Beginnings
Mark Beck, the founder of Josiah’s Gift:
Josiah’s Gift began as a student-led ministry on the campus of the University of Northwestern: St. Paul. The goal was to bring the public reading of the Scriptures onto the campus. It started as a vision that God gave me as I read through the Old Testament for one of my classes. I was struck by the simplicity and the power of what I was reading and began to be convicted that I should start reading the Bible out loud as the students entered chapel every day. I did this for about a year and encountered other like minded students along the way.
The following year the campus pastor granted our group, now named Josiah’s Gift, the permission to present at a chapel service as well as hold a community Bible reading marathon. We memorized the passion narrative from Matthew as well as Isaiah 53 and portions of Psalm 22 and presented the first of what would become many Bible reading chapels. The response from the student body was overwhelming and the campus leadership immediately asked us to do the same thing the following year. The Bible reading marathon which we called the Tent of Meeting took place over the course of a week in a tent on the lawn in the center of campus and we read through the whole Bible in a week as a community, this event also was repeated multiple times over the following years.
“Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. 14 Do not neglect the gift you have…Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress.”
(I Timothy 4:13-14 ESV)
Presently
After seeing what God had done through the ministry at Northwestern, my desire has always been to be able to share this ministry with all Christians, not simply those who attend a college or university. I believe that Josiah’s Gift is a powerful tool that can not only change the lives of individuals, but the course of our nation as well. God has put a passion for His Word on my heart, and has gifted me and equipped me to fulfill this ministry. Currently my time is put toward memorizing new portions of Scripture and presenting these in a variety of venues, as well as sharing with churches and organizations about the power of the spoken Word of God. At this time I present anywhere from three to six times a month throughout and even outside of Minnesota.
You
Our greatest desire is that you would have the opportunity to experience the power of hearing the Word of God. We would love to find a way to share this with you in person, but if time, distance and life prevent that from happening, we would encourage you to at least take the time to watch one or several of our videos. Not only will they give you a really good picture of what we do, but will hopefully encourage and challenge you in your walk with the living God.