When someone grows up in church, they hear a bunch of Scripture throughout their lives—memory verses here and Bible stories there. But despite years of faithful attendance, a lot of believers have never read God’s Word as one whole story. The familiar stories of Noah, David, and Daniel have deeper meaning when put in context of God’s bigger narrative. Reading through the Bible chronologically transforms these seemingly disconnected pieces of Scripture into a clear picture of God’s redemptive plan.
Ashley Veneman grew up in a Christian home, attended Bellevue, and later went to a Christian college. Despite being surrounded by Scripture her entire life, it wasn’t until Ashley was working for the International Mission Board that she realized she had never read the Bible all the way through.
“I had read almost the whole Bible in pieces, but I had never read it systematically,” Ashley said. “Really I think that’s a lot of believers—they feel like they know their Bible really well, but they know it in pieces.”
Her perspective began to shift when her husband’s job at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital brought them back to Memphis. In search of deeper spiritual growth, Ashley prayed for guidance.
“I knew there was something missing, and the Lord was stirring up something in me in a huge way,” Ashley said.
Her prayers were answered at a Bellevue Women’s event led by Donna Gaines, where the entire Bible’s story was presented chronologically.
“It was one of those moments where I was completely ruined,” Ashley said. “I was shaken to my core because I was a 25-year-old who had grown up in the church and I had never heard anyone tell the whole story of the Bible like that.”
After that event, Ashley was determined to know God’s Word better. She began to pray for someone to disciple her. The Lord led her to Donna, with whom she spent two years walking through the Bible chronologically. After that experience Ashley was committed to reading the entire Bible each year.
“I have been reading through the Bible ever since—I was 25 then and I’m 41 now,” Ashley said. “This has completely changed my life for the better. It has made me so hungry to know Him more.”
Now, even though Ashley has been reading through the Bible for 16 years, God continues to open her eyes to new things. Reading the Chronological Bible has not only transformed her view of God but also strengthened her ability to trust Him.
“Before reading through the Bible chronologically for the first time, I didn’t fully know the depth that I could trust in the God I had put my faith in,” Ashley said. “To know what He had done in the Old Testament that prepared and paved the way to where I was able to say, ‘Yes, Lord, I want to follow You’—it gave me so much more of an appreciation of my salvation.”
To some, reading through the whole Bible in a year seems impossible, but immersing ourselves deeper in God’s Word is not about perfection—it’s about persistence.
“People so often get into that mindset that reading through the whole Bible is so much, but it’s really not,” Ashley said. “You are cultivating a relationship with your Father and your closest friend. The more you go to the Lord and read His Word, the more you want to.”
As we start the new year, take that next step and join the Chronological Bible study journey—whether you’re picking up the Bible for the first time or committing to read through it again. God’s story is waiting to be discovered, and through it, we will learn more of who God is and the love He has for us.
Need a fresh start? Join a group and read through the Chronological Bible with Bellevue in the new year. Visit bellevue.org/bible to learn more about Chronological Bible 2025!