Here are a few of my favorite ideas, tips, tricks and books from 20 years as a Director of Women’s Ministry.
Throwback
Example Forms: First Day Sign up
The first day of Bible study typically requires a lot of teamwork and cooperation. You probably need leaders to sign up for both refreshments and tasks. Here’s two example sign up forms.
Making the most of registration forms
Registration is a chance to collect valuable information about your participants that can help you build small groups, evaluate the success of your program and plan for the future. Here are some questions you might want to include on your registration forms.
4 Keys to Success in College
Headed to college? Wondering how to survive the experience? Here is advice from an expert: Professor Ken Elzinga.
Small Group Ground Rules Sample
When starting new small groups, it’s helpful to establish expectations up front with a clear set of ground rules. Here’s a sample we’ve developed over 25 years of ministry.
Small Group Welcome Survey
Learning some basic information when new small groups start can save misunderstanding later. Asking participants to answer a few basic questions the first day can help leaders structure the time to better meet the needs of a group. Here’s an example “Small Group Welcome” survey.
Ministry Preparation Checklist
July is the time to start preparing for your fall Bible study. Are you overwhelmed by the details or don’t know where to start? Assuming your study starts in September, here’s my summer ministry preparation checklist.
Happy July 4th!
Happy 4th of July! The podcast will be back soon!
Bible Study: What to observe
Once a friend confessed: “I know an essential step of any Bible study is observation. But what am I suppose to observe?” So glad you asked! Sometimes we take this step for granted when talking about how to study the Bible, but observation is a skill we learn and practice like any other.
Generally, the study process begins with the big picture, zooms into the details and then returns to the big picture to put it all together. Observation takes place in the “detail” stage.
Here’s are a few basic things you can “observe”.
Bible Study: How to Observe
The first step in Bible study is observation. The goal is to slow down your reading and generate a list of questions that must be answered to understand the passage. I tend to break observation into the following 4 steps which generally correspond to my first few readings through the passage.
How to Interpret the Bible
After you’ve done your observation, word studies, outlining and answered the questions you generated, it’s time to start putting it all together. In this step, you want to collect, refine and organize all those details you observed into a coherent meaning. Observation primarily focuses on the questions: “what does it say and how do I know?” Interpretation focuses on the questions: “what does it mean and how do I know?”
How NOT to interpret the Bible
https://www.wednesdayintheword.com/how-not-to-interpret-the-bible-dont-think-twice/