SOUTHPORT, N.C. — Many Christians make a New Year’s resolution to read the entire Bible during the year. One church in southeastern North Carolina did it during the first weekend of 2026.
Staff and congregants of Beach Road Church in Southport, N.C., began the new year with a public reading of the entire Bible in the church’s sanctuary over the course of 74 consecutive hours from Jan. 1-4. The event, known as RISE, began at 7 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 1, and concluded at 9 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 4, as the final words of Revelation flowed directly into the church’s worship services.
By the end, 239 readers — which included a mix of men, women, children, families, young adults, widows, new believers and others — had participated, each taking 30-minute time blocks to read assigned passages aloud.
This year marked the sixth time Beach Road Church has started the year by reading the Bible from cover to cover.
“This is a way that we have found to communicate to our people that God’s Word holds a central place here and always will,” said James Zik, Beach Road’s lead pastor.
The name RISE is rooted in John 12, where Jesus says when the Son of Man is lifted up, He will draw all people to Himself.
“The idea is we’re going to lift up the Word, and we’re going to lift up the Son,” Zik said.
Rooted in discipleship
The beginnings of RISE date back to 2015, when Zik arrived at Beach Road as an associate pastor. One of his primary responsibilities was to help cultivate a culture of discipleship within the church.
“At the heart of discipleship and at the heart of all real spiritual growth is the Word of God,” Zik said. “It holds an authoritative place in our lives, and it is sufficient for life and godliness.”
Originally, Zik proposed reading through individual books of the Bible aloud at various times throughout the year. But during a meeting with then-Lead Pastor Todd Houston, the idea quickly expanded.
“He looked at me and said, ‘Why don’t we just do them all?’” Zik recalled. “I said, ‘OK, but it’s going to take a long time.’”
Houston created a master schedule that allowed the entire Bible to be read in 75 hours, which was later refined to 74. Houston, Zik and former Beach Road staff member Daniel Justice worked together to implement the idea, and the first RISE event launched in January 2016 with 75 readers. It has been held every even-numbered year since — 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024 and now 2026.
Reading without ceasing
RISE is scheduled so it concludes on the first Sunday morning of the new year, so the readings don’t always begin on Jan. 1. But with Jan. 1 falling on a Thursday this year, Beach Road began the first day of 2026 reading through the Bible continuously right up until its first worship service of the year.
Zik, who became Beach Road’s lead pastor in 2020, began the reading at 7 a.m. on Jan 1. Readers then rotated in half-hour blocks of time, following a carefully planned schedule that moves through both the Old and New Testament passages. Books were read primarily in the order in which they appear in the Bible, although Gospel readings and other New Testament books were incorporated throughout the weekend.
Psalm 119 — the longest chapter in the Bible and the one devoted entirely to the beauty and power of God’s Word — kicked off the reading. Psalm 119 also bookended the reading as the focal passage of Beach Road’s first worship service of 2026.
People were invited to come and listen to the reading at any time, day or night.
“When I was listening to Ezekiel the other night, we had about 20 people here listening to an Old Testament prophet,” Zik said.
Meaningful moments
One of the most striking aspects of RISE is its emphasis on family discipleship. Entire families frequently read together on the platform, including young children.
“One of my favorite aspects of this is when you see entire families together around the Word,” Zik said. “Churches can easily become age-divided. It’s just a great picture of family discipleship.”
During this year’s reading, a family of four read Scripture together on Saturday night. It was an especially meaningful moment, Zik noted, because the father had not been a believer just four years earlier.
“Now his whole family is on campus reading Ezekiel together,” Zik said. “It’s an incredible picture of what God can do in a family and how the Word is central.”
Zik himself participated with his own children, bringing his 2- and 3-year-old sons with him onto the platform as he read.
The impact of RISE has been deeply personal for many others as well.
“Thank you for all the many hours spent on planning and executing RISE,” one church member wrote Zik. “It changed our marriage the very first year, and God has continued to bless and grow our marriage and family’s faith. The memories of my husband and my daughters and my mother reading, there are no words.”
A visible foundation
Beach Road Church recently completed an 18,000-square-foot building expansion that includes new space for education and children’ s ministry. In the building’s foyer stands a 36-foot cross, and at its base — sealed beneath a glass enclosure — is the Bible that had been used during the RISE readings prior to this year, opened to Psalm 119.
“When people walk in, we communicate without saying a word about what we’re about,” Zik said. “We’re about the Gospel, the cross and the Word of God as our foundation.”
As people gathered for worship at Beach Road on the first Sunday of 2026, they saw a snapshot of what had taken place over the previous 74 hours. As the final words of the Book of Revelation were read, several church members took turns reading from Psalm 119. In between readings, the worship team led praise and worship songs that emphasized the written Word and the Living Word.
Zik read the final few verses of Psalm 119 and closed the service with a prayer that captured the heart of the weekend.
“For the past 74 hours we have immersed ourselves in the Holy Scriptures — hearing Your voice, beholding Your ways and seeing Your great redemptive plan,” Zik prayed. “We have gotten through the Bible, but our prayer is that the Bible would get through us.”
Related posts:
To reach Gen Z, commit to face time 
6 cautions about church growth 
FIRST-PERSON: Sunlight & shadows 
Track captain, in newfound faith, begins Bible study 
Ministering Assurance to the Chronic Doubter 
HUD policies to be more friendly to churches in 2026 
Pastors split on economy’s impact on their churches, Lifeway Research shows 
Basketball camp opens new Gospel opportunities for Massachusetts church
