"The 30-Minute Bible has amazingly condensed the long and complex story that is the Bible into this small inviting book, suitable for Christians and non-Christians alike. It provides a clear, cohesive narrative of the journey of God and his people. If you are curious about the Bible, or if you seek answers about life that you have not yet found, then I highly recommend this book.”

— Josh McDowell, best-selling author of Evidence that Demands a Verdict

"This is an important and meaningful book at this moment in our history. It can be helpful in understanding the big story of Scripture, and I pray it would be useful to many. I would encourage the greater public, particularly those who love the Bible, to read The 30-Minute Bible.

— John Perkins, president emeritus of the John and Vera Mae Perkins Foundation and author of One Blood, He Calls Me Friend, and Count It All Joy

"There can be no more urgent task for the church today than to recover the biblical story. Here in thirty accessible, informative, and satisfying bites, Bartholomew and Vanosky clearly set out the key developments in the biblical story from creation to new creation. This book will enable the reader to see how the Bible fits together, to identify the big themes, and to see how Jesus fulfils God's purposes for humankind and for the world. And, crucially, it will also enable readers to find their own place in the unfolding drama of God's great story. As a pastor, this is the book I have been waiting for! I want to put a copy into the hands of every family under my care."

— William Olhausen, rector of St. Matthias Church, Dublin, Ireland

“The Bible is the most published, purchased, and read book in human history. Its timeless truths and messages have built civilizations and nations, transformed many, and brought down the same. The God who speaks through Its pages, through its witnesses, and who is revealed from generation to generation is the King, Lord, Creator, and Savior of the world. Yet, it also remains a daunting tome, filled with stories, parables, names, and places that are foreign to our ears and eyes, not to mention the phenomenal works and events that the living God displays and accomplishes for His purposes of salvation, redemption, and deliverance. What Bible teacher Paige Vanosky and noted Bible scholar Craig Bartholomew have given is a labor of love born out of their lives committed to teaching, sharing, living out, and wrestling with the Bible. The 30-Minute Bible helpfully takes one of many thematic threads from Genesis to Revelation, from creation to final consummation, and show how the theme of God as King is woven through the rich tapestry of the holy Scriptures. Their gift to any first-time student/teacher and any veteran student/teacher of the Bible is extending God’s own invitation to every person of any age, background, and context to walk into the world of the Scriptures, to encounter the living God, and to engage in a lifelong apprenticeship that begins with a 30 minute introduction but which outlasts into eternal life.”

—The Rev. Neal D. Presa, Ph.D.
Associate Pastor, Village Community Presbyterian Church
Senior Visiting Professor, Union Theological Seminary (Dasmariñas, Philippines) Research Fellow, University of the Free State (Bloemfontein, South Africa)

“"The Bible is an extremely complex book, made up of many books written in a variety of literary genres over a long period of time. It is easy to get lost amid this complexity. And so it is part of our missional and theological task today to provide clear maps that tell the story as lucidly as possible to enable God's people to place different parts of the Bible within its overarching narrative structure. In The 30-Minute Bible Bartholomew and Vanosky provide just such a map. It can help even beginners to the Bible to not just understand its story but be shaped by it instead of the false, idolatrous stories of our culture.”

—Michael W. Goheen, professor of missional theology at Covenant Seminary, St. Louis, and director of theological education at the Missional Training Center, Phoenix

“The Bible can be a daunting tome. Its length, complexity, and journey through thousands of years make comprehending it seem like a daunting task for even the most dedicated of readers. The 30-Minute Bibletakes the fear out of even opening to the first page. One of the gifts of reading Scripture is discovering how relational God is. The approachable nature of this book reflects God's desire to relate to us through God's Word even today. To be able to spend thirty minutes a day to hear God's eternal voice in our world is nothing short of a gift.”

— Margaret Grun Kibben, chaplain, US House of Representatives

"Bartholomew's scholarly expertise and Vanosky's expertise teaching the Bible to everyday people from diverse backgrounds pair nicely in this helpful resource that captures the story line of the Bible in six acts (and thirty short chapters), emphasizing God's kingship. Readers who are new to the Bible or are unsure of how it fits together will enjoy this book.”

— Kevin S. Chen, associate professor of
Old Testament, Christian Witness Theological Seminary

“When I first undertook the task of teaching the Bible to an eager group of two dozen high school students forty-five years ago, I purchased a twelve-volume commentary on scripture that filled about 30 inches of shelf space. It helped that I worked in a Christian bookstore. I used it prodigiously and learned much myself (as any teacher should). And then someone introduced me to Henrietta Mears’ What the Bible is All About, and the twelve-volume set was set aside until I commenced seminary studies a few years later. Mears’ book was a Godsend for a busy college student like me who needed a quick and easy way to locate any given biblical passage within the larger story of scripture. Over the years, I’ve used many such guidebooks, and taught through several curriculums that undertook the task of teaching the whole story. But it’s time that we had a fresh and new approach. Vanosky & Bartholomew have answered that need.

With an engaging style that is still scholarly enough to actually serve up something worth learning, the authors have managed to present an overview that does justice to the grand story told by the Bible without getting bogged down in the myriad issues forever debated in academic circles. There is a place for such things, of course, but God’s Word is meant for God’s People—all of them—and this book aims at the needs of the vast majority of Christ’s followers who will never have the time or the inclination to decipher source theory or appreciate the nuances in the theological viewpoints of the four Gospel writers. The writers have given us solid, basic biblical knowledge from a broadly ecumenical point of view that teachers from any Christian tradition can use with confidence.

This book is for people who very much want to take God seriously and find a pathway to greater understanding of God’s Word so that they can better follow our Master, Jesus. This book is for people who are convinced that God actually does communicate to real people in the context of their real lives. It will be a worthy resource for teachers and for groups wanting to get a sense of the big picture. And it is not a half-bad way for seasoned teachers to step back and review the grand sweep and all-encompassing message that still invites us to find helpful insight into what Dallas Willard once described as, “the best information about the most important questions.

I look forward to adding this volume to my library. And I can imagine that forty-five years from now, some teacher who is just now starting out will look back and be thankful that it was written.”

— The Rev. Dr. Jack W. Baca,
The Village Community Presbyterian Church, Rancho Santa Fe, California

"Paige and Craig have written the book that we always knew we needed but could never find. This is an essential tool for discipling God's people to take up our role in God's story!"

— Chris Gonzalez, pastor
Missio Dei Tempe, and cofounder of the Surge Network