Eyes down for the next Big Church Read

Eyes down for the next Big Church Read

When Steve Barnett heard of The Big Thames Valley Read, in which everyone who lived alongside the river was encouraged to read Three Men in a Boat, he thought a similar idea would work in a church setting.

‘I reckoned everyone reading the same book at the same time would build fellowship and deepen faith,’ said Steve, who runs St Andrew’s Bookshop, exhibitors at CRE Midlands 2023.

Many years later, during lockdown, he was talking with Andy Lyon from HodderFaith about ways to get people reading. They decided to create The National Big Church Read if they could get either John Mark Comer or Pete Greig to join in. And both agreed! Three years on there are now over 40 Big Church Reads to choose from.

‘We encourage groups and churches to journey through a specific book together,’ said Steve. ‘The author records a short video for each week in which they encourage people to talk about the book. This can be played from the Big Church Read website.’

What has excited Steve is that people are drawn into reading who might not normally – and many read the whole book.

‘In our survey we discovered a third of the respondents said they didn’t usually read Christian books, and others said they didn’t finish books they had started,’ he said. ‘But all the people who did not normally read the whole book, did so.

‘We are hearing of how groups have been drawn closer, faith deepened and lives changed. This is why more than 90 per cent of those who have already been involved in a Big Church Read say they will join in another.’

‘I just want to see more people reading and taking advantage of the wonderful books which are available,’ added Steve.

• The 3rd National Big Church Read starts on May 24
• St Andrew’s Bookshop are on stand C23 at CRE Midlands 2023

Book your ticket for CRE Midlands 2023 here from as little as £3

Organisations looking to book a stand should contact James Batterbee 0161 250 2306 (E: james@creonline.co.uk) or Carol Malpass 0161 250 2467 (E: carol@creonline.co.uk)

Click to view the latest floorplan and price list for available stands