BSLT: A Young Adults Training Series
Bible Study Leading Training (BSLT) is a training series that our Young Adults (YAs) had to equip them with skills to read the Bible and lead studies faithfully. Six sessions were held from mid-August to the end of October this year. In this run, YAs from both congregations (the English as well as the Chinese-speaking) came together to learn to be equipped. Mercia, one of our YAs, shares with us about this training series and some reflections about her experience.
WHAT IT WAS ABOUT
Each of the six sessions had a time of learning skills, and also a time of hands-on practice. In the first half of every session, we tackled a different aspect of crafting a Bible study: understanding the nature of the Bible itself, the big idea, the warrant, the discussion and application questions as well as the flow of preparing for a bible study.
To provide a brief summary, we discussed the inerrant (to be without error or fault in its teaching) nature of the Bible as well as its overview, seeing how the Bible was one giant story of God’s plan of salvation for sinful people through Jesus Christ. This is a foundational and fundamental aspect of our understanding and is why we spend so much time preparing and working on the Bible study. We were taught how to spot the big idea, which is the key meaning of the text. Understanding the big idea of the text allows us to craft the warrant—why we need to read the passage and it often speaks to the consistent fallen condition of man. In every Bible study, the big idea should answer the warrant.
We were also introduced to a four-step model for crafting questions as well as different kinds of application questions and ways we could possibly ask our groups. Regardless of what kind of questions we are planning to craft, it was highlighted to us that we should consider our audience, our Bible study group members, and tailor these questions such that they will be able to receive them best. Lastly, we were given a Bible study workflow that mapped out the entire process of preparing a Bible study—what we should begin with, what we should do next and what we should go back to if certain parts of the preparation do not go well.
Excluding the first week, we also took turns leading a short 20-minute practice Bible study on Philippians before concluding each session. We were divided into three groups of around ten people, and two people were assigned a part of Philippians for their practice Bible studies. In the week between each training that we do not meet, there would be consultation sessions online held by Nehemiah, Nicholas and Kagen for us to ask questions about or receive comments about the studies we were preparing to lead. After the 20-minute practice Bible study, feedback from the group members would be given. This ensured that we had plenty of chances to practise what we had learnt and to learn to receive feedback in a safe environment.
WHY I DECIDED TO ATTEND
I decided to attend BSLT as I have been learning how to lead Bible studies in my Christian Fellowship group (NUS Regenerate) in school and wanted to also learn about leading Bible studies in church. Reading the Bible together is a key part of speaking the truth in love to one another and growing together as a Christian community. Hence, it was important for me to get equipped in church too so that I may be able to do so faithfully in the future whenever the opportunity arises.
To a large extent, the training was what I was expecting as the things that were taught were quite similar to what I was taught in NUS Regenerate as well—something that I thank God for! I was reminded of certain techniques I could use for Bible studies and learn new things as well, such as the concept of a warrant!
WHAT WAS ENCOURAGING
Even though most of us are considered YAs, not all of us are in the same life stage and we had our own things going on during our weeks. Thus, it was encouraging to see people who were willing to come down after a tiring day at work or school to learn how to read God’s Word faithfully for themselves and to help others to do so too! I didn’t really know the people from the Chinese-speaking Congregation (CC) prior to BSLT but right before we started each session, we would have a short 15 minutes to gather in small groups of 2–3 to get to know each other and pray for one another. This provided us the opportunity to hear about what’s been going on in their lives and in church which was lovely. Although we are from different congregations, thank God that our love for and desire to know Him are the same!
Mercia (bottom left) with her group of YAs from both congregations.
Learning alongside people who are uniquely different yet similarly eager to learn was a good experience because I also felt inspired to be even more curious to find out more about how to better lead a Bible study. Every practice session, we got to see a unique style of leading bible studies as each person injected their own personality into their preparation. Because of that, I got to see many different methods of leading a study which I can adopt in future. Furthermore, everyone was very gentle in giving their feedback as well which definitely helped because receiving feedback can often feel offensive at times. Their gentleness helped to create a safe space for us to try, make mistakes, and learn from them.
We used Philippians for our practice sessions and I thank God that there was always something new to learn from these short sessions. Philippians was particularly encouraging for myself and others too. Even though we didn’t have the time to discuss in great depth about specific application, hearing about how the leaders of each practice session share how they apply Philippians to their lives was very refreshing and got me thinking more about how loving and knowing Christ should shape the way I live my life in all circumstances.
SOME CLOSING THOUGHTS
I think one of the biggest challenges I faced was preparing for the practice session. It was quite a new experience for me as we would typically get some resources when we lead a Bible study in school but for this practice study, we had to prepare everything from scratch. I was quite worried about whether I was reading the passage the right way and there was a tendency to want to find the right answer in an academic sense rather than seek to lead the study faithfully to glorify God. I was also concerned about the feedback I would receive from others. I thank God for friends who prayed with me, reminding me that my worth is not based on how well I can lead a study and to always rely on God always!
Not only has the training equipped me with tools to better read the Bible and frameworks I can fall back on when preparing a study, it has also helped me to see the important work of the Holy Spirit that opens our minds to understand the meaning of the Bible. Reading the Bible and preparing for a study is not an easy task, but thank God that our understanding of His Word is not dependent on us but on the Holy Spirit! This has also taught me to pray and rely more on God whenever I read the Bible. It is also assuring to have these reliable frameworks that I can now go back to whenever I feel lost, making the process less daunting and helping me to be more confident to serve whenever I am called to in the future.