Getting Started
A Whole New ExperienceFresh, Unmediated Conversations
More Like A Book Club
Immerse: The Bible Reading Experience is designed to help communities experience the Bible together in a unique and powerful way.
Each week, participants read the assigned reading on their own, then gather to have “book club” style discussions where they can share their observations and questions based on the week’s reading. These warm and inviting group experiences set the table for authentic community interaction around the text.
It’s intentionally uncomplicated. There are no DVD curricula and no workbooks. Just organic, free-flowing discussions about Scripture.
Time Involvement
- 5 days of reading each week
- 20-30 minutes per day
- 8 or 16 weeks per volume
- 2 times per year
Program Resources
- Weekly Videos
- Audio Bible
- Pastor’s Guide
- Group Host Guide
- Family Guide
Group Conversation Starters
Rather than the traditional Bible study format, Immerse encourages groups to simply have conversations about what they’ve read, more like a book club. There are no study guides, workbooks, or DVD lessons.
Instead, there are 4 conversation starters:
- What stood out to you this week?
- Was there anything confusing or troubling?
- Did anything make you think differently about God?
- How might this change the way we live?
For Church Leaders
Pastor’s Guide
Hundreds of churches have used Immerse to read through the Bible as a congregation.
If you’re a pastor interested in trying Immerse at your church, the Immerse Pastor’s Guide can help. It contains explanations of how Immerse works, a planning checklist, best practices for leading your church’s Immerse experience, and more.
For Small Group Leaders
Group Host Guide
Immerse is different from a typical Bible study. The Immerse Group Host Guide helps hosts become more familiar with how the program works and provides some best practices for facilitating the discussions their group will have as they journey through Scripture together.
The Bible Reading Experience FAQ’s
Is Immerse meant for churches?
Hundreds of churches have already used Immerse to read through the Bible as a whole congregation, but it’s also being used in schools, universities, prisons, sports teams, families, neighborhoods, and more.
Immerse provides an easy, organic way for people in any context to read and discuss Scripture together.
Why do you call Immerse a reading experience?
Every component of Immerse is designed to help people experience the Bible in a fresh new way. From the restored formatting of the Bible to the unmediated structure of the group conversations, Immerse is meant to break the mold of a typical Bible study or small group curriculum and allow the Scriptures to come alive for people, perhaps for the first time.
Why is the program length eight weeks?
Eight weeks is recommended because it is not so long that groups lose momentum or so short that the reading gets to be too much. It has proven to be an optimum length to complete a significant reading plan, such as the whole New Testament. It does require a “slightly heroic”commitment to reading each week, but it is also only for eight weeks.
Some groups have made Immerse a 16-week experience, while others have customized it differently to fit their needs. Alternative 16-week reading plans are available in the back of each Immerse volume and on this website.
What if I can’t keep up with the reading and fall behind?
That’s OK; don’t give up. If you fall too far behind, skip ahead to where the group is reading so you can continue being involved in the group discussions. You can always go back and read what you’ve missed later.
Is Immerse available in other languages?
Yes. Immerse is currently available in Spanish.
Immerse Group FAQ’s
Do group hosts have to be teachers?
No, they do not. In fact, if they are experienced Bible study leaders, we ask them to take that hat off for this experience. Immerse group hosts are facilitators. They make sure the groups meet each week, help begin and end each discussion time, and facilitate the discussion around each week’s readings. They are even welcome to share the task of facilitating the discussion from week-to-week with others in the group.
What do group hosts do with the questions group members ask?
Many pastors have set up a special email address so group hosts in their church can submit questions that they need help with. This gives the hosts a resource for dealing with hard questions and allows them to ask the group to save the questions until the following week and move on. This is also a great way for pastors to gain a better understanding of the questions and issues their congregation is wrestling with and provides the opportunity for an effective sermon series following the Immerse experience.
As a pastor I am uncomfortable with people being free to say whatever they want in a group. Couldn’t it lead to inappropriate comments, observations, or questions too difficult for the group to answer?
This is a legitimate concern. However, people ask questions and make observations that they are already thinking about. So why not provide an opportunity for them to share these with the group and wrestle with them together? And what better place to address them than in the church? It also gives pastors the opportunity to gather these topics and address them through a sermon series following the Immerse experience, or to speak with individuals directly about the questions they have about the Bible.
Are the questions provided in the Quick Start Guide the only questions we can use?
Can we use this for our adult Sunday School class?
Immerse Graphics Kit
This package of files will help as you promote the Immerse Experience within your community. The Immerse Graphics Kit includes:
- Immerse logos
- PowerPoint slides
- Book Cover images
- Artwork images featured on each book cover
