As a pastor’s wife, (especially in late summer or early winter) you may find yourself in the place of needing to prep and choose curriculum for a fall or spring Bible study. To this end, we are excited to share this wonderful summary from Janet Carter, Women’s Ministry Executive Director at Mission Hills Church (Coletta’s church!) of the “how to” in preparing to launch a study as well as ideas of what to study. We hope this can spark some ideas for designing and launching studies where you are.
THE PROCESS
Our Bible studies run on the school year calendar from September-April. We prefer to have 2 leaders in each small group. We offer day and evening studies, as well as Zoom studies. We try hard to not have classes meet during the month of December due to such a busy time on the home front for our women. May is the second busiest month for our ladies, so we try to finish by the end of April. Here are our steps for prepping all the way through leader selection:
- We begin preparing for the school year by planning on curriculum options in November the year before the fall kickoff. We pray for God’s wisdom in making these decisions. We look at what’s new being released, and our team then vets the curriculum for the next several months. We always work within doctrinal statements of Lifeway, Joy of Living, and Precepts. Occasionally we use another curriculum house and start by looking at their statement of faith to make sure it aligns with Mission Hills Church.
- For the studies we believe fit into our goals for discipleship growth, we choose 8-10 to vet. We do this by doing sample chapters of each workbook. Sometimes studies are not released in time to do this, but it is with Bible teachers that we know. For vetting, we have a chart of how long it took to do the lesson, how much scripture is included, application included, etc. We narrow the options down to present to our leaders.
- In early March, we meet with all our Bible study leaders and reveal the options for them to choose from for the school year. We try to offer 2 low intensity, 2 mid intensity, and 1 high intensity per semester. Intensity level is not by book of the Bible, but rather by the amount of homework of each study. We believe home study is very important because where women open their Bibles and spend time with the Lord is essential for growth. Here is how we define levels of intensity:
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- Low intensity = 1-2 hours of homework per week.
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- Mid intensity = 2-4 hours of homework per week.
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- High intensity = 5+ hours of homework per week.
- Our next step is asking each existing leader to tell us if they are returning by this curriculum reveal date. This tells us how many new leaders we need for the coming fall. We also ask our existing leaders to give us recommendations on potential new leaders. Those recommendations are based on being grounded in the word, strong attendance in their class, well prepared homework, and how encouraging they are to other women in a group.
- We then interview potential leaders. We want to know about their upbringing, family, hobbies and then ask about their spiritual development. We want to hear their testimony of salvation. They also are required to have a background check and sign a church covenant.
- Leaders are then asked to commit to attend our “Deeper” event and our training held in August. Deeper is a special event near the end of August and kicks off our fall registration. In addition to all leader training, we have another new leader training just prior to our large all leader training in August.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Janet has shared a list with us of the studies that have been fruitful at her church. We are happy to share them with you below and hope this list helps you navigate choosing curriculum and designing studies where you serve.
Low Intensity
- The Quest by Beth Moore
- Discerning the Voice of God by Priscilla Shirer
- Jesus and Women by Kristi McLelland
- The Gospel on the Ground by Kristi McLelland
- Proverbs, a creative study
- Seamless by Angie Smith
- Jesus and Women by Kristi McLelland
- Gospel on the Ground by Krisit McLelland
- When We Pray by 7 Lifeway speakers
- As For Me (Psalms) by Adrienne Camp
- Ephesians by Jackie Hill Perry and team
- Luke in the Land by Kristi McLelland
- Easter by Kelly Minter
Mid Intensity
- He’s Where the Joy Is by Tara Lee Cobble
- Exodus by Joy of Living
- Exodus Continued by Joy of Living
- Abide by Jen Wilkins
- In View of God’s Mercies (Romans) by Courtney Doctor
- Hebrews by Joy of Living
- Sermon on the Mount by Jen Wilkin
- When Strivings Cease by Ruth Chou Simon
- Revelation by Jen Wilkin
- James by Joy of Living
- A Woman’s Heart Study (temple) by Beth Moore
- Isaiah by Joy of Living
High Intensity
- 1 & 2 Corinthians by Precepts
- 1 & 2 Corinthians Continued by Precepts
- Ecclesiastes by Precepts
- Zephaniah & Jeremiah by Precepts
- Jeremiah Continued by Precepts
- Matthew by Precepts
- James by Precepts
Author: Janet Carter, Women’s Ministry Executive Director at Mission Hills Church
