Attending Central College teaches a student more than just what is in textbooks. Students learn how to live in a community, balance their studies with extra curricular activities and social life, and gain a well-rounded liberal arts education. For many, college is a time of spiritual growth.

This year, a group of around 150 people signed up to participate in a Read the Bible in a Year program with campus ministries. The group started the task on Oct. 1 and will finish by November 2010. Participants are using The One Year Bible NIV published by Tyndale. This group is composed of primarily students but a few faculty and staff also are participating.

“So often students do not take time to read the Bible,” stated Sarah Schlager, campus ministries assistant. “So many passages are overlooked and not studied.”

Each day, participants read passages from the New Testament, Old Testament, and the books of Psalms and Proverbs. The readings take approximately 15 minutes. During the week, 10 to 12 small groups meet for about an hour to discuss what they have read. The meetings are not meant to be academic but rather a time for participants to discuss points of interest and questions they may have.

“It is like spiritual homework,” said Cory Nikkel, of Pella, Iowa, who has organized the Read the Bible in a Year program. “A year-long commitment is tough. It is sometimes hard to find the time, but it is rewarding.”

One of the challenges that the campus ministries executive team faced was the issue of what would happen over Christmas and summer breaks. The team plans to create a Facebook group or send e-mails to provide encouragement and motivation for students to continue reading. It will also allow students to have conversations about what they are reading.

Current seniors had an opportunity to participate in the program their freshman year. At the beginning of this semester, it came up as being something that they would like to do again.

“I joined at the tail end of reading the Bible in a year my sophomore year. I was really excited when we talked about doing it again,” said senior Niki Hively from Crescent, Iowa. “I’m looking forward to seeing what God is going to reveal through this next year as students across campus dedicate themselves to spending time each day reading the Bible.”

Central College is a residential liberal arts college dedicated to helping students discover and develop their greatest potential. Guided by its ecumenical Christian tradition, the college community engages in vigorous, open inquiry in pursuit of academic excellence.