Simple Ways to Get a Home Bible Study
By Rich Demtreez
Helping another person find God is the most important thing a person can do, and you can help them. But how do you increase your witness for Christ and help people come to full Bible salvation? Teach them a home Bible study. These are 5 things will help you get more Bible studies than you can teach.
1. Be Filled with the Spirit
It is important to be in a right relationship with God yourself as you talk to others about how they can know God. So that means staying prayed up and confessing sin. Practice daily being-filled with the Spirit.
2. Pray for Opportunities
While serving as missionaries overseas, two roommates started praying for a man who had attended church, but didn’t truly understand about Jesus. The two men prayed specifically that the Lord would wake this man up in the middle of the night and give him dreams about God.
A few weeks later, the man came to a meeting and said, “I woke up in the middle of the night and I had this picture I couldn’t get out of my mind.”
A Cru staff member asked him, “What was it? Can you draw it for me?”
While the student drew the images, the staff member recognized the drawings and thought: “Did I ever a home Bible study chart?”
But he hadn’t. So he pulled out the Bible study program and began going through the first few pages.
When he saw the first page of the study, the student asked, “How does this chart have the same pictures in it as my dream?”
I told him, “God is trying to assure you that what the Bible teaches is true.”
A few weeks later, the student was saved.
3. Be Authentic
People don’t care about how much you know they want to know that you care for them. Don’t put on a front, but instead maintain a humble attitude. The Apostle Paul writes to the Christians in Philippi and expresses his care and concern for them: “For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:8).
4. Ask Questions
As you talk to others about Jesus, don’t do a stand-up monologue. Engage in a conversation, but at the same time, keep the focus on the message of the gospel. Jesus taught by asking questions. Phillip asked the Ethiopian eunuch if he understood what he was reading. Doug Pollack’s book, God Space offers a list of “99 wondering questions” to choose from to help you can connect with others.
5. Ask People for a Response
If you’re not using a specific gospel explanation like the Four Laws or “The Would You Like to Know God Personally?” booklet, take the time to ask the person to respond to Christ’s invitation.
Acts 2:37-38 says, “Now when the people heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'”
Which of these ideas have you found most helpful? What other suggestions would you give fellow believers to help them be a more effective witness?
The material is copyrighted and should not be reprinted under any other name or author. However, this material may be freely used for personal study or research purposes.
This article may not be written by an Apostolic author, but it contains many excellent principles and concepts that can be adapted to most churches. As the old saying goes, “Eat the meat. Throw away the bones.”
