The Challenge: Read the Book of Mark in one sitting, from beginning to end, without interruption.

Reading the Book of Mark will take about an hour and a half, roughly the length of a movie or a short sporting event. Reading Mark in one sitting will take you from John the Baptist through to the Resurrection telling the story of Jesus of Nazareth as written by Mark in the first of the recorded gospels. You deserve to experience this story like it was heard in the first century.

Why the Challenge?

We believe the Bible, the scriptures, are the Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit to affect lives and teach us. Most people today have heard about the Bible, but know about it mostly through what they have heard or read about the Bible. Even many Christians learn about the Bible indirectly through preaching or through reading Christian books. Bible reading is often done in short takes of a few verses or a chapter or two. Although this is good, we feel that one should experience the inspired Word of God like a full meal and let the Holy Spirit do its work.

We also believe that many today are influenced by what they hear said about the Bible, various interpretations and teachings that vary from very good to wild and off-the-wall. Others are influenced by the actions and failures of professing Christians which they point to to dismiss the Bible. Our desire is to let you read the scripture yourself, without interpretation, and make your own decision. Give God a chance to speak to you through his Word. The Apostle Paul wrote that “We shall all stand before the judgement seat of Christ… so then each of us shall give an account of himself to God”. You will not be able to blame or point to a misguided teacher or a misbehaving Christian leader. We want you to have a chance to hear from God himself.

For those who are already believers our desire is to bring you back to the pure Word without interpretation or restatement by others. We can all hear from the Holy Sprit. We don’t need to always be dependent on hearing what the Holy Spirit has shown others because what others are sharing is not always right.

As for ourselves, we have no desire to make a name for ourselves. Our aim is to share the scriptures without interpretation – as much as possible – to give you an opportunity to understand the Bible for yourself. Supplementing with good teaching and guidance is good, and scriptural, but you should always have a foundation in your direct reading and understanding of what the Bible says rather than what you have heard.

Who's behind this challenge?

Actually there is no church or organization behind this challenge. Last year (2021) I challenged myself and some friends to read the Book of Mark in one sitting, and it was a great experience. We thought it would be good to share this idea and let others also take the challenge.