At Bellevue, we’re about to embark on an incredible journey together—reading through the Bible chronologically in a year. This study is not just about checking off chapters, it’s about deepening our faith, seeing God’s plan unfold from Genesis to Revelation, and growing together as a church family. Emily Norwood, a young adult at Bellevue, has seen first-hand how reading through the Bible chronologically can impact your walk with Christ.
Emily grew up going to Bellevue, and she was no stranger to the truths found inside the Bible. At just 7 years old, Emily gave her life to the Lord and experienced a season of growth in her faith. However, as time went on, her spiritual journey consisted of many peaks and valleys.
“That first year of being saved there was a lot of fruit, but nothing significant,” Emily said. “I do believe I was saved back then, but I was not discipled well.”
Emily continued to face many challenges in her faith, especially during a season that lasted from 2019 to 2023, when her demanding job kept her away from church.
“My spiritual life was just dry,” Emily said. “I wasn’t reading my Bible daily, I wasn’t coming to church, no Discipleship Group. It was about two years ago, and I just really had a wake-up call. I knew there had not been any spiritual growth for about three years, and I knew that wasn’t good.”
Desiring to be spiritually fed and wanting a good community to walk alongside her in faith, Emily began to try different churches, hoping to find one she could call home. Eventually, Emily was led back to Bellevue, but she wasn’t sure if it was where she could establish strong spiritual roots.
“I resisted coming here because I thought in a church the size of Bellevue, there was no way I would find what I was looking for,” Emily said.
Despite her doubts Emily felt accepted and loved from the first moment she walked into a Young Adult Life Group.
“Everyone here was so welcoming, and I remember walking away like, ‘I’m going to do this; I’m going to jump and be all in,’” Emily said. “I started in Amanda Davidson’s One-on-One Disciple Group as a reintroduction to being involved in church.”
From there Emily’s journey took off. She joined Tanya Frank’s Discipleship Group and began participating in the young adults’ Chronological Bible reading plan.
“YA has been reading the Bible chronologically this year, and that has been such a huge encouragement to me,” Emily said. “I’ve grown up hearing the Bible spoken, I’ve heard it being taught, I’ve read it intermittently on my own, but I would just kind of skim through everything and move on.
Going through the Bible in a year is no easy task. Being able to walk through God’s Word with other people has allowed Emily to stay steadfast in her reading and has grown her desire to dive deeper into His Word.
“The accountability with my Discipleship Group to stay on track reading the Bible chronologically has played a huge part in how much I have grown in my walk with the Lord,” Emily said. “On Wednesdays we have a message that usually lines up with what we read that week, and I love those moments when I get to hear what someone else got out of the text that week.”
Through reading the Bible chronologically, Emily’s view of God’s Word transformed from one of confusion to one of admiration. She no longer skims or skips portions of Scripture; instead she actively reads and learns more about who God is.
“I saw how truly sovereign God is—it’s so evident when you’re reading the Bible chronologically because you see from the very beginning all the way through to the end that He had a plan all along that was so much better than what any man could imagine,” Emily said.
When we read the Bible chronologically, familiar stories take on deeper meaning as we understand their historical context, and challenging passages become clearer as we see how they fit into God’s greater narrative. By taking this journey together, we’ll not only grow in our individual walks with Christ but also strengthen the community of our church family as we share insights, encourage one another, and celebrate God’s faithfulness throughout history.
Need a fresh start? Join a group and read through the Chronological Bible with Bellevue in the new year! Go to bellevue.org/midweek to learn more about the groups we have available beginning January 15, and visit bellevue.org/bible to learn more about Chronological Bible 2025!