Bible reading on the rise in the U-S

USA (MNN) — More and more Americans are reading their Bible, that according to research by Barna, Gallup and US News and World Reports. They all indicate that the number of people reading Scripture may be up by as much as 44-percent.

Some people believe this is due to the recent release of the Mel Gibson film, “The Pasion of the Christ.” Others think world events are responsible.

That’s good news for American Missionary Fellowship . AMF is in the process of establishing Learning Communities across the country. AMF’s Ed Henderson says, “People generally have a lot of questions. People are looking for a group environment and they have questions about society, about moral values, about what’s going on in America. And, they’re finding Bible studies themselves to be a place to go and have discussions about topics and see what the Bible has to say about it.”

AMF hopes their Learning Communities catch on. Henderson says many people come to Christ as they study God’s word, which is their goal of these Learning Communities. “We would like people to come to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ through the study of His word. Also, to grow together in the knowledge of God in His word, to actually become mature fruitful believers,” says Henderson.

13 people have been trained to run these learning communities. However, more people are needed to start even more. Henderson says, “We need more bodies” willing to serve. Funding is also needed to meet the demand around the country.