Tara-Leigh Cobble Shares How God Is Using 'The Bible Recap' To 'spark A Fire' Both Inside And Outside The Church

For years, conversations about the decline of biblical literacy and waning church attendance hang dominated discussions among faith leaders — but Tara-Leigh Cobble’s podcast ”The Bible Recap” has transformed the blueprint in which oldsters have interaction with Scripture, proving that starvation for the Phrase of God is important from unnecessary.

“The Bible Recap” podcast has repeatedly ranked at the head of Apple’s charts — at instances surpassing even cultural juggernaut Joe Rogan’s podcast — drawing millions of listeners every month. Her e book sequence, assessment guides and youngsters’s materials are repeatedly among Amazon’s top 100 books. As of December 2024, gross sales of The Bible Recap books had practically doubled when compared to the outdated year. 

“It has blown me away,” Cobble told The Christian Put up. “That is a instrument that has helped folks, church buildings, folks, reach nearer to the Lord, and the reason it’s selling correctly is on legend of these folks will no longer conclude talking about it. They’re going to no longer conclude talking about how God has feeble it of their lives and of their hearts. Marriages hang been transformed. Folk hang became assist from suicide. Formative years hang reach to Christ.

“It’s impartial astounding what the Lord is doing via this and in particular particular person hearts and lives,” she added. “When our hearts and lives are transformed, we don’t shut up about it. We impartial encourage talking, and we’re searching out for to advise all people. And so, the these that are listening to — it’s whetting their trail for meals. What I assessment taking place is an awakening throughout the Church that is piquing the curiosity start air the Church.”

The podcaster published she impartial nowadays got an electronic mail from a Jewish girl who got right here to Christ via “The Bible Recap.” “She wanted to start [the podast] and assessment what I had to inform about the Musty Testomony. She kept going, and she met Jesus. The Lord is the utilize of this instrument in the Church to spark a fireplace start air the Church,” she mentioned. 

Cobble shared how her hang inch with Scripture used to be some distance from effortless. Despite rising up in the church, she struggled to be taught via the Bible until a pastor buddy guided her via it, answering questions along the blueprint in which. 

After ending it on her hang extra than one instances, she realized something the biggest: folks weren’t failing to be taught the Bible resulting from a shortage of desire or time; it used to be a comprehension scenario.

“I realized that when I attempted to encourage folks to assemble it, they’d hang the identical thing happen to them as came about to me,” she explained. “The one time that it worked used to be the time I helped a girl personally, answering her questions along the blueprint in which. That’s what sparked ‘The Bible Recap.’ I wished to relief rob away barriers for these that wanted to be taught, understand and love God’s Phrase.”

“The Bible Recap” launched in January 2019, and impartial 17 days later, Cobble started receiving emails from publishers wanting to flip the direct right into a e book. Though she used to be working 100-hour weeks to whole the podcast, she identified the attach a query to and launched The Bible Recap e book in 2020. The response, she mentioned, used to be overwhelming.

“We realized that these that had accomplished the podcast after which picked up the e book wanted extra sources,” she mentioned. “They wanted a assessment e book, a discussion e book — ways to deepen their thought. Then we started listening to from oldsters who told us, ‘My puny one listens to ‘The Bible Recap’ with me daily.’ That’s as soon as we knew we wished a children’s line.”

This day, Cobble and her personnel hang created Bible assessment materials masking eight books of the Bible, with plans to submit 40 by 2033. Additionally, The Bible Recap Youngsters’ Devotional has surged in reputation, ranking impartial start air Amazon’s top 100.

The success of the Bible-themed materials flies in the face of former wisdom that biblical literacy is fading. “I led a Bible assessment of about 1,200 women, and my prayer used to be that a quarter of them would assemble ‘The Bible Recap’ with me,” Cobble recalled. “My prayer used to be that 300 folks would be taught the Bible with me.”

The attach a query to for “The Bible Recap” suggests a rising pastime in Scripture, in particular among younger generations: “Youngsters are reading via the Bible at age five and could well well presumably impartial hang be taught it 20-plus instances by adulthood if they encourage going,” she mentioned. 

Cobble mentioned she has additionally seen a shift in how folks consume the Bible. “Reasonably about a the younger viewers prefer YouTube, and in disclose that has been an outlet for them,” she illustrious.

