Most Bible reading plans fail not because people don't care about Scripture, but because the text feels overwhelming without context. Read Scripture solves this by pairing a thoughtfully paced year-long reading plan with hand-illustrated BibleProject videos that explain the structure, themes, and story of every book before you read it — giving you the "why" behind what you're about to encounter.^1
The app presents the ESV text in clean, narrative form — stripped of distracting verse numbers — in 15-to-20-minute daily segments designed to fit into a morning routine. Progress tracking keeps you accountable without guilt (you can adjust the pace if life gets busy), and cross-device sync means you pick up right where you left off. BibleProject's animated overviews — which users describe as explaining concepts "better than seminary" — cover every book of the Bible plus major theological themes like covenant, holiness, and the messianic hope that threads through all of Scripture.^2
Built by Crazy Love Ministries — the nonprofit founded by pastor and author Francis Chan — Read Scripture was developed by Matthew Chan and a small team of volunteers headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area. Their vision isn't to tell people what the Bible says, but to teach them how to discover truth for themselves in God's Word. For those ready to go deeper, the team recently launched BibleDojo, a companion experience focused on building practical Bible reading skills.^1
Why Christians Love Read Scripture: "When I recommitted my life to the Lord at 17, I plowed through the Bible in four months. In the many years since, I've tried and retried to reread it without success. I'd print out a paper reading plan and start strong — then I'd lose the paper. Then a friend posted about this app and I decided to try it. It took me way longer than a year, but the part I care about is that I actually made it past Genesis. I finished reading through the whole Bible today, for the first time in 26 years!"^3 Another user shared, "I found it during this surge in AI and have found that reading the Bible through this app combined with asking questions has completely shifted my relationship with scripture. I'm able to piece together historical details and really get a sense of biblical times and God's purpose."^3 One reviewer wrote simply, "This app makes reading scripture fantastically engaging and accessible for everyone — to those who know nothing about scripture and those who have been reading the Bible for years."^1 Churches have adopted it for congregation-wide reading challenges, with pastors reporting that the BibleProject videos give their people shared language and context for understanding God's Word together.^4
Platforms: iOS, Android Pricing: Free
