Everyone in the church should study the word of God. They should attend to the means of grace, sit under the preaching of the word, attend Sunday School, and benefit from the church’s teaching. There are many in the church, however, who want to go beyond the preaching and instruction the church offers but they don’t have the financial resources to invest in a good basic theological library. The pastor and elders of the church should be mindful of the needs of people in their church, especially if they want to study the word of God. One of the ways to help people in the church is to start a church library—a collection of excellent theological literature that people in the church can borrow, read, and return for others to read.
Churches should seriously consider purchasing key theological works so members of the church can be exposed to great theological resources. Books like Calvin’s Institutes, Turretin’s Institutes, Bavinck’s Reformed Dogmatics, introductions to the Old and New Testaments, sets of commentaries and the like should line the shelves. Yes, there are many Internet resources available for free, but if a church is really committed to equipping the saints to know and study the word of God, then they should make these types of resources available. The elders should encourage people to read and study them as well as read and study them for their own edification.
If you want to go a step beyond the church library, offer to study a book of the Bible or theological doctrine through a Sunday School class or book club. But offer to purchase a copy of the book for anyone who is willing to commit to reading it. This is a great way to encourage members of the church to read great books. Start a book club and read through Augustine’s City of God, Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, or Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship. Or see what book your pastor has recently read and ask him to lead a reading group. Reading the same books can be a terrific way of fostering fellowship and learning more about the Bible. Though as the pastor, you should only pick a book for a group after you have read it. You don’t want to set a troublesome book before your congregation without having vetted its content.
Whether as the pastor, an elder, or a member of the church, do what you can to foster study of the Scriptures. Do what you can to expose people to great books. The only way we theological hobbits can catch a better glimpse of the glory of Christ and his gospel is by standing on the shoulders of theological giants. Make sure you have access to these giants, whether through the church library or a church-sponsored book study.