Extra drastically, she challenged the design that reading Scripture need to be accomplished with one’s eyes.

“I primarily be taught the Bible with my ears; I be conscious of the Bible,” she mentioned. “For the majority of human history, the blueprint in which oldsters consumed Scripture used to be by listening to it. There used to be one reproduction of the scrolls in the final synagogue, no longer all people could well well be taught. The printing press hadn’t been invented. Folk hang been unfortunate, and so, they couldn’t give you the money for books, even after they did exist. So for important of human history, Scripture has been taken in via our ears.”

That shift has had a measurable impact. In 2024 by myself, “The Bible Recap” belief on the YouVersion Bible app saw 3.9 million customers, many of whom listened to the Bible in desire to reading it.

“Reasonably about a us are auditory novices, and right here’s an awfully functional instrument now that now we hang abilities love the Bible app, the Dwell Bible app and hundreds other places where it’s most likely you’ll maybe well maybe hang the Bible be taught to you as opposed to reading it along with your eyes,” she mentioned.

One other unexpected slay outcome of “The Bible Recap” has been its characteristic in reconnecting folks with the church, she mentioned.

“Folk that are de-churched, who are struggling in any blueprint with the capital C Church, or their in particular decrease case c church, right here’s a delicate situation for them to land,” she mentioned. “What better situation for them to land than in Scripture? On legend of if they keep it up, they’ll overview how important God values the Church. They’ll overview what the Church need to look love. They’ll overview impartial God’s imaginative and prescient for that and how the Church has repeatedly been primarily messy.”

“All people’s flawed, but it helps give us moderately of bit of an thought of how to lean in amidst the broken folks of the Church, of which I am one and also it’s most likely you’ll maybe well additionally very correctly be one, they every so often’re one. There is a home where right here’s being feeble as a instrument to drag folks assist into the Church.”

Whereas many faith-primarily based fully initiatives focus on application-primarily based fully instructing, Cobble mentioned she targets to encourage her technique straightforward.

“‘The Bible Recap’ is no longer a self-relief thing,” she wired. “The Bible is no longer self-relief. The Bible is, ‘It’s good to well well very correctly be helpless and also you wish a Savior.’ So what we assemble in ‘The Bible Recap is,’ we don’t conclude with an application level. We don’t conclude with, ‘How will you trot and be a greater Christian? How will you get your life together and pull your self up by your bootstraps?’

“We conclude daily with what we call the ‘God shot,’ the snapshot of God and His personality. We’re attempting to search out, ‘What does He love? What does He hate? What motivates Him to assemble what He does? Each day, we conclude with pointing to the pleasure of tantalizing the actual person of God.”

Whenever you rating the premise of reading the final Bible intimidating, Cobble supplied encouragement. “It’s overwhelming,” she acknowledged, “but it’s on common, about 12 minutes of reading per day. And for these who’re a gradual reader … or for these who cannot be taught, or for these who could well well very correctly be dyslexic, or hang any other learning scenario, it’s most likely you’ll maybe well maybe hang it be taught to you.”

Most significantly, she emphasised grace. “You’re going to assemble this imperfectly. … It be OK to trot away out a day, impartial don’t trot away out two days. Salvage, lean assist in and start where you left off. Each day that you simply are in God’s Phrase, you are lovely on time.”

As “The Bible Recap” continues to develop, Cobble mentioned she’s centered on her singular mission: helping folks know and love God’s Phrase.

“I shall be reading the Phrase of God daily until I am in the bottom,” she mentioned. “If I already understand it all, that goes to be dreary. But if there could be nonetheless extra for me to search out out about God and look about who He’s, it’ll be a power love hunt for me, and I uncover it irresistible. I uncover it irresistible as soon as I be taught something new.

“For me, this has been primarily humbling and challenging, and impartial has drawn me nearer to the Lord via it all in ways that say me an increasing number of enjoyment,” she added. “We conclude daily with, ‘He’s where the pleasure is.’ My pleasure has elevated yearly, daily that I am in the Phrase. Discovering out, drawing approach to Him — you cannot relief but be transformed by that.”

Provide:www.christianpost.com