So you’re going to organize a Bible study group. Let’s just first say, way to go! Now let’s give you some tips for how to pull it off well so that your group will be cohesive, and your group members will want to keep coming back week after week.
It’s up to you as the leader to decide on a number of things from the get-go. For example location, meeting times and frequencies. You can’t be everything to everyone, and if you try to create a group around a half dozen or more other people’s schedules, you may not ever get it off t he ground at all. Better to create your group around your schedule, and then find others who have a similar schedule to yours.
Prepare several weeks’ worth of topics ahead of time. You may also opt to walk your group through an existing study plan or curriculum. Be knowledgeable about your topics. You will find it easier to talk about that which you have already personally studied in depth.
Keep your group short. No longer than an hour or two is best out of respect for people’s other commitments. This will also allow you to focus on your topic and discuss it in depth. Think about a time when your End your group study on time each meeting! Your group members will be happy that their time is being respected.
Don’t be discouraged if not everyone in your group shows up every week. Do your best to get your group members to commit, but don’t freak out if they aren’t able to every week. Remember, we all have work and family lives. You can help ensure that your group members will commit to the group by being proactive and calling, texting or emailing them to confirm that they will be in attendance.
Delegate as many tasks as you can to group members, e.g. time tracking, recording prayer requests, refreshments coordination, etc. You can have a donation fund where everyone’s contribution goes toward buying food and drinks, and one person is in charge of picking them up. You can also do the potluck thing, having everyone bring a snack – just make sure to designate who is to bring what so that all bases are covered.
Your group will eventually grow to a size that needs a bigger space, or possibly two or more days of the week. Part of managing this is to plan for it from the outset by training leadership from within your group starting day one so that when your group outgrows itself, you can split the group and continue growing.
Designate the last 20-30 minutes of your meeting to group prayer, varying the ways in which the group prays together, e.g., in pairs, small groups, or one person for the whole group.
Give everyone equal opportunity to share each week. Realize that you will have your shy people who will be reluctant to share, especially if there are a few people who are hogging the spotlight every week. Encourage the shy people to share and the outgoing people to listen.
Organize group social time to allow your group to get to know each other better outside of group time. Go bowling together or go to the movies as a group. Things like team fitness events can be very unifying and gratifying for group members.
This isn’t a comprehensive list, but at the very least it should get you going in the right direction! Let us know if you’ve found this article to be helpful in organizing your study group, and be sure to check out our Inductive Bible Study App on the Google Play Store.
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