some point. Most of us do!

Maybe work gets busy, your family needs your attention, you travel, or you simply have a few days when your schedule doesn’t cooperate. Don’t let that stop you. A missed day doesn’t mean you’ve failed the challenge. And it certainly doesn’t mean you need to give up and start over. Pick up where you left off. If you have extra time later in the week, read a little more. If you need to adjust your pace temporarily, that’s fine too.

The one-year goal gives us something fun and worthwhile to work toward. But growing in the habit of reading Scripture is far more important than maintaining a perfect streak.

Don’t let a missed day turn into a missed month because you feel discouraged.

Open your Bible again, read the next chapter, and keep going.

Whether you finish in twelve months, thirteen months, or a little longer, completing your reading and growing in God’s Word will be worth it.

Make the Challenge Even More Fun: Invite Someone Along!

Bible reading can be a wonderful personal habit, but it can also be something you share with others.

Invite your spouse, a friend, someone from church, or a family member to take the challenge with you.

You don’t have to sit down and read together every day. You can simply follow the same plan and talk occasionally about what you’ve been learning.

Share a favorite passage. Ask each other questions. Compare what stood out to you. Help each other understand difficult sections.

If you have children, consider bringing them into the experience too. Read a shorter portion aloud together, share a story from that day’s chapters, or talk about something you learned.

And if you attend a Bible study or small group, consider inviting everyone to join.

Having someone to share the journey with can make the experience more enjoyable and help you stay encouraged throughout the year.

Ready to Begin? Let’s Read the Bible!

There’s no better time to start than now.

Your first day is simple: Read Genesis chapters 1, 2, and 3.

Begin with the creation of the world, God’s good design for humanity, and the entrance of sin into human life. These opening chapters introduce truths that will shape your understanding of the entire Bible.

After reading, if you’d like some additional help, explore our Genesis Book Overview or begin with the Genesis 1 Commentary.

You can find every book overview and chapter commentary in our Good Way Commentary Library.

And if you don’t have a Bible handy, you can begin reading Genesis 1 in the free World English Bible Updated.

Tomorrow, pick up with Genesis 4. Continue forward, three chapters most days and an extra chapter twice a week, until you’ve made your way through the whole Bible.

Think about where you’ll be a year from now.

You’ll have read books you might never have opened before. You’ll know the biblical story more fully. Even further, you’ll recognize connections between passages that once seemed unrelated. You’ll have a stronger foundation for understanding the Christian faith, and you’ll have spent a year regularly returning to God’s Word.

And perhaps the best part? You’ll have built a habit you can carry into the next year, and the next.

So here’s our challenge to you: Make the commitment. Open your Bible. Give God’s Word a place in your day.

We’re excited to help you along the way, and we pray this journey brings you closer to the Lord and deepens your love for his Word.

Let’s read the whole Bible together!