PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

Beautiful Work Gatherings

The CSI Bible Symposium is a day set apart for Bible teachers who love what they do and want to spend time with teachers who share that calling. Gathered to learn and called to teach, you’ll read, discuss, and practice alongside fellow Bible teachers from schools across the region.

Photo of Daystar Academy students

Bible Symposium

February 11, 2027 | Ontario, CA

Join us at CSI-accredited member Ontario Christian School in Ontario, California for a transformative day exploring Bible teaching in Christian education. Register by February 7, 2027.

Interested in hosting a Bible Symposium? Contact Jim Peterson.

Logo for Bible Symposium with a gold graphic of a cross on an open book with the name: Bible Symposium and tagline copy: Gathere to Learn, Called to Teach

A DAY TO GROW, CONNECT, AND BE RENEWED

Loving teaching the Bible? Spend a day with teachers who do, too.

Grow as a Reader of Scripture

At the center of the day is the Bible itself. Practice slowing down, noticing patterns, and reading passages within the larger story of Scripture.

Learn in Community

Connect with educators who share your passion for helping students engage with God’s Word. Read, discuss, and practice alongside fellow Bible teachers from schools across the region.

Take It Back to Your Classroom

You’ll have dedicated time to consider how these reading practices can enrich your reaching and identify one concrete next step for your students.

A photo of Bible teachers engaging during the October 14, 2026 CSI Bible Symposium in Grand Rapids, Michigan

WHAT YOU’LL EXPERIENCE

A Deeper Way of Engaging With God’s Word

Lead by Dr. Dru Johnson, you’ll be stretched in your own understanding of the Bible as you practice turning down your own voice and turning up the voices of the biblical authors: slowing down, noticing patterns, and reaching each passage within the whole story of Scripture.

Come ready to be challenged as a reader, not just as a teacher.

LEARNING TARGETS

Leave with a renewed conviction and practical next steps.

As a community of Bible teachers, attendees will leave with a renewed conviction that reading the Bible well, for themselves and their students, is formative—an invitation into a whole way of seeing God’s world. 

White check mark with dark blue circle background

The learners will explain why reading the Bible well means turning down our voices and turning up the authors’ voices.

White check mark with dark blue circle background

The learners will experience the Bible as a text that expects something from its readers, growing in their own reading by slowing down, noticing patterns, and reading within the whole.

White check mark with dark blue circle background

The learners will decide what fits their students’ context and name one concrete next step for their own study, classroom, or school.

LEARN FROM FELLOW BIBLE TEACHERS

Encouragement From the October Symposium

    Vicki Huizenga

    Eighth Grade Teacher, Highland Christian School (IN)

    “Go with an open mind and ask, ‘How can I breathe new life into what I am teaching in Bible so that my students fall more deeply in love with the God they meet in this story?’”

      David Mosterd

      Bible Teacher, Grand Rapids Christian High School (MI)

      “What’s most valuable is a whole group of Bible teachers within the same enterprise and the work that we do—just the encouragement that what we’re doing can continue to grow and be increasingly meaningful in a complex and difficult world.’”

      WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

      Designed for Bible Teachers at Every Level

      High School Teachers

      The reading practices and classroom applications are mostly directly designed for high school students.

      Middle School Teachers

      Middle school Bible teachers will find many valuable approaches they can adapt for their classrooms.

      Elementary Teachers

      Elementary teachers are welcome, too. While the classroom strategies aren’t built for younger students, you’ll leave with a deeper understanding of the Bible and a day well spent in community with other Bible teachers.

      Headshot of Dr. Dru Johnson

      Dr. Dru Johnson

      BIBLE SYMPOSIUM SPEAKER

      Meet Your Facilitator

      Dru Johnson is the Templeton Senior Research Fellow at Wycliffe Hall, University of Oxford. He researches, writes, and teaches on the intellectual world within biblical literature. He studied psychology as an undergraduate while serving seven years in the US Air Force and National Guard. He earned his MDiv at Covenant Theological Seminary and worked for eight years as a pastor. He earned an MA in analytic philosophy at the University of Missouri—St. Louis and his PhD in biblical studies/theology at the University of St. Andrews. He is ordained in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (USA). At Wycliffe Hall, Dru directs the Abrahamic Theistic Origins Project (ATOP). Alongside this, he is the founder and director of the Center for Hebraic Thought, a visiting professor at Hope College, editor of the Routledge Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Biblical Criticism series, host of The Biblical Mind podcast, and cohost of the OnScript podcast.

      Event Details

      Schedule

      8:30: Coffee & Refreshments
      9:00: Welcome and Opening Circle – Jim Peterson, CSI
      9:30: Why Do We Need to Develop Bible Reading Skills?
      10:45: Break
      11:00: Guided Practice in Bible Reading Skills 1
      12:15: Lunch provided by CSI 
      1:00: Guided Practice in Bible Reading Skills 2
      1:45: Design Time
      2:30: Closing Circle – Jim Peterson, CSI
      3:00: Wrap up

      Gathered to Learn, Called to Teach

      Join fellow Bible teachers for a day of thoughtful learning, meaningful conversation, and renewed engagement with Scripture.

      Feedback Form

      Sorry. You must be logged in to view this form.