A British man is on a personal quest to tweet the entire Bible – one tweet per chapter, one chapter per day. CNN World Report rocketed Chris Juby and the story of his three-year online ministry initiative, Bible Summary, onto the global stage.
Juby’s unique strategy, tweeting the 1,189 chapters of the Bible systematically, deserved a closer look to see what could be learned.
Genesis of the idea
Chris Juby is a freelance Web designer and Director of Worship and Media at Kings Church, in the northern English city of Durham.
I watched as Juby gave the background and genesis of his Bible Summary initiative on CNN.
There’s power in a good idea.
In Juby’s case, I noted seven types of power at work synergistically. Collectively, they have the potential of making Bible Summary a great online ministry initiative.
1. Power of the Gospel. “Yes, I’m a Christian. I read the Bible every day and I was looking for a way to focus my mind on what I was reading,” Juby told the CNN host and international audience of millions.
LESSON: Jesus Christ and the unchanging principles of God’s word are the model for any great online ministry outreach. “You became imitators of us and of the Lord. And so you became a model to all the believers.” (1 Thessalonians 1:6-7)
2. Power of preparation. Juby had already been meeting with God through the daily reading of His word–a chapter every day–for years. He didn’t just wake up last week and say, “Think I’ll tweet the Bible today.”
LESSON: Doing things well today prepares you for doing them better tomorrow.
3. Power of a contagious vision. To summarize every chapter of the Bible in a way that’s easy to understand and remember
Initially, Juby was just thinking through ways that he could more effectively remember the key messages and themes found in his daily Scripture reading.
He was already using Twitter to talk about his life, faith and music. Twitter’s 140 character limit became the optimal solution for putting his thoughts about each chapter into short, concise summaries and sharing them with others.
LESSON: Sharing brief personal thoughts and stories in everyday language will increase buy-in for the ministry and the message.
4. Power of a meaningful mission. To inspire others to the read the Bible
Juby’s one hope for the project is that the daily tweets, and chapter archives found on his Bible Summary blog, will cause others to want to read the Bible for themselves.
LESSON: A worthy cause is given the best chance of advancing and enduring when it’s driven by an unwavering hope. “We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, labor prompted by love, and endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 1:2-3)
5. Power of viral media. Juby kick started promotion with an 80-word press release sent to his two local newspapers. Major newspaper websites in the UK picked up the story, several included articles in their print versions.
From there it went viral, extending Bible Summary’s media coverage around the world. In just a few weeks, nearly 13,000 people have followed Bible Summary on Twitter.
Hundreds have emailed. From places like Korea and Russia wanting to translate Bible Summary into other languages. Quite a few have indicated that they’re not Christian but interested in learning more about what’s in the Bible.
LESSON: The little things, like an 80-word press release, still matter in an increasingly converged media world.
6. Power of cooperation. Jana Riess also summarizes a chapter of the Bible a day on Twitter under the name Twible. Riess and Juby are cooperating rather than competing. Each has written about the other’s initiative on their respective blogs, and swapped links to each others Twitter Bible projects.
Kings Church is helping by giving Bible Summary front page visibility on their website.
Juby cross promotes Salem Web Network’s BibleStudyTools.com as a place for people to start if they don’t already have a Bible.
LESSON: Great works for the gospel are nearly always cooperative efforts, remembered for the spirit of unity among the participants.
One of the things I’m happiest about is that many of the articles have quoted my hope that this project inspires others to engage with the Bible for themselves. My summaries are no substitute for the real thing. -Chris Juby-
7. Power of humility. Chris Juby didn’t set out to become a Christian media celebrity or build a huge global online ministry.
Spoken with the power of a true online evangelist, keeping his focus in the right place. “Our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction.” (1 Thessalonians 1:5)
LESSON: Nothing takes greatness away from successful ministry faster than forgetting the One whose power made it great.
Question: What online ministry initiatives are you working on?