Bible Society new family edition Bible review by Becky Lawrence, Youth and Kids Worker at St Mark’s MK
Bible Society, YFC and other partners have a brand new family edition Bible which you guessed it – is aimed at families to read and explore together. It’s a huge book, A4 in size, hardback, designed to be opened and read with family huddled round. It has 1296 pages, 32 are full-colour. I am a huge fan of this family edition as a concept and as a resource. The price is high, its RRP £34.99 – but when you consider its size and a whole load of use you could get out of it – I think its worth it. Design wise, it’s big because there is space in the margins for doodling, note taking, journalling, it also features extra activities suggestions in those margins on some pages like craft activities or discussion questions and more.
One of the things I am most excited about is the more creative uses we could find for it other than at home family use – like using it in sunday school or kids church as a small group exploration Bible tool, or in cafe church round tables as an all age tool to explore and engage with the Bible together. It would also make a lovely gift for families new to the church, or confirmation/baptism gifts, or just Christmas gifts for families! The other thing is that theres more than just a book, obviously God’s spirit speaks and breathes into us through the pages but also theres videos that unpack the content, regular updated online content to go with it too and an online community, which all help unpack the Bible for families and provide even further enagagement.
Here’s what the publisher Bible Society say about it, “Here at Bible Society, we believe that the Bible should be at the centre of family life, as something that is experienced together. But when we looked at the family Bibles currently available, we realised that they actually weren’t designed in a way that a family could engage with them together. So in partnership with our good friends at Youth for Christ (along with a plethora of other family focused organisations) we set to work to create a Bible that is truly designed for a family to engage with together.
We involved a broad and diverse range of different families in the concept and design to ensure we created something that would authentically meet the needs of those who engage with it. The end result? A Bible that is designed to not just bring you closer to God, but closer to each other.
Key Features:
- Removable and reusable ‘whiteboard’ jacket, for writing, drawing and being creative
- Unique landscape page layout that encourages family engagement around the Bible
- Over 400 interactions throughout, based on the themes of Think, Chat, Do, Create and Watch
- Loads of space inside for writing, doodling and drawing
- 26 online videos that help guide, support and unpack the tricky bits as you journey through the Bible
- An online community of Family Bible users, where you can share ideas, stories and offer each other support
- Regular new content that can be downloaded or printed for free, with content based on feedback and suggestions from active users of the Bible
Here’s a link to buy a copy: Bible Society shop