Armstrong Serves 10 Years as Leesburg Bible Reading Marathon Coordinator

24 “The Lord bless you and keep you;

25 the Lord make his face shine on you

and be gracious to you;

26 the Lord turn his face toward you

and give you peace" (Numbers 6:24-26)

In 2007, the Lord gave Gwen Armstrong and a few others a vision of reading the entire Bible on the Loudoun County Courthouse steps. The purpose for this Bible Reading Marathon (BRM), which comprises six days and five nights (90 continuous hours from Genesis to Revelation), was to bring the local body of Christ together in one accord to rally around the word of God and broadcast a positive and biblical message on the main streets of Leesburg.

These day’s people are so distracted with their overly busy lives. This Bible reading event provides folks the opportunity to pray and worship with people and families while accomplishing their business in downtown Leesburg.

Over the past ten years, the BRM has collaborated with many churches comprising 50 denominations, a few synagogues and 30 ministries to participate in the reading of God’s word. As many as 350 readers have participated in the annual BRM event that has experienced so many lives transformed and blessed. Gwen always has enjoyed the people that have come from other nations to stand at the podium and read from their own Bible. Languages heard during readings in previous years include Turkish, German, Spanish, Urada (Pakistan), Korean, Spanish, French, Dutch, Tamil (India), Romanian, Hungarian, Ukrainian, Hebrew, and Swahili. In this way the BRM has fulfilled a call and paved the way for God’s will to be done here on earth as it is in heaven.

The BRM is held in a Loudoun Awakening tent with a podium set up for people to read from their Bible. While located on the Loudoun County Courthouse steps in its inaugural year, it was later moved to North King Street on the north side of the Law Library.

Gwen was distressed that being pushed off the Courthouse Lawn would minimalize the BRM’s visibility and effectiveness. Gwen would later admit that it is thought provoking how our best thoughts are not God’s thoughts and our ways aren’t His either! She would begrudgingly move the tent and make it work out, however the move proved beneficial as it gave the event more foot traffic. Oh but for God!

As Coordinator for the BRM, Gwen has put in countless volunteer hours to pre-stage and manage the event. Gwen bubbled forth with energy and good spirits even at 5:30 am in the rain and cold when she was opening the tent each morning before work. Then during lunch she would spring back to the tent with continued good cheer to meet and greet the many readers and then again in the evening to keep tabs on the day’s happenings.

She would solicit church leaders, youth pastors, youth groups, choirs, Bible study groups, prayer groups, missionaries, church members, ministries, friends, and families with children to assist in filling the slots for the many hours of readings. She is absolutely amazing with her wonderful energy and bright outlook on life and the Lord.

Once begun, someone must be reading the scriptures throughout the day and night until a team closes up the tent at midnight. It is an exhausting effort, but Gwen believes God truly prepared her for this event for through the BRM we celebrate our faith, we proclaim the importance of the Bible to Loudoun’s past, present and future and we celebrate the religious freedom we enjoy in this nation.

During Gwen’s coordination efforts, she found out that two significant events took place on the same North King Street location in earlier times. In the 1930’s and 40’s, the local Baptist and Methodist churches would take turns Sunday night’s to host worship services on the courthouse lawn next to the Leesburg Hotel. The event was to bring the people together in one accord and fellowship regardless of their affiliated denomination just like we do for the BRM! What a beautiful thing when brethren dwell in unity.

Gwen also was informed that prior to the Civil War, slaves would be placed in a stockade area before being auctioned off on the courthouse steps. The stockade was located on the very same ground where the BRM was taking place. Gwen believed a healing of the land was needed through the worship and the reading of the Word to bring reconciliation to our community.

One year, Gwen remembers some tourists were so touched by the reading of the scriptures that they jumped in to read and then they took it back home with them to establish a similar Bible reading. Many non-believers have come to the tent sensing that God is calling them personally. They felt the call is real. This is the power that is not understood about the word of God. God can pierce the heart with his love and by the power of His Word.

Another time Gwen recalls a women’s Bible study who signed up to read for an hour. Their arrival coincided with the readings in the Psalms. During their hour they actually sung and harmonized the reading of the Word. The Lord’s presence was there that day and those in attendance will not soon forget it.

Over the years, many wonderful men and women of God have come to read at the BRM and went away saying that they now understand why we read the Bible publically. As Gwen would say, “The Body must step up to the plate and start living as Christ. We must be the first to set the example. We must forgive. We must love. We must walk as Christ walked. There is no room for anything else. How did the early church grow, by reflecting its love? People saw the love and they were drawn to it. Truly it’s all about Jesus crucified and risen again! I’m just very thankful that He drew me in and that I listened to the calling.”

About Gwen Armstrong

Gwen accepted the Lord into her heart in the summer of 1976. It was sometime around her 11th Birthday when her family lived overseas on a military base. There was a non-denominational church service that was held at the elementary school on base and Gwen could walk to Sunday school just about every week. Her folks did not attend the church but she felt the Lord drew her there.

When Gwen’s family returned state side they began attending the Church of God where Gwen was baptized by full immersion at age 16 and when she learned about the gifts of the Spirit. She attended and graduated from the local Catholic high school.

As an adult, Gwen said she was drawn by the Lord to a local Assembly of God church that she currently attends and absolutely enjoys. Gwen likes to say she was raised Methodist, saved by Baptists, graduated school with Catholics and is spirit filled to the glory of God!

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