Beginner's Guide to Studying Scripture with Curious Friends

Evangelistic Bible Studies

Jesus was a master of stoking curiosity and challenging people’s pre-conceived notions of religion. When our non-Christian friends start asking spiritual questions or are curious about our life choices, doing a simple, 3-5 week Bible study could be a next step in helping your friend be more open to Christianity and encounter Jesus for themselves. When we read the Bible with friends we can trust God’s promise that his words, “will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:10-12)

1. Invite Your Friends

Think about where your friends are on the five thresholds. Who is at threshold 2 (Curiosity) or higher? These are the friends to invite. You could do this with one friend or a group of people who are interested.

You could say something along these lines:

• "A lot of people have heard about Jesus, but very few have actually gotten to look at his stories and words for themselves. I'm inviting a couple people to look at those stories about the person of Jesus for themselves. Would you be open to joining?"
• “Every thinking person owes it to themselves to form an adult opinion about Jesus. I’m creating a discussion group for people to do that. Would you like to join?”
• “You’ve asked some questions about Christianity. Would you want to get together for a few weeks and read and discuss some stories about Jesus together?”

Then hold your breath, pray, and trust God for the answer.

• If they say "no," tell them that you would have really enjoyed having them be a part of the discussion, but you understand that now may not be the best time. Though it may feel like a personal rejection, it's simply a sign that they are not yet at a point of spiritual curiosity (Threshold Two). You can always ask again later if their curiosity grows. Continue the friendship and continue to pray.

If they say "yes," agree on a time and place and ask if they can think of others who may want to join. You may be surprised by how many people are open to make a four-week commitment to study the Bible.

2. Prep for the Meeting

• Decide on meeting location. It doesn't really matter where you meet (a dorm room, a coffee shop, the park) as long as the setting allows you to be comfortable, focus, and freely share and pray.
• Pray for and have others pray for the meeting.
• Choose a text. The narratives in the gospels are an ideal starting point because they focus on Christ and how he relates to others.
  • Encounters with Jesus,
  • Questions,
  • Self-Care,
  • Faking It, and
  • Labels all have excellent non-Christian friendly bible study series that have an invitation to follow Jesus at the end.
• Pray over, study, and become familiar with the text. But most of all, ask the Lord to apply the text to your life. Anticipate questions or points that will be hard to understand, and provide some basic context for the passage, but don't overdo it. This is not a seminary class. Give them enough to get the context of the story. Focus on the person of Christ in the passage and think of questions that will help your friends encounter Jesus rather than accumulate theological knowledge.
• Print out the passage as handouts. Printed passages allow people to write in the margin and also avoid any confusion that may stem from trying to navigate the Bible.

3. Facilitate the Discussion

Keep Your Friend in Mind

• Make it comfortable.
• Provide a safe environment and tasty snacks.
• Set a comfy, friendly, engaging tone with some ground rules like being curious, asking questions, and committing to spiritual growth.
• Don’t use Christian jargon. Forcing yourself to use language that anyone understands can actually deepen the meaning of the passage for you too.
• Don’t go into overtime: 30-45 minutes is suitable for a one-on-one GIG, and group GIGs shouldn't need to be longer than an hour. Consider whether a 10-minute GIG (or “instaGIG”) might serve an uber-busy friend better instead.

Facilitating Good Conversation

Your job as leader is to guide people in discovering what the text says about Jesus and provide opportunities to respond to him. You do not have to have all the answers--the authority rests with the text. Relax, ask questions, listen, don't preach, and let God surprise you. Share openly and honestly, your questions and how the text is relevant to your life right now. This will help set the tone for others.

Read the passage together and take time to study the text. Ask people to note things they find interesting, puzzling, or bothersome.

The following questions will help people engage with the story:

• What is one thing you like about this passage?
• What is one question you have?
• What did you learn about Jesus from this passage?
• What is one thing you want to put into action from this?

Focus the attention on Jesus and his interactions with people in the passage. Ask what people observe about Jesus' actions, motives, and attitudes. Pray that the Holy Spirit would give your friends insights into the text.

Create an atmosphere of openness and interaction.

• Encourage everyone to participate. Don't be too concerned about agreeing with every comment or answering every question that is brought up.
• Listen to their opinions and thank them for their observations: "That's interesting, I've never looked at the passage from that angle."
• Then refocus the discussion on the text. If someone has a question that stumps you, thank her for the thoughtful question and invite her to discuss the answer one-on-one after you've researched the issue. You are learners together.

Make it Personal

Good stories make things clear, accessible, and compelling. Always have your own story (hopefully a current one) to help the text come alive. No one can argue with your experience.

Is there a good next step for your friend? Maybe there is a practical way your friend is inspired by Jesus’ actions to experiment living differently this week. Share any way you want to put the passage into practice in your life.

Prayer is an excellent way to help your friend begin to engage with God in a personal way. You can share prayer requests and offer to (briefly!) pray for the group. They may not be used to speaking to God out loud in an informal manner, but most will be happy if you lead the prayer. You are modeling prayer as an easy way to begin to engage with God. Long prayers filled with Christian references can make prayer feel like it is something for Christians only. In a week or two ask if people want to try One-Sentence prayers for each other. This keeps prayers simple and accessible.

4. Follow Up & Stay in Touch Between Sessions

What happens in between meetings is as important as the study itself because the study is just one aspect of your relationship.

• Be a normal friend. Hang out and do fun things. Keep doing what you did before the study so your friendship doesn’t feel like it revolves around the study.
• If a group: Meet one-on-one with participants, especially if the study has more than two people, to provide an opportunity to debrief the study. Enjoy your times together. Ask lots of questions about what's going on in their lives and what they think about the study and Jesus. They may have things they'd rather discuss in private with you instead of in the group.
• If you have prayed for your friend during the Bible study, ask him what has happened as a result of that prayer. This is a powerful way for seekers to experience God's care and power.

5. Finish Strong

Throughout the Bible study, you have been praying and discerning where your friend is on his spiritual journey. As mentioned above, asking questions that stimulate spiritual reflection and response is a great way to gauge your friend's progress.

As you come to the final meeting, invite your friend(s) to continue their spiritual journey.

• If your friend is open to continuing to study the Bible, suggest starting another four-week series, meeting one-on-one for Bible study, or invite them to your small group Bible study.
• If your friend indicates that she'd rather not continue, assure her that you really enjoyed your times together and friendship. Make plans to grab a meal or spend time together soon. Pray for further opportunities to share your life and faith.
• If you sense that your friend may be open to becoming a follower of Jesus, ask if you can share a summary of the central message of the Bible with him. The Big Story is one way to share the gospel. Familiarize yourself with a summary and practice it with a Christian friend ahead of time. Pray together that the Spirit would be preparing your friend for the invitation.

If your friend is not yet ready to surrender to Christ, thank her for letting you explain the gospel and for allowing you to share your beliefs with her. If your friend is ready to follow Christ, lead them in a prayer of repentance, welcome your friend into Christ's family and celebrate! You can also suggest doing a Fresh Faith, a new believer’s Bible study, together to give them a good foundation to start their relationship with Jesus.

We believe that Scripture is powerful. As you encounter Jesus through the Bible together, your life and your friends’ lives will be transformed!