The woman from Pleasant Grove lost everything in the April 27 tornado outbreak, but she didn’t let that keep her from taking her allotted time at the podium during the May 1–5 Birmingham Bible Reading Marathon. Tears streamed down her face as she read for 15 minutes.
Another woman paused and wept as she read Peter’s statement of “No, Lord, you will never wash my feet.”
The girl with spina bifida amazed onlookers as she painstakingly made her way up 23 steps for her time slot and stood as she read God’s Word.
Story after story like these were told following events featuring about 90 consecutive hours of Bible reading held in several cities in Alabama as well as across the nation, including Washington, which hosted the 22nd annual U.S. Capitol Bible Reading Marathon. The marathons concluded on the National Day of Prayer on May 5. This year marked the 60th anniversary of the day of prayer.
Liberty Park Baptist Church, Vestavia Hills, asked Southside Baptist Church, Birmingham, to host the first Bible reading marathon in the Birmingham area.
It just so happens that the church is celebrating an anniversary of its own.
“It’s the 100th anniversary of [Southside Baptist’s] sanctuary this year. … It’s a beautiful place to stand to [read the Bible],” Senior Pastor J. Stephen Jones said.
Anyone who wanted to was welcome to participate by reading or simply listening. Volunteers read through the entire Bible and began again with the Gospels and Psalms, ending with Psalm 111 and a corporate prayer.
“We’re not screaming [the reading of the Bible] out … but it’s a powerful image for the community and our church,” Jones said during the event. “God’s Word spoken out into the world and marketplace is an important part of being faithful to the Scriptures. I think it’s going to mean almost as much for the readers as it is for the listeners.”
Sheila Wright, a member of Liberty Park Baptist, said she expected to see adults, reading-aged children, community leaders, church groups and other organizations attend and read the Bible and she saw just that. But she also saw joggers who paused to listen, people in cars driving by who stopped to listen for a little while and several homeless people who sat on the church’s steps to listen. Some of the homeless people even volunteered to read when there was an open slot, often in the middle of the night.
There was a variety of denominations and religious groups represented: Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, Church of Christ, Messianic Jew and nondenominational, Wright said.
Ninfa Austin, also a member of Liberty Park Baptist who helped organize and manage the marathon, said the Bible was read in English, Swahili and Korean.
More Than Conquerors Faith Church in Birmingham partnered with the two Birmingham Baptist Association churches to sponsor the event that continued through rain and heat.
“We may never know the impact that the reading and hearing of God’s Word may have on an individual’s heart and life, but we are trusting God that it will (have an impact),” Wright said.
In the Wiregrass section of the state, Salem-Troy Baptist Association sponsored the fifth Bible reading marathon in Troy.
“We look at it as glorifying God,” Director of Missions Averyt Walker said. “[God] said if His Word goes out, it will not return void, and that’s the promise we are claiming.”
Judy Stephens, the associational Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU) director, helped organize the marathon in which Methodist, Pentecostal, Mormon and Baptist churches were represented.
Stephens also noted that the city helped make the event possible by providing a sound system, tent, chairs and other items.
And for the eighth year, Pleasant Grove Baptist Church, Ozark, hosted a marathon at the steps of the Dale County Courthouse in Ozark, which concluded with a message by Kenneth Hale, director of missions for Dale Baptist Association.
Wilma Hart, WMU director for Dale Association and a member of Pleasant Grove Baptist, said 13 churches from the association participated as well as churches from nine other denominations.
After participating in the marathon for seven years, Hart has seen the impact that comes from God’s Word being proclaimed publicly.
“You don’t leave [the event] the same person,” she said. “It’s too tremendous.”
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