Little Evan is seven years old Little Evan is seven years old. And he’s just discovered – for the first time in his life – that the Bible is great. He’s discovered that it’s fun, that the stories are exciting, and sometimes a bit strange, and have things to teach him about his life. Who do you think brought the Bible to life for him in this way? His teachers? His parents? His friends? His Sunday school? No. It was people like you and me. Ordinary people from an ordinary church, who are part of an extraordinary project – called Open the Book.

Open the Book makes Bible stories part of primary school life, by helping teams of volunteers from local churches go into primary schools to dress up, act out and retell the stories that are foundational to our culture.

The project started in Bedford in 1999, and became part of Bible Society in 2013. It’s currently in more than 1,600 schools, reaching over 250,000 children each week with the Bible.

You wouldn’t believe how easy it is to do You wouldn’t believe how easy it is to do. Teams of between five and seven volunteers follow a programme of scripted Bible stories, around 10 minutes long, which fit into assembly/collective worship times in schools.

They use props and costumes to present the stories in a lively, engaging and compelling way. Each story comes with an introduction, a reflection and an opt in prayer, as well as tips on how to present it.

This is a school in Knutsford, Cheshire, doing the story of the Exodus (called The Great Escape). It looks great fun, doesn’t it?

The chap who plays Moses here is former sales manager, Chris Sloan The chap who plays Moses here is former sales manager, Chris Sloan. He loves doing Open the Book so much he sometimes visits two schools a week. He said this: ‘It’s the children that make it. When you have 500 pairs of eyes swivelling round to see you at a certain point in the story, you know you have them gripped.’

‘Open the Book brings the stories to life.’ Alfie, 9 ‘Open the Book makes you understand what the Bible is all about.’ Sadie, 10 ‘Open the Book brings the stories to life.’ Alfie, 9 And it’s true that the children seem to absolutely love Open the Book. For many, it’s the first time they’ve heard these Bible stories. Here are some of the things they say about it: Sadie, 10, said, ‘Open the Book is trying to make you understand what the Bible is all about. You need to know the Bible because if you don’t, you don’t know what Jesus or God did to make the world what it is today.’ Nine-year-old Alfie said, ‘Sometimes when you read a book, you go off it because there are too many words. Open the Book brings the stories to life.’ Callum, aged eight, said, ‘Bible stories are good because they teach you things. The story of David and Goliath was about being brave, and Jonah and the whale tells us you should do what people ask you to do.’ ‘Bible stories are good because they teach you things.’ Callum, 8

‘When you act the Bible, it splashes a little bit more colour on it ‘When you act the Bible, it splashes a little bit more colour on it. It doesn’t seem as boring.’ Thomas, 11 Eleven-year-old Thomas said, ‘Open the Book is much better than having the Bible read to you. Basically, when you act it, it splashes a little bit more colour on it. The Bible doesn’t seem as boring, or black and white. When you add colour, the stories are much more exciting.’ Ten-year-old Darcey said, ‘The stories actually make us laugh – and you wouldn’t have thought Bible stories were funny.’ ‘The stories actually make us laugh – and you wouldn’t have thought Bible stories were funny.’ Darcey, 10

Open the Book really is having a tremendous impact in schools around the country. The Bible has played a major part – and goes on playing a major part – in shaping our world. We can’t understand our history, or our current moral, legal and artistic practices, without an understanding of the Bible. But more than that, we know the Bible isn’t just words. It has an impact on people. It can help children make choices about how to treat each other, how to be courageous, or brave, or loyal, or respectful.

Our vision is to bring the Bible to life for every child in every primary school We don’t want Sadie, and Callum and Alfie to be the only ones enjoying the Bible at school. The vision of Open the Book is for every child to hear the story of the Bible at school in their primary years. That means getting into all 18,280 primary schools in England and Wales – and reaching all 4.5 million pupils. 18,280 primary schools 4.5 million pupils

Could we establish an Open the Book team from this church Could we establish an Open the Book team from this church? Volunteers can come from several churches, and you just need about an hour available each week during term time to do a presentation and prepare for next time. Church leaders need to be on board with recruiting volunteers as it is an opportunity for the local church to impact the local schools. Speak to me to find out more or visit the Open the Book website which I’ll show you at the end.

Let me leave you with some words from volunteer Sue Hughes, in Anglesey, Wales. She’s 72, and has been a Bible storyteller for about a year. She said this: ‘I think this is God’s outrageous plan. I have always been an entrepreneur. But to get a group of people, dressed up in bed sheets and with tea towels on their heads, and get them to share the Bible with children ... If you were sitting in a strategy meeting, you would never come up with this. It shouldn’t work. But the fact that it does suggests it must be God’s plan. ‘Open the Book is one of the most rewarding things I have ever undertaken and, believe me, I’ve done many things. Not only do I love being with the children and the interaction with the school, I have found a group of people who are very special.’

01793 418355 biblesociety.org.uk Openthebook.net