Lead a Weblog for Young Adult Leaders

Yesterday I mentioned that as part of my presentation at some recent conferences, I put together the 7 steps I use for Bible study preparation. I’m not assuming these are universal, but they have helped me organize my time and hopefully make my teaching style engaging, relevant, and self-revelatory. So here you go:

Group meeting time is here. With your group plan in hand, your goal as a leader will be to engage everyone in the study. Some people in the group will need you to draw them out; others will need you to remind them that others in the group have things to say, too. What can you do to balance each of these extremes?

The next step in preparing for a great discussion is to develop a discussion plan. This involves a few things: preparing a place for the study, planning your time, and choosing the questions that will guide your group through a meaningful discussion.

Leading a great discussion starts with you. Preparation is the key to ensuring that the group time is meaningful and worthwhile. Start with your mindset as you prepare for the study.

Large worship gatherings or a Sunday morning service may be the avenue that draws people to your church, but it’s the relationships developed in small group settings that actually bind people together. Through those relationships and the studying of God’s Word, lives are affirmed, sustained, and changed. Because of that, leading a small group Bible study is one of the most rewarding places of service within the church. As a leader, you will get the best of both worlds—the opportunity to lead and experience biblical community.

A friend sent me a piece of information that rocked me back in my chair. This year’s freshman class of college students in the U.S. numbers 13.6 million, which is the largest in history. Who is going to introduce these to students to Christ?

Most people know what to expect when they enter their local church on any given Sunday. Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian—it doesn’t matter. Even those churches who pride themselves on being “different” most often have a certain way of doing things, from dress to worship style to music. And that’s fine—until people begin to see those things as an essential part of their experience with God. At that point the system becomes a fundamentally flawed strategy.