Taking the time to think through and plan the launch of your next Bible study session will bless both your team and your participants.
When we’re organized and intentional, the whole process runs smoother!
Let’s walk together through the steps you’ll want to take to launch your next Bible study session!
8 Steps to a Successful Bible Study Launch
1. Determine your session length
Many women’s ministry teams divide their Bible study offerings into three or four sessions – fall, winter, spring, and summer. Some teams offer one continuous study during the school year and offer summer book clubs or Bible study books during the summer months. Calculate the number of weeks you’ll need to fill – don’t forget to take into account holidays and school breaks.
2. Decide who will make the Bible study selection
Who will decide what study or book is used? Will the facilitator of the small group make the selection? Has your Pastor recommended a study for your group? Do you want to assemble a Bible Study Review Team? Are you going to ask current or past Bible study attendees to vote? Does your Women’s Ministry Director or Bible Study Coordinator have a vision for this year’s study?
3. Narrow your list of possible Bible studies
In addition to the 66 books of the Bible, there are thousands of Bible study book options to consider. It can be overwhelming! My How to Select a Bible Study mini-course (it’s also part of the Bible Study Facilitator Course) can help you determine what would be best for your group of women. If you’re looking for suggestions, I’ve got lots!
4 Bible Study Book Recommendations
Please note affiliate links follow.
- READ Bible Study for Groups – Check this out if you’re looking to teach your women how to read and study God’s Word. Weekly worksheets guide women through the Bible one (or two) chapters each week, allowing them to soak in God’s Word. Discussion groups allow women to share and learn from one another.
- Lies Women Believe – This study by Nancy DeMoss Woldgemuth was recently updated and expanded to include the impact social media has on the lies our women believe. You can read my review here.
- Just Open the Door – More the just another book on hospitality, Jen Schmidt encourages women to open their door to the people God has placed in their path. Short videos compliment deep scripture study. You can read my review here.
- None Like Him – Over ten weeks, Jen Wilkin walks readers through 10 attributes of God as revealed in scripture. You’ll find your finite opinion of who God is and what He is capable of expands and with it comes a greater appreciation for who God is and what He is capable of. You can read my review here.
For additional Bible study reviews and recommendations, check out this post.
4. Prayerfully recruit Bible study group facilitators
You can use the same method I recommend in recruiting team members in this post. Don’t just rely on past facilitators, ask former group leaders for recommendations. They likely had women in their previous groups who were gifted in facilitating and encouragement. Be open to new Bible study time slots based on your facilitator’s availability and preference. There’s a group of 9 women at our church that faithfully meet at 6:45 AM. Not a single woman dropped!
5. Train your Bible study facilitators
Set expectations and spend time praying for and encouraging your facilitators. It’s hard, often thankless work, and they need your support! Consider purchasing the Bible Study Facilitator Training Course for yourself and your team. Bulk pricing and site licenses are available. Get more info here.
6. Open registration
Once you’ve set your study, facilitators, and times, invite women to attend! Sign-ups increase commitment levels and give you time to recruit additional facilitators if needed so every woman can participate. If possible, offer online and in-person registration for your women. Make sure they know if they need to purchase any materials.
7. Publicize your studies
Use every tool and format available to you! Click the links for a list of 13 ways to publicize events (and 13 more) in your church. Don’t forget to invite women in your community too! You’ll find ideas for publicizing events in your community here.
8. Host your launch
Many women’s ministry teams prefer to host a kick-off meeting allowing women to fellowship as a large group. Some women appreciate additional information on studies before making their final decision. Eat a light breakfast and play an icebreaker game. Have fun, but also be practical! Use this opportunity to talk about group guidelines and attendance expectations.
May God bless your Bible study preparations! May your women come to know and love God more by spending time together in His Word.
You may also want to read:
Tips & Tools for Bible Study and Small Group Facilitators
How to Set Up and Facilitate a Bible Study Review Team
Tips to Increase Your Bible Study Attendance
Bible Study Facilitator Training
Teaching Women to Read the Bible
Read Bible Study
Pray over each study and woman, learn to take notes and journal and always trust god to move through the lesson and each individual.
Be prepared! Pray over each lesson as you study and prepare in advance.
So many great tips on here! My tip for a leader is come prepared and expecting to bless some one. Be intentional with this time. It is easy to be in a habit of meeting that it may be a “chore”. Come with a prepared heart.
Learn to ask good questions and listen for what they actually aren’t saying. Define definitions to make sure everyone is on the same page.
Bathe it all in prayer!!!
Have women specifically assigned to greeting and finding the women who look lonely or nervous and initiate with them!
Stay focused on God’s Word!!
Finally, in the fall, we always stop right before Thanksgiving; in the spring, we stop at the beginning of May. It helps us maintain attendance.
Always start on time so you can end on time. Many ladies either have to get home to families or have to work early in the morning. Including me.
When we started Bible study groups last year, we began each session with one woman sharing a high-flyover testimony of how she came to faith in Christ. The woman always volunteered and no one was forced. I asked who wanted to share the at the next meeting, and they had time to pray and prepare. After that, I asked about favorite hymns and why, encouraging Bible verses from the two weeks prior, etc. The women in the group really grew in relationship with each other and had a greater understanding of one another.
Always have a child care option so single parents and those with different schedules can attend! Snacks too…helps with comfort and conversation.
Staying connected through prayer. We pass around a single piece of paper each week and ask the ladies to put their name and one prayer request. Then we redistribute through the group. We ask that at a certain time each day they take time to pray for the lady and their prayer request.
