Why Bible Literacy matters

If you asked a group of children to tell you everything they knew about the Bible, I wonder what they would say. Perhaps snippets of stories ranging from Ark builders, to Giant slayers, to world Saviours. These stories matter deeply and have so much to teach children, but if all we ever offer children are disconnected stories, they miss out on the greatest of truths, that the Bible is the greatest love story ever told.

Bible literacy isn’t simply knowing what happens in the Bible or  being able to find a passage within it. Bible literacy is understanding the Bible as a library. A collection of writings, written across centuries, by different people, in different styles; all revealing one unfolding story of God and His love for all of humanity. A love so great that God was willing to send his own son Jesus, to die on a cross, so that we might know eternity in relationship with Him.

When we make space to build Bible literacy we help children discover the many different styles of writing in the Bible – history, poetry, letters and prophecies. Children already understand different types of writing – they know that we don’t read recipe in the same way as we read a favourite book, the back of a cereal packet the same way we read a newspaper.

Understanding that Scripture contains different types of writing helps children engage more deeply and ask better questions. Who was this prophecy or letter for? Which period of world history does this story align with. How can I express my own emotions as a poem or song.

Here are four simple reasons why Building Bible Literacy is so important.

1. Context — understanding where we are in the story

I love to teach alongside a Bible timeline, so that children can see exactly where we are in God’s Big Story. Without context, Bible stories can become isolated moral lessons, King David shows that we can “be good leaders”, but setting it within the Time of Kings, a period of history where God’s people wanted to be led by a man rather than just by God helps us understand why this ‘man after God’s own heart’ was so significant.

Understanding social and historical context helps children to dive more deeply into scripture. This isn’t something radical and new, if you’ve ever told the story of the Good Samaritan you will have explained that the Samaritans and the Jewish people were hostile with one another. We do it instinctively because we know that context informs how we understand the parable and how the listening crowd would have understood it too!

Often we take a specific verse out of context to bless and encourage, but out of context verses can equally be used to control or mislead. Teaching children to look at the verses before and after, to think about who the original intended audience was can help them develop wisdom and release them in using scripture faithfully.

2. Coherence — discovering God’s big story

When we make space to explore the themes of scripture – covenant, restoration, prophecy, we help children see God consistently at work throughout the Bible. It helps bridge the gap between the Old Testament God of the Israelites and the Incarnate Jesus of the New.

Scripture begins to make more sense. Not because every question is answered, but because they can see the threads that tie it together. The repeated patterns of behaviour – withdrawal of relationship with God and reconciliation through sacrifice and forgiveness. It equips children to navigate the Bible for themselves, viewing even the trickier passages through a wider lens of understanding.

In Luke 24 v 27 we see Jesus pulling together these strands for an amazed audience of two on the Emmaus Road: “Then starting with what Moses and all the prophets had said about him, Jesus began to explain everything that had been written about himself in the Scriptures.”

Bible literacy helps children realise: this isn’t hundreds of separate stories, it is one big story of God’s love for them!

3. Confidence — helping faith become their own

We want children to engage with the Bible not just in a Sunday school class but at home and in their every day. Teaching the Bible as a whole and equipping with tools for exploring and unpacking it alone builds a lifelong foundation. It helps children navigate through chapters and verses, place a passage or verse, unpacking scripture for themselves. We are not telling children they need to understand everything they read, but how to approach anything they encounter.

2 Timothy 3 v 16 reminds us that “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for showing people what is wrong in their lives, for correcting faults, and for teaching how to live right.”  We can be those who release children into exploring the deep riches of God’s word, rather than limiting them to those passages we find safe or palatable. As theologian John Stott says “We must allow the Word of God to confront us, to disturb our security, to undermine our complacency and to overthrow our patterns of thought and behaviour.”

Confidence doesn’t come from having all the answers it comes from knowing where to begin.

And that confidence matters because our hope isn’t that children depend forever on leaders to explain Scripture but that they discover they can encounter God through His Word for themselves. That they can use scripture as a powerful tool in sharing their faith with those they meet in their schools, playgrounds and one day workplaces!

4. Connection – the word alive

Hebrews 4 v 12 reminds us that “God’s word is alive and working and is sharper than a double-edged sword.” It is a place where God speaks to us, encouraging, training, convicting and inspiring us in our own faith. It is where we discover the example of Jesus, the truth of the gospel and God’s wonderful promise of hope.The Bible becomes not ancient disconnected stories, but a live connection to encounter God today!

So what does it look like when Bible Literacy is embedded in our teaching?

Not just children who can win Bible quizzes... although that is a bonus.

But children who know they are part of God’s story.

Children who can open Scripture with curiosity.

Children who recognise different voices, genres and themes.

Children who grow in confidence that this ancient library still speaks today.

Because Bible literacy isn’t about knowing more.

It’s about knowing God more deeply through His story.

Grab our free one page download on how to Build Bible Literacy into each lesson – or go deeper with our Building Bible Literacy pocket-sized teaching tool.