Below you’ll find the show notes for episode 104, Should Your Women’s Ministry Use Video-Driven Bible Studies?, from the Women’s Ministry Toolbox Podcast.

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Should Your Women’s Ministry Use Video-Driven Bible Studies?

In my last post, I shared what I wish leaders knew about the impact and influence Bible study authors can have on the women in their church. (Click here to read that post first.)

I talked about the importance of doing a deep dive on Bible study authors to understand what they believe, practice, and teach. Their book might be in line with what your church teaches, but what they practice and teach in other places may not.

Today I’m going to do my best to walk through the pros and cons of video-drive Bible studies. I’ll wrap up this post with some alternative options for video-driven studies.

Whether you’re in a church that always uses videos or rarely uses videos, this post will provide some things to consider.

Are videos what’s best for your women?

Before we dive into our list of pros and cons, I want to pause to ask a question. If you’re using or thinking of using a video-driven Bible study, why is that the Bible study method you’ve chosen or are thinking of choosing? Is it because the teaching is sound and it meets a need in your church or is it because the author is popular or you lack the time or teachers to lead a study?

I get it. Video studies are easy. You literally press play and there’s little prep necessary.

Videos create familiarity. Your women may have a favorite Bible study author and look forward to each new video study she releases.

Videos can create an emotional connection. The personal storytelling and charismatic delivery can make authors feel relatable and trustworthy. I know I feel that way just watching stories on Instagram. There are Christian women I think I know well, but in truth, I only know what they’ve shown me. The relationship is one-sided. They don’t know me at all.

I want to challenge you to ask, what’s best for your women right now? It may be a video-driven Bible study, but it may not be.

Let’s walk through the pros and cons to see if that helps you to decide what’s best for your group of women at your church.

We’ll start with the positives.

5 reasons to use a video-drive study in your church:

1. If properly vetted videos could be a good resource when you don’t have a gifted teacher in your church available.
2. Videos make it easy for women to facilitate a study if they aren’t willing or ready to teach.
3. Video-driven studies require less prep time than if someone is studying the passage and writing weekly lessons.
4. Videos can take you to specific locations that enhance the study and expand your women’s understanding of God’s Word. They may be able to show graphics, images, or examples that works be hard to replicate.
5. There’s usually a level of professionalism that can be hard to replicate.

In the best-case scenario, videos provide biblically sound teaching and information.

7 reasons you may not want to use video-driven studies:

1. You can run into technical difficulties.  What do you do when the WIFI’s not working or the DVD player is broken?
2. Some videos are long and will greatly limit your discussion time.
3. You may find you spend more time listening to the Bible study teacher share stories about her family and her life than the Bible. Examples can be great, but be mindful of the balance.
4. Video studies feed into the Christian celebrity culture. Some women get attached to specific Bible study teachers and refuse to attend studies written by another author. Sadly, this means women are only hearing one voice interpret the Scriptures.
5. It’s almost impossible to ask follow-up questions or make a personal connection with a Bible study author. Your women won’t be able to seek her or him out for advice like they could someone in your church.
6. Videos are often created to elicit a feeling. They use tools such lighting, music, camera angles, and images to move women to feel and respond in a certain way. We want to be careful that we don’t manipulate women.
7. Video-driven studies can be expensive, especially if each participant has to purchase a workbook and/or book to go along with it.

Just like Bible study books, videos need to be previewed each week to correct any wrong information or a different interpretation of scripture. You might need time beforehand to check some facts the teacher shares.

What are the alternatives to video-driven Bible studies?

1. Verse-by-verse. Also called inductive Bible study, teaching your women to go verse-by-verse and chapter-by-chapter through a book of the Bible without an author or pastor leading the way will change the lives of your women. My READ Bible Study is perfect for this.
2. Bible study books. If there’s an accompanying video series, you don’t have to use it. Or your team could select books without a video option.
3. In-person teachers. Women in your church have the gift of teaching, yet often we don’t give them the opportunity to teach.

Benefits of using a teacher in your church

When gifted woman women in your church are the Bible study teachers:

1. Their teaching will align with what your church teaches because they know what your church teaches.
2. There is the accountability of sitting under the authority of your pastors.
3. Your pastors can serve as a resource for your teachers.

While famous Bible study teachers can be popular with your women, women also love teaching from a gifted teacher in their church.

Last year four of us took turns teaching at our fall retreat. We looked at worship from Genesis through Revelation. Each one of us had a section to cover. I taught on Distorted, Disordered, and Distracted Worship. I covered Genesis 3 through the end of the Old Testament.

Our women loved the format and the teaching. On the survey they repeatedly said they want women from the church to teach instead of an outside speaker going forward.

There are other benefits to in-house Bible teachers:

1. Teachers within your church can mentor and disciple your women.
2. They can answer questions in real time.
3. There’s a level of relationship that can’t be duplicated when using a video.
4. They can use examples that are specific to your church and community.

You may be thinking that sounds great, but we don’t have many women who are gifted in teaching. How can we solve that problem?

Start training women to teach.

• Can someone in your church train them?
• If they are almost ready, could they co-lead with a seasoned teacher?
• Provide training. Simeon Trust has an inexpensive class. Your denomination may offer classes or certification on how to teach the Bible. In my seminary class, we used the book Empowered and Equipped: Bible Exposition for Women Who Teach the Scriptures by Julia Higgins. Look for training on expository teaching and hermeneutics.
• Teach them how to study the Bible on their own (use my READ Bible Study materials) and look for women who like to dig deep. Who is spending lots of time on their study and utilizing sound commentaries?

At the beginning of this episode, I asked why you’re using or considering using a video-driven Bible study.

Every ministry choice we make should support the mission and purpose statement of our church and our women’s ministry program.

If your goal is to promote Biblical literacy, there are better ways to equip and encourage women to read the Bible and discuss it together.

Video studies often spoon feed our women the answers and often take the place of the Holy Spirit. Rather than listening to the Spirit speak through God’s Word to our hearts, we listen to the teacher on a video.

I’ve personally found that women who are used to video-driven studies struggle to study God’s Word on their own. They often rely on devotional materials instead of the Holy Spirit and their Bible.

Here are Today’s Toolbox Tasks:

1. Discuss with your team the pros and cons of video-driven Bible studies.
2. Decide what’s best for the women in your church.
3. Make a plan to move forward.

May God give you wisdom as you seek the best Bible study options for the women in your church.

You may want to explore:
How Bible Study Authors Shape Your Women’s Ministry
Selecting Discipleship, Mentoring, and Bible Study Materials
How to Select Your Next Bible Study
Everything a Bible Study Leader Needs to Know
Bible Study Facilitator Training