Exciting Update!
Exciting Update!
Happy August everyone!
I hope your summer is going great and that you have been enjoying my summer Bible study on the Armor of God. This email is to give you a bit of an update on some exciting news for Grounded in the Bible.
I started Grounded in the Bible because I felt that God was calling me to share with a larger audience some of the Bible studies that I was writing. The mission of Grounded in the Bible is to deliver weekly Bible studies directly to your inbox. As long as I am writing for Grounded in the Bible, that will continue to be my mission, and these new weekly Bible studies will always be free. However, starting today, I am offering a paid subscription option. Why am I doing this? Here are three reasons:
Writing a Bible study each week takes time and effort that I could be using to do other things. Making a bit of money on the side helps me remain motivated and accountable to put in the effort to turn my personal study into something for everyone. If you have found that my Bible studies are of value to your spiritual growth, please consider becoming a paid subscriber.
Along with writing Bible studies each week, the idea of having a paid subscription has influenced me to create additional “premium” resources that go along with each study. Without the incentive of a paid subscription, many of these resources wouldn’t even cross my mind. Having people who are actually paying for content motivates me to be creative in the resources I offer to subscribers. If you find these resources to be helpful to you, the primary way you will have access to them is through a paid subscription.
Some of you may just want to support my efforts to help others grow in their relationship with God. In addition to signing up for a free subscription, adding a paid subscription is a great way to do this. For this group of people, it may not be as much about what you want to get out of the subscription but rather what you want to give. For those of you in this category, thank you!
So, what will you get with a paid subscription? Here is an overview of the subscription options.
Free Subscription (only costs your email address)
Weekly Bible studies delivered directly to your inbox: This is the core mission of Grounded in the Bible, and that won’t change. Whether you are a free subscriber or a paid subscriber, you will continue to receive these weekly Bible studies.
Access to discussion posts: Discussion posts are intended to get your feedback or ideas on a question I pose to the group. I haven’t done any of these yet, but I hope to in the future! When I do them, free subscribers will have access to them.
For those of you who are only interested in the free weekly Bible studies, absolutely nothing changes compared to what you are used to.
Paid Subscription ($5/month or $50/year)
Weekly Bible studies delivered directly to your inbox
Access to discussion posts
Access to premium resources: Premium resources are bonus materials that support the weekly Bible studies. Some of the premium resources I’ve offered so far include journaling sheets for personal or group study and PowerPoint presentations to guide group studies, and I have additional ideas for future studies. I’m always trying to think of new ways to engage you in Bible study.
Access to spontaneous ponderings: Sometimes I have Bible-related thoughts running through my head that may not be as fully developed as my weekly Bible studies. Occasionally, I might decide to put these thoughts onto paper and share them with you. (See the Order of the Armor of God post for a sample of this.)
Access to past Bible studies: Once I have a larger library of Bible studies available, some of the older studies will be accessible on the website to paid subscribers only. Free subscribers will still have access to them if they saved them in their email. (I haven’t started this process yet; all posts will remain free at least through the end of 2021. Some posts will always be free.)
Access to site indexes: As I begin to build my library of Bible studies, it may become difficult to find a study on a specific topic among all of the weekly posts. I will post indexes of articles that paid subscribers can peruse to find a Bible study that covers a topic they want to understand.
In the end, my goal in moving to a paid subscription option is not to get rich—or even replace my normal income. It is simply to provide you a means to access additional content that I might not otherwise create. If you feel that you would significantly benefit from some of the paid resources but you are financially unable to commit to a paid subscription, that’s OK! Please contact me and we can work something out.
Finally, if you enjoy my newsletter and want to support me in ways that aren’t financial, here are some other ideas:
Share my newsletter with your friends and family. Forward the weekly email. Share the study on your favorite social media platform. Any post that spreads the news about Grounded in the Bible is a great way to support me.
If you share one of my posts on Twitter or other social media platform that uses hashtags, tag your post with #groundedinthebible.
Interact with my posts. Comment on a study. Share your ideas. I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Encourage your church or other religious organization to share my newsletter as a free Bible study resource.
Encourage your Bible study group to use one of my studies for group discussion.
Follow me on social media. I currently have a Grounded in the Bible group on Facebook and post regularly to Twitter, LinkedIn, and Reddit.
Invite your Facebook friends to the Facebook group.
And now for the best news! For the next two weeks, you have the opportunity to get a paid subscription for a 20% discount—that means only $4 per month or $40 per year. The best time to join is now!
I look forward to sharing with each and every one of you in the coming weeks!
In Christ,
Karen