I am so excited about this new section of my blog! God has gifted me with the opportunity to lead many different types of studies. I am definitely not a pro by any means, BUT I am super passionate about it. I hope it can encourage you to join a bible study or maybe even start one yourself! If not, all of these steps can also be applied to your personal bible time too!
Here we go! 5 tips to start planning your next Bible study 🙂
1.Relevant and applicable
This is super important purely because no one wants to listen to something they don’t feel applies to them. Fun Fact: the whole Bible is important, haha! However, your audience may not know that yet. If they don’t know that yet, make some suggestions. Maybe that is walking through a book together. When I first started leading a group of middle schoolers, that is what I did. Looking back, I don’t think I would have wanted it any other way. The book had them intrigued enough that when I brought up other parts of the Bible, it was easier for them to understand.
I also have enjoyed going through verse by verse studies. Pick a book of the Bible you really want to get to know, or let your group pick the book they want to study. Then you go through the rest of the steps of this to complete the study! It can be more work but is super rewarding. Along with your group learning new things you bring them every week, you also become a pro in one of the books of the Bible. 🙂
If you want to discuss topics in relation to the Bible like beauty, purity, friendship, life things, that can be great too! However, if this is your first time leading, I don’t suggest it. Purely because it is a lot more work. If you need help gathering topical information feel free to message me.
No matter what you choose it is a lot of fun! Pray about it then GO FOR IT! 🥳
2.Read, read, read
After you pick one, it is now yours to get to know. When I would lead sometimes, I would read a single chapter more than five times before beginning the rest of the steps. I wanted to know it really well before I brought in anything else. This can get repetitive at times, so I suggest that you start early. Reading a passage or a chapter 3-5times in a week is super chill. Reading the passage 5 times the day before is a lil harder, ya know? 😉
That said, this isn’t a perfect science, so don’t beat yourself up if you only read it once or twice before the day of the study. We aren’t perfect. We are human. 🙂
3.Commentary
After you feel like you understand the text on a basic level, commentary is a great next step! Commentary has the potential to deepen your personal understanding of the Bible so so much! I have had a lot of fun looking for commentary. Afterward, I always feel like I understand the bible on a deeper level. I will give some of my favorite commentary below!
However, I have one side note. I am a non-denominational Christian. What that means is that out of all the denominations I like different parts of each of them. Therefore, the commentary I use varies. I feel that most of them could be used in any church setting and would be great no matter the denomination you are in. If you don’t like one of the ones I list, I hope you will still come back to my blog knowing that all of my posts are attempting to come straight from the Bible. No matter your denomination, I think we can agree that the Bible is the right way. 🙂
Anyways, I just wanted to make sure even if you don’t like my commentary, you know you are welcome here 🙂
- The Bible Project – I love all of their videos so far. I think that you could watch/read this before or after reading the book you choose.
2.Enduring Word – Can be great if you have time to read! I like reading so it great but if you don’t, the next one might be your vibe.
3. Spoken Gospel- I recently found this sight and I love it!
If you want more commentary let me know in the comments!
4. Popin questions 😉
This is where “relevant and applicable” come in handy too! For your questions to be good, you need to know your people and mix up the types of questions you use. I really like asking questions about how each person could apply what they learn to their lives. At the same time, if all your questions are application questions, it can get boring. Try to have some questions where people share their thoughts, set goals, and also somewhere you try to dig deeper into the word. Having a variety of questions can help your conversation be fruitful, so make those questions count!
5. Prayer (!!!)
This is number five for emphasis! Haha, you should pray about every part of this. With God in every part of your study, it can be something exceptional. First, pray over your group. Pray, they want to learn and have a heart open to God. Pray for growth and breakthrough. Then pray over the study you pick that all of you can grow from it. Also, pray that you would say everything you need to as a leader. Pray over yourself because you’re stepping out in faith to lead this study. Pray that God meets with you all. God wants to meet with us. We only need to humbly ask that He would.
I hope you found this helpful! I look forward to adding new tips to this part of my blog. If you have any questions, please message me! I would love to chat with you more about your next study. Much love and God bless – Isabel