Important Bible Study Content to Consider for Your Ministry

CRU Weekly Ministry Tip #8, Fall 2011

Last week’s tip covered some ideas on how you might start your weekly meetings and potential content to cover. If you have a weekly meeting but no individual Bible studies or if you have individual Bible studies with no weekly meeting – here are some suggestions to cover in order of priority. Again, these are only suggestions but worth taking a close look at.

When you consider how short a semester really is, you want to make sure you cover some of the most foundational Bible studies that you would want a young or even mature believer to cover. Generally speaking, you have 15 weeks or less in a typical semester or 10-12 weeks in a quarter. One reason for making some direct suggestions is to keep you from covering material that may be less important for your students. It’s easy to potentially get off on topics that are more sensational or captivating, but not the foundational prerequisites you really want everyone to cover first.

To begin with, asking good questions and helping people feel involved are critical to a good study. Here are a few tips on Asking Good Questions and Guiding A Group Discussion

When you teach the foundational Bible studies, listed below, one of the most important things you are doing is making your studies transferable. In other words, you are modeling to others how to teach a study that they can teach to others (2 Timothy 2:2). This is part of making multiplying disciples. In fact nearly everything you do in ministry (evangelism, Bible studies, follow-up, putting up posters…) needs to be done so that others can imitate you and teach them to others, who will teach them to others… Don’t take this for granted. Model even the smallest things so that you can demonstrate faithfulness and proper attention to details.

First, as also mentioned in last week’s tip, the Connection Bible Study Series is an easy, engaging set of studies to help everyone feel involved, allowing them to participate as they feel comfortable. You could try one or two of these Connection studies, otherwise go on to the foundational studies. Here are my top five picks in order:

Go to Cru.Comm
1. Under the Discovery Level, look at “The Basics”, do all three lessons
2. Look at the studies in Ephesians Lessons 1-2, 10 and 12
3. Luke Lessons 1-4
4. John Lessons 1-4

In any of the selections above, you can start out with an I Am Second testimony video clip, followed by a couple of starter questions which would engage people more quickly. You do not need to use these clips with all your studies, just on occasion to help build interest.

5. Finally, for a closer look at Cru’s Statement of Faith – you can check out Cru Doctrine. This is a deeper study series with some great teaching components. When you go to Cru Doctrine look under “Member Type”, select “Student Disciple” and then select your staff coach. You will personally need to do the studies first before teaching them to others. You’ll also need to figure out how to print out each page in order to teach and give to your disciples. Be creative in teaching Cru Doctrine as this is a powerful series with some great built in questions, video’s, illustrations, and application.

Again, the above studies are suggestions only but I think they will help you in making decisions on which one’s you might cover first since there are lots of studies and options to choose from.

Talk to you next week,

Ben Rivera/GodSquad and CruPressGreen Team