Bible Reading Practices in the AFM

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BIBLE READING PRACTICES IN THE AFM How important is the Bible in the lives of Pentecostal believers? How frequently do they read the Bible and what role does the Bible play in their daily lives? The Education and Training Department of the AFM decided to do empirical research across the country and representative of all our assemblies, to investigate how and why our members read the Bible. A questionnaire was utilised in the analysis and the demographic realities of South Africa were reflected in the data collection.

The analysis of the questionnaire shows that our members and pastors love their Bibles and use it regularly. They read it daily and it informs their daily practices. Some of the important conclusions gained from the questionnaire about Bible reading practices in the AFM are the following:

98%

read the Bible in its printed form while...

96% have a Bible (indicating that 4% do not have a Bible).

72%

read the Bible in its printed form while...

24% read it on an electronic device

This is an exciting development, that the Bible is available on ipads, tablets and smartphones and our members carry the Word of God with them everywhere they go.

47%

of participants indicate that they only read the Bible while

33%

use the Bible and a commentary and

23%

use the Bible and a daily devotional.

This is also encouraging although one is sometimes worried about the quality and paradigm of the material used to interpret the Biblical message.

74% read the Bible on a daily basis. Isn’t this encouraging? Our members rely on the Bible as a daily guide for their lives!

41% read more than one chapter a day. 30% read one chapter a day. This gives a high percentage of more than 70% of participants spending time with the Bible on a regular basis and indicate that participants use their Bibles well.

of families read the Bible on a daily basis together. One is surprised that no less than a third of the participants read the Bible as a family although one wishes that all families will develop this custom

35%

– a family that prays together stays together!


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