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How To Prepare A Bible Study Lesson

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You have a group of people who want to learn more about the Bible, and they want you to teach them? What an awesome responsibility! I’m sure you’ll be praying about it and asking God for help. But here’s some important information you’ll need which will help you get ready and teach more effectively.

In the Greek language, Paul used two different words to describe knowledge:

  • One word referred to intellectual knowledge (head knowledge).
  • The other referred to experiential knowledge (heart knowledge).

Good Bible teaching will help people gain head knowledge which will move 16 inches down and become heart knowledge – real life experience. Experiential knowledge is best gained when we use all parts of our mind and senses to take it in. Research shows that we remember:

  • 10% of what we read (e.g. a book).
  • 20% of what we hear (e.g. a speaker).
  • 30% of what we see (e.g. a poster ad).
  • 40% of what we hear and see (e.g. a T.V. program).
  • 70% of what we say (when we give a talk or are talking).
  • 90% of what we say and do (where we are actively involved in the process).

Learner-Centered Teaching

Learner-centered teaching is where the learner is actively involved. Learning has really taken place when a person’s life has changed. In other words, we need to teach with a method that lets the learner discover facts they can apply to their lives today and hopefully in the future.

Planning a Lesson

Following are some tips to help you plan your Bible study, keeping in mind the need for learner-centered teaching.

1. After you have picked the portion of the Bible you want to teach, work through the passage yourself.

This is always the first step in lesson planning and should be done early in the week. This extra work will allow you to think about it, learn it yourself, add to and revise the study during the week.

2. Identify the central truth.

Ask yourself, “What is the main fact or point I want the group to learn from this study?” For instance, your central truth may be that Jesus Christ is God and the only way to reach God.

3. Know your goals.

What do you want the students to do as a result of discovering the central truth? For example, you may hope that by the end of this lesson the students are able to tell another person three ways Jesus is unique.

Make sure your goals are ownable (the students want to do it), reachable (they are able to do it), and measurable (you can find out if they did it).

4. Make a list of your students and what you think they need to understand from the lesson.

This will help you stay person-centered rather than material-centered. Who wants a bunch of information thrown at them? Use this list for prayer during the week too.

Leading the Study

1. Begin with a short learning activity that gets their minds where their bodies are.

You want to get them thinking about the central truth. You might do this through a skit, drawing, or game. Just be creative. This usually takes about 5-10 minutes. For example, you might want them to think about how God searches for lost people. Hide a pager somewhere and set it off, seeing who can find it first.

2. Let them discover what the material has to say about the central truth.

Ask questions about the lesson content. Use open-ended discussion questions rather than ones with “yes” or “no” answers. Read appropriate Scriptures. Let them figure out how this truth relates to their lives.

3. Help them apply the central truth to their lives.

Once they’ve figured this out, they need to apply the truth to their life during the week. Help them see how the truth directly affects their lives. The success of the study depends on how you help them understand what the central truth is and how it applies to their life.

Organizing the Time

The flow of the Bible study needs to be just right. If you spend too much time eating and socializing, you won’t have enough time to dig into God’s Word. On the other hand, if you just study and don’t let the students interact with each other, they may only see the study as an intellectual exercise and not something that applies to their lives right now.

Flow of Your Study

Here’s a suggested flow for your Bible study:

1. Refreshments (20 min.) – Unhindered talking, sharing, and settling

2. Bring group together (5 min.) – Use a catch/hook statement or learning activity to get their attention and introduce the theme

3. Bible Study (30 min.) – Discover the central truth and apply it.

4. Prayer (10 min.) – Pray conversationally if the students are willing.

5. Conclusion – Make announcements for upcoming meetings and plan any other activities. Give rides home to kids who need them.

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What they’re saying about Cru

You and some friends of yours have this great idea. You think it would be cool if the whole school had the opportunity to receive Christ. Wow! As you start to work through your idea, you begin to wonder, “Is it really possible to reach all the students on the campus? This seems like such a huge task. Maybe I was dreaming?” You’re right, this is major. But, be encouraged. With God and a little creativity, an entire campus can have the opportunity to hear the life-changing truth of Christ. You’re thinking, “Where do I start?” Good question. One of the best ways to begin reaching the entire campus is by doing a creative evangelistic outreach. These are fun and can be small (for a specific group of students, e.g. an athletic team or club) or very large. Creative evangelistic outreaches are simple. You just need to design the outreach around the interests and needs of the particular group of students you want to reach.

SOME OUTREACH IDEAS

Here are some great ideas for creative outreaches. Look them over and see which ones would best meet the needs of the group you will first reach out to.