We always have a getting to know you type icebreaker or two for the first week. This helps newbies feel relaxed. I have more seasoned study attendees find and sit with new faces to help them feel welcomed too.
Lastly, we always go over expectations the first week. Like please try and complete homework but still come even if you didnt get a chance to! And a friendly reminder not to gossip. Prayer requests and group discussions NEVER leave the room we are in to help all ladies feel comfortable sharing
Have a Bible study leaders’ kit with you – a small divided plastic carrier (like for household cleaning supplies) – in which you can keep a Bible dictionary, pens/pencils, highlighters, name tags, post it notes, packets of Kleenex tissues, mints, etc. – & even a journal.
My favorite Bible study tip is to have a prepared place for each lady as they enter the room ….have name tags printed on the welcome table and ready to give them. Greet each one as they enter the room, introduce new ladies to some one you think they will connect with (have something in common, they are both new to the community, etc.) so they are not sitting alone. When we go to our small groups to discuss the study, listen, affirm, discern what is going on in their lives, once the ladies know that they are seen and heard, they will open up and share.
Play and ice breaker game, study, and try to include a very simple Mission project each time!
Such wonderful tips here! My tip is to have table leaders so the attendees have a better feeling of belonging, and having someone to share with that is sympathetic to her issues. Also, there is always a problem with them talking among themselves when the teacher is speaking. It is the responsibility of the table leader to maintain some type of control at her table. And last, that the attendees always know “what is shared in Bible study stays in Bible study.” Gossip is never tolerated!
Don’t be shocked by anything that is shared!!
One thing we have done for the past few years is implement a small group facilitator shepherd. This volunteer helps with not just the training but also acts as the leader of the SGF group. She checks in with them regularly asking how their group is doing, can she help them in any way, and how she can pray for them. This has made the small group facilitators connect in a very special way. They often meet together for lunch after study for fellowship and prayer for their women.
A tip that I have found to be very helpful is to sit with the leader facing the door. That way when someone comes in late I am sure to notice them. I have been in a study before when a new person slipped in late and the leader never even noticed that she was in the room.
Of your tips, #7 is my favorite. Improving communication is one of my current goals, and you provided help!
As for my tip… Consistency matters. We meet weekly, pretty much continuously. When I recently took a short break to adjust to kiddo #3, I got lots of positive feedback about missing the rhythm of our Monday night discussions, even from irregular attendees.
I always have a game, where the ladies break up in smaller groups. Once we have put on our thinking caps, laughed and shared, we are ready to clear our minds and listen to the Lord.
We always include dinner with our Bible study. It gives the ladies time to talk and fellowship. We sing a few worship songs and then get into our study. Sometimes, we play icebreaker games. We try to change it up a little so we aren’t always doing the same thing.
Important to remind the participants that even if they do not get the lesson done or completed, to COME ANYWAY! Just hearing the Word and getting to be a part of the group will still create growth and encouragement. Being obedient to still come will be a blessing to them and even to others (as participants often get discouraged when they see the group dwindle).
I know as a young mom, homework was often not completed, yet my love for the Word grew and my desire to learn was ignited.
Don’t be discouraged by numbers! God knows exactly who needs to be in your study. It isn’t unusual for people to drop out after a few sessions. Don’t take it personally. If only one heart is touch, one life is changed, then your study has been a success. Numbers don’t matter – people do!
Pray, Pray, Pray. Pray for the women in your study and that you will not get in the way of how God is going to speak into the women who attend, including yourself.
Make sure your lives are included in the study. Try to make it personal. It needs to be more than just head knowledge. It needs to be a heart & soul reality as well.
My favorite tip is to touch base with women outside of the study on a weekly basis. This can be by email, Facebook, text message, or phone call. Ladies really appreciate the knowledge that you miss them and want them to attend each week.
We have found icebreakers to be particularly useful for women. Many times, its the little tidbits we learn about each other through a silly little game that we remember about each other forever!
Always make time to get to know your group with fun ice breakers and be sure to include prayer and praise every time you meet!
Other than praying for God’s help,
I like to put into one sentence what I want the ladies to take away with them from the lesson.
My Bible study tip is about icebreakers. As a brand new Bible study leader (and an introvert), I was really hesitant to kick-off our women’s group with a game. But, I also knew that an icebreaker helps people find similarities. I remember thinking, “Please Lord, let this be fun!” So I shouldn’t have been surprised when the ladies were enjoying the game so much that I had to set a timer! I heartily recommend using a game to foster fellowship in your Bible study group.
These tips and reminders are very timely. This year our church wide emphasis is on discipleship, so we are strategically placing emerging leaders/facilitators eith experienced leaders to model leadership and have those conversations about leading women. We are excited to bring in the next generation of leaders.
Thinking about offering Bible studies at different times, rather than just at the time you’ve always done it, is on my mind. Like that group that met at 6:45 faithfully. I wonder what time would be best for most women?
I love to memorize and meditate on scripture by making the verse in question my lock screen on my phone. Then every time I look at my phone during the day (more than it should be ????) I take a minute to pause and meditate.
One of the struggles in a Bible study/small group is how to incorporate a time of praying with and for each other. Most of our Bible study time slots are 1.5 hours, but time flies by the time you incorporate an icebreaker, review of the prior week/homework, and then going through the material/video for that week, plus a time of discussion. I like to allow 10 minutes at the end, and ask that everyone pair up with someone and share a couple of specific prayer requests with that person. If they are willing, they will exchange contact info. Pairs are challenged to pray for their partner, and reach out to them via text or call to check in on them during the week. Each week, pair up with someone different. Over time, women get to know the other women in their group in a more personal way AND the women know that one person in their group is praying specifically for them that week!