One of my favorite things to do here at Growing4Life is encouraging my readers to study the Bible for themselves. Studying the Word is the only way we can get to know God. It is the way God has provided for us to grow more like Christ and to protect us from many spiritual dangers. As many of you already know, I’ve been providing a Bible Reading Challenge for the last ten years here on the website. As hard as it is to believe, it is already that time of year to share the details for the Growing4Life 2026 Bible Reading Challenge. Thanks so much for stopping by to check it out.
Five or so years ago, I changed up the reading challenge to focus on one chapter per week. We don’t cover as much of the Bible with this plan, but we do learn to know the books of the Bible we are studying so much better. My favorite thing about this Bible Reading Plan is that, whether you have been a believer for years or are new in the faith, you will find that this plan will grow and challenge you in your faith. Whether you are super busy or have lots of free time, this study will fit your schedule. As long as you desire to read and study God’s Word with consistency and are looking for a plan to help you with this goal, then this plan will be a good fit for you! Read on to find out more.
Last year, we read through the Bible chronologically for our Bible Reading Challenge. While this is an important thing to do (and I will continue to offer this every five years or so), I do look forward to taking our time through the assigned chapters again in 2026. When and how often you read the chapter each week is up to you. You choose whether you will take the time to dig in and study the chapter more in-depth. Because life can be unpredictable and some weeks are slower while others are filled with activity, you will probably, like me, find yourself doing different things every week. It’s one of the reasons I love this plan. It gives us all a way to stay in God’s Word consistently, no matter what is going on in our lives.
This year we will be studying Luke’s Gospel for much of the year. In addition to Luke we will continue our study of the Psalms and return to a few of the smaller New Testament books for a repeat study. If you’ve never done one of these challenges before, it is important to note that anyone can join in and learn. Each year’s challenge can each be completed independently. Below is the basic schedule for 2026–
JANUARY-MARCH: Luke 1-12
APRIL: Colossians
MAY-JUNE: I, 2, 3 John and Jude
JULY-AUGUST: Psalms 19-26
SEPTEMBER-NOVEMBER: Luke 13-24
DECEMBER: Psalms 27-30
You will find a printable, detailed schedule at this link.
If you’d like to deepen your study or it helps you to write down your thoughts as you study the Word, you might be interested in the corresponding workbook I created for this challenge. You will find the workbook available on Amazon at this link. Because of the type of book it is, it does not have the Look Inside Feature, so if you’d like to take a peek at a few of the pages, click here. The workbook is meant to be helpful but it is not necessary.
Once again, I have created a 2026 Facebook group specifically for this challenge. There I will post a weekly reminder of what we are studying for that week, along with biblical resources, sermons, and other helps that go with our study. I give great effort to run any article or sermon I post through the grid of scripture and do my best to only provide biblical resources. You can find that group here. Just click on “JOIN GROUP”. Hope to see you there!
It’s hard to believe that this is the eleventh year for the Growing4Life Bible Reading Challenge! Through those years, God has continued to amaze me and grow me through studying His Word. The Bible’s cohesiveness and consistency is incredible! This Book is so key to the Christian life because God’s Word is inerrant, inspired, and sufficient! It is the anchor He has given us to hold on to through successes and failures; sunshine and storms; smooth paths and rocky roadways. It is my hope and prayer that the 2026 challenge will be a blessing and encouragement to you as you seek to know God’s precious Word in the upcoming year.
A Note About Bible Versions
Over the lifetime of this blog, I have rather steadfastly held to recommending a few specific versions. Most of us realize that there are quite a few “really bad” versions, while recognizing that there are a handful of “good versions”. A few years ago, one of my best friends became aware of some of the concerns surrounding all of the modern versions and we both began a journey into understanding the history and context of the modern versions. It didn’t take very long for me to realize that I could no longer recommend anything but the KJV. Of course, I would recommend you doing your own research before actually saying you don’t agree (Proverbs 18:13) However, if you don’t agree with me, I am quite content to “agree to disagree” on this. I know that I am in the minority and I am not out to change your mind. The only reason I bring it up is because, inevitably, this question comes up when I introduce the Bible Reading Challenges. So the above is my honest (and well-researched) opinion about the matter.