Read the Bible in a Year (or 2 or 3): Group Reading Plans with a Weekly Quiz
To read the Bible in a year you need about 3–4 chapters a day (1,189 chapters in total). If that is too fast for your group, a two-year plan needs about 12 chapters a week and a three-year plan about 8. Reading together works best with a fixed weekly rhythm and a short weekly quiz or discussion so nobody falls behind unnoticed.
Most Bible reading plans fail in February. Not because people stop caring, but because reading alone is hard to sustain, and once you are a week behind it feels easier to quit than to catch up.
Reading together changes that. When a church, youth group or family reads the same chapters each week and meets to talk about them, or to play a quiz on them, people keep going. This guide compares five plans and shows how to run one as a group.
How many chapters are in the Bible?
The Bible has 66 books and 1,189 chapters: 929 in the Old Testament and 260 in the New Testament. That number decides the pace of any plan.
| Plan | Chapters per week | About per day | Total time |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Testament in a Year | 5 | 1 (weekdays) | 1 year |
| Whole Bible in 1 Year | about 25 | 3–4 | 1 year |
| Whole Bible in 2 Years | about 12 | 1–2 (10 minutes) | 2 years |
| Whole Bible in 3 Years | about 8 | 1 | 3 years |
| Five Chapters a Week | 5 | 1 (weekdays) | about 5 years |
Which plan should your group choose?
- New to Bible reading? Start with the New Testament in a Year. One chapter each weekday is gentle, and the Gospels and Acts are full of story.
- Most churches: the Whole Bible in 2 Years. Ten minutes a day is realistic for busy people and still covers everything.
- Committed readers: the Whole Bible in 1 Year, mixing Old Testament, New Testament and Psalms or Proverbs every week so there is always something encouraging.
- Families with young children or very busy groups: Five Chapters a Week. Slow, steady, and still the whole Bible.
The best plans read from more than one part of the Bible each week. Long stretches of Leviticus or Chronicles are easier with a Gospel chapter and a psalm alongside.
How to run a reading plan as a group
- Pick a start date and announce it two or three weeks ahead.
- Share the week's reading every week by message, bulletin or screen.
- Meet weekly, even briefly, to discuss or quiz on what everyone read.
- Build in catch-up weeks. Every few months, schedule a week with no new reading so people who fell behind can catch up.
- Celebrate milestones: finishing the Pentateuch, the Gospels, the Old Testament.
Why a weekly quiz works
A short quiz on the week's reading is not a test; it is a reason to read. People look forward to it, it surfaces the stories they skimmed, and the reference shown with each answer sends them back to the text.
This is exactly how the reading plans in MyBibleQuiz work. Each plan has a week-by-week schedule and, every week, a ready-made 25-question elimination round and 20-question final round on that week's chapters. Every answer shows its Bible reference and a one-line explanation. The longer plans include a review week every few months for catching up. Your group reads during the week, then plays the quiz together, in person or on their phones from anywhere.
Tips to keep going
- Read at the same time every day: with breakfast, on the commute, before bed.
- Listen when you cannot read. An audio Bible counts.
- Do not quit, skip ahead. If you miss a week, join this week's reading and go back later.
- Ask one question per chapter: What does this show me about God?
- Read with someone. A spouse, a friend or the whole church.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to read the whole Bible?
At an average reading speed, the whole Bible takes roughly 70 to 80 hours. Spread over a year, that is about 12 to 15 minutes a day; over two years, about 6 or 7 minutes a day for a quick reader, or 10 minutes at a slower pace.
What is the best Bible reading plan for beginners?
A New Testament in a Year plan, one chapter each weekday, is the gentlest start. It begins with the life of Jesus and is short enough to finish.
How can a church read the Bible together?
Choose one plan for everyone, share each week's chapters, and meet weekly to discuss or play a short quiz on the reading. Catch-up weeks every few months help people who fall behind.
Is reading the Bible in two years better than one?
For most groups, yes. A two-year plan needs about ten minutes a day, so more people finish. A finished two-year plan beats an abandoned one-year plan.