For Church Leaders
Pastor's GuideLead Your Congregation Through Scripture
As the leader of your church, what could be more important than helping your congregation become fluent in the story of Scripture?
Immerse provides a unique and powerful way for congregations to journey through the entire Bible together. The Immerse Pastor’s Guide will help you understand the materials included with Immerse and walk you through some of the best practices for implementing the program in your church.
The Vision for Immerse
Immerse isn’t designed to be a one-off program. Instead, it’s meant to give your church a framework for regular community immersion in the Scriptures. By reading together twice a year, your church can read through all six volumes—the entire Bible—in three years…
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
…and then start again. Immerse provides a way for communities of believers to form a habit of regular, ongoing engagement with the Scriptures.
Free Support Tools To
Enhance Your Immerse Experience
The Immerse experience involves far more than just reading a series of books. Various support components have been developed to enhance your experience. These resources are all available for free. And as resources are updated or added, your church will be given immediate access to them, allowing you to provide the most up-to-date tools and information to your community.
Custom Audio Bible
Full audio recording that follows the natural literary breaks found in Immerse: The Reading Bible.
Weekly Videos
2-3 minute “trailers” highlighting what to expect and look for in the coming week’s reading.
Pastor’s Guide
Guide to help pastors implement Immerse: The Bible Reading Experience in their church.
Family Guide
Abridged reading for kids with custom discussion questions so the whole family can participate in Immerse.
Quick Start Guide
Delivered as a bookmark within each book. Contains the reading plan, discussion starters, and three tips for getting the most out of the reading experience.
Graphics Kit
Downloadable kit containing hi-res image files for use in church programs, social media, PowerPoint slides, etc.
eBook Version
Available for purchase for Nook, Kindle, iPad, etc. for each volume of Immerse.
“Our congregation’s response to my appeal was, ‘You know what, he really believes in this. He can’t wait to get started.’”
—Jim Cymbala, Lead Pastor, The Brooklyn Tabernacle
Best Practices for Pastors
1. Take the lead.
Immerse offers the opportunity to focus your church’s attention on reading the Bible together during a specific period of time. As much as possible, make this the singular focus of your life together during these weeks. If you champion this experience, your church will follow.
2. Involve other staff and key leaders in the process.
This is a wonderful opportunity to break down silos or barriers that can form between different areas of ministry in your church. Take advantage of this opportunity to come together as a team around a single purpose.
3. Include your entire congregation.
This isn’t just for adults. Encourage your youth and children’s ministries to participate in Immerse and ask parents to use the Family Guide to bring this experience into their homes. Invite families to read aloud together! Cross-generational involvement will strengthen the bonds within your church and ensure one “heartbeat” during your Immerse journey.
4. Make it work for your context.
The materials and outline we’ve provided reflect what we believe is the best way for your church to experience the Bible together. But if something doesn’t work for your church, we encourage you to adapt the program to fit your needs. Just make sure the core DNA of Immerse remains intact: reading at length and having honest, unmediated conversations around the text.
5. Keep it simple!
The evidence is overwhelming that simply reading the Bible as presented in Immerse: The Reading Bible and then discussing it in community has a powerful impact. The Holy Spirit works through the Word of God as people engage in reading the entire Bible. Even people who have read through the Bible multiple times are saying that reading Immerse is like reading it for the first time. So keep things simple and allow your church to enjoy the Bible as it was intended to be read—uncluttered and in community.
Download the Full Guide
The Full Immerse Pastor’s Guide PDF contains:
- Features of Immerse: The Reading Bible
- Best Practices for Pastors
- 8-Week reading plans for all volumes
- Planning Checklist for before, during, and after your Immerse Experience
“Immerse isn’t just building up churches, it’s also building up families”
—Michelle Sanchez, Executive Minister of Make and Deepen Disciples, Evangelical Covenant Church