How to Read The Bible In A Year – Reading Plans Included!

So you want to know how to read the Bible in a year?

With a bible in a year plan selected, you set out on a mission to read the whole Bible in a year. Only a few days in, life suddenly happens and you end up falling behind. Two days turns into a week and before you know it you are three weeks behind and you feel guilty and have completely lost your motivation to complete your yearly Bible reading plan.

Or maybe, you have started to view it as a checklist item instead of the restful practice that it should be.

I can totally relate, I failed several times before I finally managed to complete the Bible in a year. While using these goal setting worksheets is a great place to start to develop actionable steps each month to achieve your goals, in this article, I will share my process on how I managed to read through the year and you can two.

This post may contain affiliate links. You can read my full affiliate disclosure here.

How Many Hours A Day Do You Need To Read The Bible In A Year?

Depending on the pace you read you can read the Bible in as little as 15- 30 minutes a day and be able to completely read the Bible in a year. 30 minutes, that’s all it takes! In what areas of your life could you maybe cut back to be able to spend 30 minutes in prayer and Bible reading each day?

I particularly like this Infographic from Crossway which shows what activities people spend 30 minutes or more on each day and how much you could read spending 30 minutes with your Bible each day. I find it rather eye opening!

Is There An App To Read The Entire Bible In A Year?

There are several apps with plans to read the Bible in a year. If you already have the YouVersion Bible App which most people do, you can consider starting The One Year Bible. The One Year Bible, is the world’s most popular annual chronological reading Bible plan.

It includes daily readings from the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs will guide you through God’s Word in one year. Having the reading plan on your phone allows you to easily keep track of your progress on the go, no printed bible reading plan required. You can also opt to get notified to be reminder that you need to complete the days daily Bible reading.

How to Read The Bible In A Year?

I want to read the Bible, but where do I even start? When I first told my husband that I wanted to read the Bible in 90 days, he just couldn’t understand it. Hold your roll, that wasn’t a typo, before I share with you my tips to help you read the Bible in a year, I first want to share my journey with you .

Let’s get back to the story. Why a 90 day Bible reading challenge he questioned? At the time I couldn’t think of an answer. Truth be told, everybody was doing it so I wanted to do it too. Yes I was following the crowd, at least it was for spiritual growth. Does that at least score some brownie points?

Like many I started out fine at the beginning of the year but as life happened I found myself starting to view my reading as a checklist item and before I knew it I was finding it really hard to keep up with the daily readings. After a few weeks in I called it quits and failed to make it to the end of the year!

Truly connecting with your why, your motivation, is what will keep you chugging at your goal even on days when you are exhausted or just want to call it quits. Are you reading the Bible in a year just because everyone else is doing it?

Or is it just an arbitrary goal? Reading the Bible in one year gives you an excellent overview of the Bible. Once you have completed reading through the Bible in a year, you can always follow-up with more in-depth studies of the different books of the Bible.

One-Year Bible Reading Plans 

Included below are some of best Bible reading plans to help you on your journey of reading the Bible in a year. When we refer to reading the Bible within a year, we are typically referring to a 365 day period.

This could commence on January 1 and end on December 31 or start anything in the year lasting for a 12 month period. There are many different approaches to reading the Bible in a year, here are some Bible reading plans to consider:

Genesis to Revelation -This plan is relatively straightforward. As the name suggest you read from Genesis to Revelation. You don’t have to worry about what your daily scripture reading is or require a unique plan.

Just pick up Bible and read, reading roughly 3 chapters a day on average should have you completing the entire Bible in 12 months. With this method though, just remember that the Bible is organized by different genre not by events.

Chronological By Events – With this reading plan, you read the Bible based on the order of how the events are believed to have occurred. Download a free Chronological plan here.

Chronological By Book -One of the best way to read the Bible in a year. With this reading plan, you read the Bible based on the order of how the events are believed to have occurred but by book. I prefer this option as I still get to read chronologically but don’t feel like am jumping all over with my daily readings. Download a free Chronological plan here.

Read Passages From Old Testament and New Testament , Psalms and Proverbs Daily – This includes new testament readings and includes daily readings consisting of passages from the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs.  This gives variety to your daily readings. Access reading plan here.

Be Realistic With Reading The Bible In A Year

There is a popular saying that “you can’t know where you are going if you don’t know where you are coming from.” Whoever penned those words knew what they were talking about.

One of the reasons why my goal to read off the Bible in 90 days originally failed, was that I just wasn’t being realistic. At the time, I found it challenging to read two chapters of the Bible before suddenly feeling weary. How then could I remain committed to reading large chunks of the Bible in one sitting?

Use your past failures to help you realistically develop a plan of action for future success. If you are a new mom or new to reading the Bible, you may not want to consider reading the Bible in a year or even 90 days.

Think about why you struggled with reading the Bible in its entirety in the past. Was it that you struggled to find the time or perhaps you became overwhelmed by the volume of daily readings? Whatever the reason, adjust your goals accordingly. This may mean switching to a plan you find a bit more manageable and can remain committed to. If you are new to Bible Reading, you might find these monthly printable Bible reading plans to help you fall in love with God’s words a great place to start.

Reading the Bible in a year will require you to read on average 5 chapters a day. If you endeavor to read the Bible in 90 days, it will will require you to read even larger chunks of the Bible on a daily basis.

This can quickly start to feel like a never ending chore and result in you quitting just a few months in. Be reasonable, take your situation into account to determine whether reading the Bible in 6 months or a 52 week or even 2 year Bible reading plan would be a better option for you.