  • “Beauty Bash” (for girls)
  • Motivational talks for any group team (basketball, cheer, drama or whatever groups are represented at the school)
  • Coffee House for the student government
  • Leadership Breakfast for students in the Honor society or student government
  • Mystery Dinner for a group of students and their friends
  • International student outreach (for ethnic or foreign students, or language clubs)
  • School-wide talent show (perhaps do a 70s gong show)
  • 100-foot banana split during your school’s Spirit Week
  • Bring in a band (The Coaching Center can hook you up.)
  • “Singled Out” or “Dating Game” night during homecoming or prom

Note: Keep things simple and uncomplicated. Just having Christian students invite friends to their home to hear the gospel can be quite effective. Be open to the Holy Spirit’s leading! As you do these fun activities, remember that your purpose is to share the truth of Christ with the students. It is simple for any talk to show the students their need for a personal relationship with Christ. You’ll love doing these creative outreaches because they help you meet new people. Also, excitement builds when students reach out to new students. One of the greatest things the outreaches do is build up and motivate students already involved in your Christian group. It gives them the opportunity to help plan and lead activities.

WHAT TO DO

You want to get this going as soon as possible! Let’s think through what you’ll need to do:

  1. Identify a target group and their needs.

    You’ve got the target group picked out. What are their specific felt needs? For example, girls and guys are always wondering about love, sex and dating. Or, cheerleaders may feel the need to maintain unity on their squad. Athletes need to know how to keep a winning attitude. List their needs on a piece of paper and pray this will help you know which outreach idea to use.

  2. Pray for the outreach.

    Pray specifically for the students and for God’s plan for your outreach.

  3. Plan the outreach.

    Involve other students and adults in the planning. This gives ownership among the students. After choosing the activity, plan it. Ask questions like, “What is going to happen at this outreach? What will get people there? How will the gospel be presented? How will the students be invited (fliers, invitations, word-of-mouth)? Do we need food? What kind?” After brainstorming for a while, make a list and answer these questions.

    1. What do I need to do?
    2. When do I need to do it?
    3. Who can help me?

    Find a good date that doesn’t conflict with school events. Find a good place, like a large home or classroom. Will you need to get pizza and drinks there? Will you need to prepare a talk, or bring in an “expert” to come and speak for you? Example team talks are on the Web sites. Think through how you will follow up the students who came. How will you get a record of who was there? Comment Cards (see samples) let you know who came. You can use these after the talk. Ask students to tell you what they thought about the event, and even if they made a decision for Christ. Make sure to get their names and phone numbers. You’ll want to call them back. Use the cards determine how you will you do follow-up: one-on-one or in groups? Who can help you do follow-up?”

  4. Arrange the outreach.

    There is a lot to do. Get other students or adults to help you. It is fun working with a team of people. Have a plan for involving others. Here is a checklist to help you plan.

    • Prayer

      Who will make sure people are praying?

    • Refreshments

      Who is preparing the food and getting it there? Can you get it donated? Do you need paper products? Can students serve themselves or do you need people to help set out food? Who will help clean up?

    • Publicity

      If no one knows about the event, then no one will come. Plan this part well! Make fliers or invitations ahead of time. Make a big poster to put in the hallways. Give yourself at least two weeks for publicity.

    • Games and Crowdbreaker (if needed)

      Make sure you know what you will need. Try out the game first before doing it at the outreach. Make sure your activity is fun and involves everyone. Be sure that your instructions make sense to everyone.

    • Emcee and Speaker

      Get ideas for topics and possible speakers/emcees from others. Students, adults in your community, or The Coaching Center can provide suggestions. It’s always good to make sure the speaker understands the topic. Let people who are involved in the outreach know the time and place to meet

    • Follow-up

      Make sure there are comment cards and pencils for everyone. Let others know how and when to pass out and re-collect cards and pencils.

  5. Do the outreach!

    The big day is here. You are pumped! Here is an idea of a good flow for your meeting.

    • As people arrive, play some music in the background.
    • When everyone has arrived, begin with a crowdbreaker.
    • Offer the food if it is the main attraction. Otherwise, save the food for after the speaker.
    • Introduce the speaker.
    • After the speaker shares the gospel, have someone come and explain the comment cards. It usually takes about 10 minutes to distribute the cards, get them filled out and then collected. Drawing a door prize winner from among the comment cards is a great motivator for students to turn in their cards.

  6. Follow-up the students.

    You’ve got people’s names and numbers and you know who has made decisions for Christ. Contact these people within 24-to-48 hours. Get others to help you and begin meeting with these new students one on one, or in small groups to help them begin growing in their new relationship with Christ. This may be a good time to begin a new small group Bible study.

  7. Evaluate the outreach.

    You did it! It went great, but there are some things you want to think over before you do your next creative outreach. Within 24-to-48 hours, get everyone together who helped plan and talk about the event.

      Ask:
    • How did it go?
    • What did you learn for next time?
    • Would you do anything differently?

    Pray and thank God for all He did, then start thinking of the next group you can reach out to with the gospel.