“All Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man (woman) of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”- 2 Timothy 3:16-17

If you have always wanted to get together with a group of friends and study the Bible together. Here are some steps to get started.

First things first.

Pray for God’s leading and direction.

Continue to pray for yourself as you lead.

Regularly pray for the members in the group.

Prepare your heart to lead in humility.

Get right with God by confessing your sins to him.

Be well prepared each week with the study material, timing and logistics.

The 3 Ws-(Who, Where, When)

Draw up a list of friends who will be interested to do this study with you. 4-10 would be a manageable number.

Could you use the church hall or a friend’s lounge? Is there enough parking space and is the venue easily accessible to all?

Mark out dates you would like to meet. Fix a time- one hour slot during the week. A study can be 10 weeks long.

If you fixed Wednesday 10 am to 11 am as your meeting, this is how you would split up the time.

9.55 Gather and greet

10 Prayer and discussion

10.45 Catch up and light refreshments if any.

What To Study

The Word Study

This is a simple method of Bible Study which I learnt at BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) and developed as a method of small group study.

The leader announces one word as their Word for the week.
Through the week ladies dig into the Bible for verses which have the particular Word.
When the group gathers together, each member shares 3 verses from their list of verses and one takeaway from their study that week.
These are some Words you could study -hope, joy, peace, humility, sin, trust, new, all, one another.
The first week could be one were you get to know each other and you explain the study and give them their first Word.

Tirzah Magazine Articles

This method of study is good for young mothers who can’t invest much time to study on their own.

Choose 3 or 4 articles from the website and send it out for them to read through the week.
During the week the members read, reflect and respond to the articles using a journal to note down their reflections.
When you meet again they share 2 verses and one take away from the week’s study.

The 3 R’s method

This method calls for a little more time than the other 2 methods.

Choose a particular book of the Bible to study together.
The following books are good to study in this way: 1 Peter, Colossians, Philippians.
For each week, you as a leader will mark out a passage for them to study using the 3 R method.
The 3 Rs stand for Read, Reflect and Respond.

During the week, the members read the passage, reflect on the truths and write down how they will respond to it.

When you gather for your discussion time, each member shares their responses as noted in their journals through the week.

May God bless you on this journey as you lead, ‘encouraging, comforting and urging others to live lives worthy of God.’- 1 Thessalonians 2:12a NIV

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Shoba Ranjitsingh is an architect, writer, a proud mother and an excited new grandmother who works in a Primary school in New Zealand. Shoba enjoys studying God’s word and her role as a STL at Bible Study Fellowship in NZ for 6 years has enabled her to now write and lead Women’s Bible Studies. Helping women study and enjoy God’s word as they embrace each season of life is her prayer as a writer. Long walks, cakes, hymns, coffee, books and quiet family evenings describe Shoba. Ranjit and Shoba live in Auckland.

Launching A Small Group