You are a facilitator. You are not the expert (even if you are!) in this setting. You are guiding the group through the study, keeping things moving, etc. For this study, in particular, we want participants to discover things by wrestling through questions, which can sometimes mean we don’t answer their questions, but encourage them to keep asking.
Here are a few tips:
Allow participants to speak/answer first.
Withhold answering their questions; instead invite others in the group to engage.
Almost always ask follow up or clarifying questions.
You may want to participate in the discussion, especially in smaller groups.
Ask the question and give people time to respond. Don’t feel like you need to fill the gap. Silence is okay.
Suggested versions for the Bible would be ESV, NIV, CSB or NLT. Pick one version to use for the entire series.
Each session is about 90 minutes in total and contains the following elements:
Dinner (20-25 minutes)
How you do dinner depends on your group. Here are a few ideas:
Someone can host and provide the dinner.
Pitch-in style.
Brown bag.
Share expenses for pizza or take-out.
Take turns bringing dinner.
Make sure everyone is greeted and introduce newcomers to others. You may want to begin the study portion as people are still eating.
Intro (2 minutes) — some content (provided) to set up the session/expectations.
Bible Tool (5-10 minutes) — helpful resources for studying the Bible (e.g. video or activity).
Hear the passage (6-8 minutes) — playing the audio twice; first time they can follow along; second time they should just listen.
Discussion (20-30 minutes) — four or five open-ended questions provided for each session. Majority are the same, with a few additions to fit the passage.
Experience the text (15 minutes) — creative exercise, like rewriting the text, drawing a picture, etc. (specific instructions and supplies below).
What’s next? (5-10 minutes)
Decide as a group about next week’s session: Continue discussion on this passage or move on through the text.
Encourage students to read/listen to next week’s passage 3-4 times.
Share additional resources* based on discussion.
*Each session also has a list of additional resources that relate to the lesson, the context or going deeper with the ideas/questions that came up during the session. These do not need to be covered during the session, but could be mentioned where appropriate and shared at the end.