The 12th Annual Bible Reading Marathon will open with the reading of Genesis 1:1 at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Gazebo on the Square in downtown Troy. The Bible will be read aloud in its entirety, concluding at noon on Thursday, the National Day of Prayer.

The Bible Reading Marathon is an event of the Salem-Troy Baptist Association but is open to all to all Christians, said Chad Manion, pastor of Salem Baptist Church in Brundidge.

“The Bible reading begins at 7 p.m. Sunday but we will open the 2018 Bible Reading Marathon with music and prayer at 6 p.m. on the square,” Manion said. “Music will be by the choirs from St. John and Antioch Baptist churches. We will also have prayer walks around the square to prepare our community for the reading of the Holy Bible from Genesis through Revelation.”

Manion said groups and individuals read the Bible continually.

“We encourage church groups – Sunday school classes, youth groups, Bible study groups—to read in blocks,” Manion said. “They can enjoy reading and then listening to God’s word.”

The time blocks that are the most “open” for readers are the hours from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m.

“During those times, usually there are few people around to listen,” Manion said. “But God is always listening. If the reader is the only one who hears his or her voice, one person is still getting good out of it.

“Isaiah 55:11 says that God’s word shall not return to Him void. We read, knowing that God’s word will have an impact and that it is going to make a difference.”

Linda Adams, Troy-Salem Baptist Association administrator, said individual readers are asked to read for 15 minutes. Families often take a small block of time and divide it so that young child can read. Groups usually take larger blocks of time and divide them accordingly.

“We still need readers during the day as well as the late night hours,” Adams said. “The Gideons and the Baptist Campus Ministry will read during the late hours on Tuesday but we need readers for those hours on the other nights. We have faith that all slots will be filled.”

A time of special interest will be from 5:30 until 7 p.m. on Tuesday when the Bible will be read in Spanish.

To be a reader, call the Salem-Troy Baptist Association at 334-566-1538 or 334-344-0336.

“We also welcome people to come and listen as God’s Word is read,” Manion said. “Blessings come from hearing and from reading God’s Word.

The 2018 Bible Reading Marathon will conclude at noon on Thursday at the Gazebo with a prayer service led by Bobby DuBoise, assistant executive director of the Alabama Baptist State Convention. Everyone is invited to come and pray for the nation and its people.