Read The Bible In A Year With An Accountability Partner

This is great for discussing Bible questions as well as what you have been learning through the process. Group members are able to encourage each other as they endeavor to read the Bible in its entirety.

We are all better together! While you can individually read the Bible in a year, opt to read it with family or friends. Inviting friends or family to be a part of the reading plan can help to keep you accountable especially for weeks when you feel unmotivated or find yourself falling behind.

As you read, you can also discuss the readings with each other or ask questions on topics you don’t quite understand as you make your way through the Bible. So many times I personally felt like giving up, however seeing my partners still reading and what they were garnering from scripture motivated me to stick to the process during those moments I felt like calling it quits.

Consider Using An Audio Bible To Read The Bible In A Year

If you struggle to find the perfect quiet time, consider listening  to an audio Bible and pairing it with an activity like driving to work.

You can also consider adding a dramatized audio Bible translation to your reading mix. A dramatized audio Bible can help bring your readings to life. Especially when reading the hard parts of scripture. While somewhat cheating here a bit, I like listening to audio versions. I find this convenient as I can listen to the Bible during my commute to and from work. The app I use for this is Bible.is.

I find Bible.is rather convenient as I can listen to the bible on the go without exceeding my allotted data.  All you have to do is to download the audio and text versions at home then you are good to go. A neat way of still listening to God’s word without blowing through your monthly data allotment.

Choose A Bible Translation You Understand For Your Bible In A Year Plan

Translations can make or break your study time. Consider easy to read and understand Bible translations as well as a study Bible that you love to help you look forward to spending time in the word. Study Bibles can enhance your reading by providing background information on things like:  context, background, author, date, themes, intended audience and circumstances.

 Chronological Reading Plan

Personally  I have opted to read from Genesis to Revelation as well as tried reading a chronological Bible reading plan. While a chronological Bible reading plan was great to see events in the order they happened I often felt like I was just all over the place with the readings as such I preferred just reading the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. If you would like to read the bible chronologically however, consider purchasing The One Year Chronological Bible.

You could also consider this Printable Chronological Bible Reading Plan.

This Chronological Bible Reading Planner is designed to give you an easy way to read the Bible in a year allowing you to read the Bible as things happened in chronological order.

This printable Bible Reading Plan & Journal Includes:

This 41-page feature-packed Bible Study Journal Bundle comes with clear instructions to help you learn how to use the worksheets to study the Bible and apply it to your life. And thereby have a better understanding and a closer walk with God!

These 12 monthly Bible Reading Plans will lead you through the Bible in the order that the events happened. Reading this way will help you gain a deeper understanding of the timeline of events covered in scripture.

There are also 12 Daily Journal Sheets (1 design for each month) for studying and recording what you hear from God as you read and study each day. Use the Chapter Study Worksheet and Book Study Worksheet to learn even more!

This printable bundle also includes Notes pages, 6 Verse Cards to write out your favorite verses from each month’s reading, and binder tabs for creating a beautiful binder to keep your journal organized!  And much more!

For someone new to reading the Bible, I would suggest a reading plan that starts in the new testament which is a little more palatable to read. By the time you would have completed the new testament, you would have developed somewhat of a habit of daily Bible reading and could then proceed to reading the old testament.

Another tip I would suggest is to have monthly Bible reading goals instead of daily goals. Instead of being burdened by having to read certain chapters each day, instead determine the books you need to complete for the month and make that your focus. Then, proceed with reading at your leisure to complete the books by the end of the month. Ensure you have each months reading requirements logged in your favorite Bible Study Planner.

Consider Various Bible Study Tools

Life happens, however make it your commitment to read the days reading prior to going to bed or have a plan to catch up before you fall too far behind and become discouraged.

It is one thing to read the Bible and another study it. Incorporate Bible Study Tools or Methods to help you gain deeper clarity on what you are reading.

Read Through The Bible In A Year

Only 10% of Christians have actually read through the Bible. Sadly, according to a 2004 Gallup survey only 37% of teenagers could identify a quote from “The Sermon on the Mount.” As you read the Bible in a year, be prepared for a transformation. To reinforce your readings, try some of these helpful tips mentioned below as you read the Bible in a year.

The Bible Project

The Bible Project is a non-profit organization that produces short animated Biblical videos. Their videos summarizes books of the Bible as well as point out the overarching themes. Once you have completed a book of the Bible, you can watch the corresponding animated video from The Bible Project. It not only helps with recalling what you read earlier but can also provide perspectives you may not have considered while reading through the book. You can find a compilation of the Bible Project videos on their YouTube Channel.

Visual Bible

Switch up your daily Bible reading routine by watching a Visual Bible Project. This isn’t a Biblical movie that includes lots of Hollywood theatrics. Instead, the films are verbatim and developed from books of the New Testament. Thus far I have come across: The Visual Bible: Matthew, The Visual Bible: Acts and The Gospel of John. You can find copies of the Visual Bible on Amazon.

Read Bible In A Year

If you get off track, keep reading regardless. Read the Bible at a level that works for you. What really matters is that you read the word of God and spend time developing a relationship with him. In your own timing you will successfully attain your ultimate goal of reading through the Bible from cover to cover.

Have you read the Bible in a year? What are some of your best tips to read the Bible in a year?

More Articles You May Like

Struggling to read the Bible? Here is what you should know

Bible Journaling For Beginners The Ultimate Guide

Is The Bible Fake or Can We Trust The Bible?

How to Create An Awesome Bible Reading Plan in 3 Easy Steps

The Most Accurate Bible Translations