The Van Cleven family walked through the entire Bible

'The Shared Reading Bible brings the Bible to life for children

By Peter Siebe

'Reading together with our children in the Shared Reading Bible sparked unexpected conversations,' says Timothy (41). 'Moments when the children asked honest or surprising questions, which made us realize that the story touched them. It was a valuable time of discovering, growing and sharing together.'

Liesbeth (35) remembers all kinds of golden moments: 'Some stories really came to life. Sometimes the children were amazed, other times they recognized something from their own lives. For example, with the story of Jesus and the rich man (Mark 10:17-27). Twan suddenly shouted: “Mom and Dad! Then I’m going to sell my iPad and we can give the money to the poor people!” As a parent, you are grateful that your child already has so much compassion at that age, that he is willing to give up practically his most precious possession. Twan was so determined that even the school contacted us asking if it was true “that we were going to sell all our iPads to give that money to poor people”. This time, we decided against it. We had moments like that regularly. That made reading together feel new every time.'

The long conversations were also particularly valuable. 'For example, when one of the children asked after an intense Bible story: “But why does God allow this?” That was not an easy question. We would not have had such deep conversations so spontaneously without the Shared Reading Bible ,' said Liesbeth.

Timothy's path to faith

'My faith gives me peace and certainty,' says Timothy. He himself comes from 'an unstable family.' His parents separated when he was very young. He has had hardly any contact with his father since then. 'I came into contact with the Christian faith through friends. I was quite anti-Christian and thought it was all nonsense. Yet they remained patient and friendly towards me. That made me curious. I thought I had everything I needed. But they had something I was missing. That is why I went along with them to their house church one time. I was encouraged to start reading and praying on my own. Then God touched me. I came to faith and was baptized in 2010.'

In 2013, Timothy married Liesbeth, who grew up in a Christian family. They had two sons, Theo (12) and Twan (11), and a daughter, Lise (10). The family lives in Beernem, near Bruges. The extra care and support regarding ADHD and ASD within the family requires a great deal of effort and energy from both parents. Timothy: 'Three years ago, I was overwhelmed by the pressure of work and family. I was at home and needed a lot of time to get back on track. In early 2025, I prayed: “God, fix it. I can’t do it!” Barely two days later, an acquaintance asked me to work on the evangelization campaign Festival of Hope . I said yes to that. After that project came the vacancy at the NBG, where I now work as a relationship manager for the Flemish Protestant-Evangelical churches. Through experiences like these, I realize that God is there and gives direction to my life.'

Timothy and Liesbeth want their children to receive the same spiritual richness that Liesbeth received in her youth. That is why they let their children participate in activities such as Sunday school, youth events, and summer camps. Above all, they give personal Bible reading a permanent place in their family.

The Bible as a source

'The Bible brings me peace and direction,' says Timothy. He has ADHD and tries to read the Bible daily despite this concentration disorder. He manages this best with a reading plan, such as the daily Bible passage in the NBG app *Mijn Bijbel*. Timothy and Liesbeth find the Bible so important that they are eager to pass it on to their children. 'If you receive the Word from a young age, you remember it better. And if everyone knew the Bible, there would be fewer dysfunctional families,' Timothy believes. 'The Bible teaches me to be present as a father and to be patient with the children. And to let go of perfectionism. I can say sorry. I never had a father like that myself.'

Shared Reading Bible

Liesbeth and Timothy hope that their children will discover through the Bible that they are made good by God. "The Bible shows the foundation of our lives," says Timothy. "Those who do not know the Bible can easily wander around lost in this world."

Liesbeth and Timothy initially used various children's Bibles. But they only found the right format when they discovered the Samenleesbijbel (Shared Reading Bible ). They started working with it daily. Timothy: 'We followed the three reading routes, each delving a little deeper. First, the children read the Bible story aloud – each child reading a section. Then we discussed the questions. They also found the “fun facts” interesting. They did the activities whenever there was time.' On Friday afternoons, there was an aperitif moment with soft drinks and chips, during which we looked back on the stories we had read that week.'

Assignments and experiments

During the conversations, questions and doubts also came up. 'All in all, the children know the Bible almost better than I do now,' Timothy jokes. 'With the Shared Reading Bible , you discover the thread running through the Bible with your children, and at the same time, you see your children grow. The Shared Reading Bible was the ideal method for us to engage with the Bible daily. Today, our children continue this habit themselves: the boys in their NBV21 Youth Bible and our daughter in her bright orange Bible in Plain Language.'