How to Create a Custom Bible Reading Plan in 5 Minutes
By Bible Plan Generator Team
Have you ever felt like a square peg trying to fit into a round hole when it comes to Bible reading plans? You download a popular “Bible in a Year” chart, full of good intentions, but quickly realize it doesn’t fit your schedule, your interests, or your current spiritual needs. The pace is too fast, it starts in a book you find confusing, and soon, you’re giving up in frustration.
The truth is, a one-size-fits-all approach to Scripture reading rarely works for everyone. We all have unique lives, learning styles, and spiritual questions. What if you could stop searching for the perfect plan and, instead, build a personalized Bible reading schedule that was perfectly tailored to you? With our custom plan generator, you can do exactly that—in less than five minutes.
Why a Custom Plan is a Game-Changer
A personalized Bible reading plan isn’t a luxury; it’s a powerful tool for building a consistent, life-giving habit. When a plan is built around you, it removes the friction that so often causes us to quit.
- It Fits Your Schedule: You’re in control of the pace. Whether you have 5 minutes or 30, you can design a plan with a daily reading amount that feels achievable, not overwhelming.
- It Targets Your Interests: Are you a new believer wanting to understand Jesus? Focus on the Gospels. Are you seeking daily wisdom? Dive into Proverbs and the Wisdom Books. You get to choose what you read and why.
- It Matches Your Pace: You decide the timeline. You can create a slow, reflective 60-day study of a single epistle or a faster 90-day overview of the entire New Testament. The choice is yours.
- It Eliminates Guilt: When you create the plan, you set the rules. You can even build in rest days from the start, so there’s no guilt when you take a Saturday off.
Your Step-by-Step Guide to the Custom Plan Generator
Our custom plan generator is a powerful but simple tool. Let’s walk through the steps to create your first personalized plan right now.
Step 1: Choose Your Scope (What to Read)
This is where you decide which part of the Bible you want to explore. You have several options:
- Broad Scopes: Choose from pre-set categories like the Whole Bible, Old Testament, New Testament, Gospels, Wisdom Books, etc.
- Specific Books: You can also select a range of books. For example, you could create a plan to read only the Pentateuch (Genesis through Deuteronomy) or just the letters of Paul.
Example: Let’s say you want to build a habit by starting with something encouraging and practical. You could select just the book of James.
Step 2: Set Your Duration (How Long to Read)
How many days do you want your plan to last? This determines your daily reading pace. A longer duration means shorter daily readings, while a shorter duration means longer readings.
Example: For our study of James (which has 5 chapters), a 10-day plan would be very manageable and would give you a great sense of accomplishment in a short time.
Step 3: Pick Your Reading Order (In What Sequence)
You have two main options here:
- Canonical: This is the standard order of books as they appear in most Bibles.
- Chronological: This order arranges the readings according to the historical timeline of when events occurred. This can be a fascinating way to read through the Old Testament prophets or the Gospels.
Example: For a single book like James, Canonical is the natural choice.
Step 4: Decide on Distribution (How Much Each Day)
This is perhaps the most powerful feature for creating a realistic plan. You can have the generator divide the reading by:
- Chapters: The plan will assign a certain number of whole chapters each day. This is great for books like Psalms or Proverbs.
- Verses: The generator will calculate the total number of verses in your scope and divide it evenly across your chosen duration. This is the secret to creating short, five-minute readings from any part of the Bible.
Example: For our 10-day plan in James, choosing Verses will break down the book into small, easy-to-read sections of about 10-11 verses per day. This is far less intimidating than trying to read a whole chapter at once.
Step 5: Customize Your Schedule (When to Read)
Life is busy. We get it. That’s why you can choose to schedule your plan for:
- Every Day
- Weekdays Only
Building rest days into your plan from the beginning is a smart strategy for long-term consistency.
Example: Let’s choose Every Day for our 10-day James plan to build strong initial momentum.
After You Create Your Plan
Once you click “Generate Plan,” your personalized schedule is ready. You’ll see a day-by-day checklist that automatically tracks your progress. Each day, you have direct links to read the passage in your preferred Bible app, including YouVersion, Bible Gateway, and Blue Letter Bible. You can even share the unique URL for your plan with a friend or small group to read together.
The free tier allows you to save up to 3 custom plans, so you can always have a few ready to go for your next spiritual focus.
For those who love creating plans and want to take their tracking to the next level, our Premium plan offers some great benefits. You can create and save unlimited plans, print a physical copy of any custom plan you generate, and view your progress on a beautiful calendar view and a detailed statistics dashboard.
It’s time to stop letting a rigid reading schedule dictate your time with God. A personalized plan empowers you to engage with Scripture in a way that truly works for you.
Create your custom plan now. Experience the freedom and motivation that comes from a Bible reading schedule designed just for you.