Over the past few decades, Christian leaders have been issuing dire warnings about what they perceive to be a precipitous slide toward biblical-illiteracy oblivion. I include myself among those who have sounded the alarm, including an article I wrote in Biola Magazine 10 years ago.1 The lack of Bible knowledge (and even interest in the Bible) was ominous then. But when a 2022 American Bible Society study registered a massive 10% drop in Bible engagement across all demographics, this seemed to confirm our fears that biblical literacy was decreasing at a faster pace than even the doomsdayers (like me) anticipated.

Moreover, the source of concern was not only in the statistics, but for those of us sounding the alarm, it was occurring in real time. Bible teachers and church leaders frequently encountered people in their spheres of ministry who knew precious little about the Bible beyond a handful of stories.

In many respects, engagement with the Bible — or, more accurately disengagement — continues to be of deepest concern. And yet … it smells like something is brewing. (Yes, coffee drinkers, this analogy is for you.) There are whiffs of increased openness to Christianity, and correspondingly a seeming growing interest in learning about the Bible.

One possible signpost of hope is the number of Bibles sold in the United States this past year. In 2024, Bible sales increased a whopping 22% as compared with 2023, according to The Wall Street Journal. Britain has recorded a similar increase, with Bible sales growing 87% between 2019 and 2024. Such growth in Bible sales is substantial — something to rejoice in. But just because people buy Bibles doesn’t mean they read them. Is there evidence that people are engaging more in Scripture?

The evidence is tentative, but the American Bible Society’s State of the Bible USA 2025 report indicates a small but seemingly significant upward trend in Bible engagement, most noticeable among men (as a whole), and millennials in particular. This is significant because in the past, men and millennials have tended to be less Bible-engaged than women and non-millennials. Even in the more resistant American regions of the Northeast and West, a noticeable uptick in interest in the Bible is apparent. What.ever the reasons — and reasons are difficult to discern — it seems significant that more than half of all people (including an increase of 18- to 27-year-olds from 2023–2024) agreed with the statement: “the message of the Bible has transformed my life.”2 More younger adults are acknowledging that the Bible is relevant for life transformation.

Such numbers seem to comport with what Justin Brierley suggested earlier this year is an increased “warming” to Christianity throughout the West, including Britain and the U.S. It is an encouraging sign that among the youngest demographic that can be surveyed (Gen Z), nearly two in three (64%) in a recent Barna survey reported having prayed to God within the last seven days. The Pew Research Center titled their Religious Landscape Study report for 2023–2024, “Decline of Christianity in the U.S. Has Slowed, May Have Leveled Off.” Regarding the Bible in particular, the Pew study noted: “A majority of U.S. Christians say the Bible is extremely important or very important in their lives,” though the report also noted “large differences across Christian subgroups.” Such indicators, I grant, are only suggestive; but they still seem to signal a brewing interest in the Bible.

We can smell the aromatic brewing at Biola in even more pungent ways. Despite how countercultural it is to memorize Scripture (how many people do you know who memorize consistently?), our bustling campus has a significant number of students who memorize Scripture on their own, including larger portions of the Bible. In the past two years, various students have told me that they have memorized James, the Sermon on the Mount, Philippians, 1 Peter, 1 John, Ephesians, the Upper Room Discourse (John 14–17), and multiple psalms. One young man related that he had memorized all the non-Pauline epistles (James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1–3 John, Jude) during his student years. I have personally listened to five students quote through the entire book of Romans. There is even a Scripture memory club on campus (unregistered). How great is that! Students’ passion to know God’s Word is one of many reasons that I love teaching at Talbot School of Theology, embedded in Biola University.

But as most of us know, biblical literacy isn’t merely a matter of memorization. It certainly isn’t about learning Bible trivia — though learning the content of Scripture is foundational for grasping the redemptive movement of the Bible. One who wants to be truly biblically literate needs to: 1) acquire basic skills in faithful interpretation (hermeneutics), 2) learn major themes of the Bible (biblical theology), 3) understand broader categories and contours of biblical teaching (systematic theology), and 4) know how to apply Scripture to growth in Christ (pastoral ministry, spiritual theology).

At Talbot we care deeply about training people in all areas of biblical literacy, since we are convinced that the transformative work of the Holy Spirit is mediated first and foremost through God’s Word.

What can we do to help people move toward greater biblical engagement?

The first step is to personally engage God’s Word, allowing the Bible to shape our attitudes, actions and affections. Sarah Hill notes in a recent Decision Magazine article that people often desire to start reading the Bible when they come in close contact with a “Bible person.” (How much I love her label “Bible person”!) People start reading and studying the Bible when they notice the example of an admired friend or family member who is really into reading, learning, and living out the Bible. One of the most important ways we can encourage deeper and sustained engagement with the Bible is by becoming “Bible people” ourselves. But when only 41% of “theological evangelicals” read or study the Bible every day, examples of “Bible people” can be hard to find — particularly when the Bible-reading patterns of many of those 41% are subpar.

In our churches we can encourage Scripture engagement by modeling faithful expository preaching and teaching. Such modeling helps consistent churchgoers learn how to recognize biblical themes, link relevant sections of Scripture to one another, connect all of the Bible to the person and work of Jesus, and acknowledge Scripture’s relevance to daily life.

I’ve recently found myself reflecting on the question of how later generations of Christians might look back on our engagement with the Bible (or lack of it). Will they remember us as those who permitted an unabated slide toward scriptural disengagement? Or will we be remembered as leaders and teachers who graciously but insistently guided people toward loving and learning God’s Word? We stand at a moment in time when a few encouraging signs of increased openness to the Bible exist, but we will need far more than general openness if we are going to see a true revival of the Bible in our generation.

1 Kenneth Berding, “The Crisis of Biblical Illiteracy,” Biola Magazine (May 29, 2014).

2 State of the Bible USA 2024 (American Bible Society), 16.