Leaders

How to Begin

Each study guide on this website has everything you need to lead a small group of Jesus followers and spiritual seekers through a 1.5-hour gathering. The guides can be incorporated into the regular rhythm of an existing small group or used to bring together a new group. The more diverse the group, the better! Different ages and life experiences lend greater depth to the communal study of Scripture. These guides are written with diversity in mind, but you know your group better than anyone. Feel free to adapt the questions and content to suit your group.

Each guide leads you through the same structure: introduction, observation, and application. There are some sections in the Leader’s Guide that you will read aloud to provide some context about the passage and bring the session to a satisfactory conclusion (these lines are italicized in the leader’s guide), but most of the content will come from the group discussion, and your group’s responses may not look like the examples provided in the leader’s guide—that’s okay. A Leader’s Guide and companion Participant Guide are available for each session.

Selecting a Guide

Some passages have two guide options: a regular guide with matching Leader’s and Participant’s Guides, and a Simplified Guide. The Simplified Guide provides a looser path through the passage with more open-ended questions, especially in the personal application section. If you enjoy surprises and an extra dose of mystery, go for the Simplified Guide. If you appreciate more guidance on the route and ideas for discussion, stick with the regular Leader’s and Participant’s Guides.

Discovery Bible Study is about exploration. It’s meant to strengthen your appreciation for the text and act as an avenue for God to help you grow. There are many excellent interpretations of Scripture (and some not-so-good). These guides offer a possible path through each passage.

Preparation Tips

• Familiarize yourself with the Participants Page and send it to group members as an introduction. Don’t take for granted that everyone knows the Bible well.

• Each guide looks at a carefully selected unit of Scripture. Do your best to keep focus on that passage, except where prompted to make broader connections. You will be amazed by how much depth there is to discover in one short text.

• Familiarize yourself with the guide before your gathering and pray for your group before you meet.

• Consider printing a Participant’s Guide for every member of the group. It’s often a helpful visual aid.

• Consider the environment. Whether hosting in a communal place or private home, make people feel welcome and minimize distractions. Arrange a comfortable seat for each person in the group, and position seating in a circle for optimal discussion.

Discussion Tips

• Don’t skip the icebreaker! These easy intro questions get the group talking at the beginning, which increases participation later in the discussion. Ensure every person (especially the quiet ones) is invited to respond to the icebreaker.

• Begin and end each meeting with prayer. When you have extra time together, spend it in prayer.

• If you’re starting a new small group, consider spending the entire first gathering getting to know each other. Where are you from? What’s your experience with Jesus, the Bible, or the Church? What does a culture of safety look like to you?

• After each question, leave room for silence. Let people think. Resist the urge to jump in with an answer.

• Trust that each passage tells a unique story. Unless specifically prompted, focus on the specific verses from the reading. For example, if the same Gospel story is told by another Gospel writer, try not to blend the stories into one version—let them stand alone as unique portraits of Christ’s life. To better mine the depths of the text, ask questions like, “How does this specific text support that idea?”

• Encourage everyone to be fully present to each other and to what the Spirit has to reveal through the text. Set aside smartphones and try not to do research on the spot. Jot down questions to look up later.

• Prioritize safety, respect, compassion, and patience in your group. Honour every member’s contribution, even when they say something “wrong.” The trick is to get people engaged and curious about the Bible. That will serve them far longer than getting the “right” answer in one study.

  • When a comment seems strange, try saying, “Thanks for sharing,” or, “Interesting perspective.”

  • If a comment is potentially harmful, consider asking questions like, “How do others interpret that verse?”
    ”Is that interpretation consistent with the nature of Jesus?” “I’ve often thought about it this way….”

• Honour your group’s time commitment. Gently keep the discussion moving along so you can finish on time.

• When the discussion is lagging, add follow-up questions where appropriate. “What else catches your attention in this story?” “How do you think he/she felt?” “Can you relate?”

• Not every week will be great. Some ideas won’t connect, discussion will be slow, or the environment will be distracting. That’s okay!

FAQs

• What’s the ideal group size? Small group surveys suggest that the optimal number for a small group is fewer than 8 or more than 17 (see Leading Small Groups that Thrive). But don’t let the quest for perfection stop you from starting!

• Can I do Discovery Bible Study on my own? Absolutely, yes. The skills you learn will also benefit personal Bible study. Why not do both personal and communal Bible study? The experience will be enriched as you add more perspectives.

• Which is better for group discussion: Bible apps or hard copies? Flipping through the pages of a paper-bound Bible creates sensory memories and provides spatial awareness for how the books relate to one another. It also limits distractions. However, some prefer the ease of digital access, especially if they are new to the Bible and can’t quickly find chapter references manually. Encourage the group to set their phones to “busy” and stay on the Bible app. Stay together on the passage you’re studying without doing Google research. Prioritize presence and human connection. This is something your group can negotiate together.

A Helpful Resource

For a comprehensive approach to leading Discovery Bible Study, you’ll appreciate The New Joy of Teaching Discovery Bible Study (Newly Revised) by Oletta Wald.

• How do I teach from a Bible passage?

• What is my role and how do I work with other learners to create a mutually beneficial experience?

• Get a step-by-step approach to different aspects of Discovery Bible Study.

• Learn to observe, interpret, evaluate, and apply the Biblical texts.