Located just outside of Clemson, SC, Southern Wesleyan University is the first university to use Immerse: The Bible Reading Experience for their course curriculum. Professor Andrea Summers’ New Testament Survey class read through the New Testament together in one semester using Immerse, gathering once a week in Immerse book clubs to discuss what they were reading.

Typically, New Testament Survey courses emphasize learning about the New Testament: history, geography, book-level themes, and other elements that provide the backdrop for reading the Scriptures well. Rarely, however, is much time spent in the text itself.

Summers wasn’t going to let that happen. She told her class at the beginning of the semester that they were going to read through the whole New Testament. Faces dropped, shoulders sagged. “You could just see by their faces, ‘Uh, there’s no way I could do that,'” she said.

“I’m setting a goal for them, and then I’m saying, ‘Guess what, you can do it. And also, here is the tool to help you get there.”

Their experience is inspiring. For almost all of the students, it was their first time reading through the entire New Testament. They got to step back and see the big picture, taking in the grandeur of the story. Some of them were able to draw close to God in ways they’d always hoped for but never experienced.

We’re so excited to share their story with you. Check it out below.