Effectiveness...

[Chris Kelly]

Howdy!
What do you people think makes for an effective Bible study?
Small groups? Big groups? Guy/Girl groups?
What are your thoughts?

[ta_ai_wo]

Not sure how qualified I am to answer this question since there are only a couple of sessions SEVERAL years ago that we had girls and guys together on the Bible studies. I will say what's worked for us:

SMALL groups are better - right now we have 20ish girls and that's too much. It was a lot easier to go deeper with a smaller group (mostly because our ages vary from 10-adult) and also because with a smaller group there is more pressure to actually study during the week so you have something to say at practice.

I'm not sure what I think on the girl/guy issue. As I said above, we've pretty much always had the studies split. I think this works well because then the different groups can talk about what's important and challenging to them, without worrying about the other gender thinking something they shouldn't. Of course I've also been on MTs where they were together (team devos, etc.) and I think it was cool to hear the guys' perspective on things. In general, guys seem to go deeper spiritual (or perhaps they're more overt about it), so I think it's cool to get the guys' thought on the matter. So that was a long way to say I don't know.

The "one person stands up and teaches the entire thing and everyone else listens" (as far as for an AIM team) method of Bible study has not worked well for our team. Yes, that one person did a lot of work and learned a lot but the rest of everyone learned very little. I think we're still trying to iron out the issues as far as format. Discussion sheets have had varied success with us in the past. Sounds like (from what I hear from Jo) that they've been working great for the guys, and they worked fine for the girls for a couple of sessions but after that everyone was just filling them out mechanically and we had to change the format. The challenge, of course, with discussion-oriented groups is getting everyone to say something that actually pertains to the Bible study. And that's a topic for another post. When we had older girls we would just give out vague assignments (i.e. "study this topic") and had amazing Bible studies. However, once we got below about 14, that did not work well for us either. I think this aspect depends a LOT on the size, age, and maturity of your group.

[Chris Kelly]

I would have to agree with you on small groups. That has always had an effect on my guys I would say... But, sometimes we'll get teachers that just do it because it's their JOB! And that doesn't go over well... Something I realized that helped, was that you CALL them during the week and see how they're doing; it makes their day!

[Nayr]

Hey Chris,

I agree a lot with Jessica. I've seen a lot of different types of Bible study formats too and each of them have their own advantages.

The greatest thing I've found in making Bible studies effective is giving the group a feeling that they should be a part of it. Either you need to get them interested in giving answers or you need to give them homework the week before so that they have answers they can freely give. I've been in many studies where some of the people just didn't like talking or were too tired and so they just didn't say anything. Interaction has to be highly encouraged. Keep them all interested and active while still keeping some depth to it. It can be a hard mix.

I like having big groups (up to like 15) when they all stay active and answering, like on a mission trip for example. Usually the devotion studies on a mission trip are much more interactive with a larger group of boys and girls mixed. Those studies are usually great. In most cases though, I prefer smaller groups (10 and under) just because it will keep everyone more active. I would probably actually prefer mixed boys and girls in a Bible study, but I also think the boys and girls do need to have some times on their own, whether it's a weekend deal or a group mentorship time where the genders split. Being able to talk as guys and girls is very important, even if it's not every week. Individual mentorship time is a different matter.

Maturity is also something to keep in mind. In Delaware, we didn't allow kids into SSA until they were 12. That age limit helped a lot because you can get more mature answers and content in a Bible study/discussion that way. We also had a mini mime group that had their own Bible studies, but those were much more structured and much less deep, though they loved them. In Branson, they have a hard time sometimes because kids can join here at 10 years old. A ten-year-old could have a hard time keeping up with the depth of thought of an older teen.

I hope that made sense.

[Chris Kelly]

That's true too, sometimes we've had problems with the kids JUST NOT GETTING INTO IT. Because they're so young and you just can't have them go through some of this in depth stuff yet!
I do agree that we need our guy and girl times, but it's very good to have the input of both sides. Because both sides are very different.

It really depends on your team.

[Tim]

Hi Chris,
I imagine there are a number of different ways to do it that can be effective. As long as God's Word is being reverenced, it has the power to change lives.

That said, I am a fan of smaller groups for most occasions. It forces more people to share because if they don't it becomes really obvious whereas in large groups they can get away with it. We have not done many of the group studies but tend to still have members prepare them, however, I try to do some coaching on what we are looking for. We want our studies to have a fair bit of discussion rather than one person just talking at the others. A few things that help with this is if the youth plan on asking good, open ended questions (ones that can't be answered with a "yes" or "no" answer). Sometimes the best questions are ones that can have multiple answers like "How would you do this?" or "When have you seen this in your life?" or "What does this teach us regarding <fill in the blank>?" type questions. A few good questions with follow-up questions (i.e. "anybody else?" or "what was that like?") can really help get the group to dive more deeply into a study.

I suppose I have other thoughts I could share, but I'd like to hear others share more. Anybody else?

[Chris Kelly]

You're right Tim! There can no doubting God's word and His power!
I know something I would like to share also is that Through Him all things are possible! I've learned the hard way( ) that It's Him who changes them. Not you. That's a VERY vital part to remember.