What should be covered during the first Bible study meeting?

There are two approaches you can take as you plan for your first Meet Me In The Bible meeting:

APPROACH #1: Use the first night of Bible study to get oriented to the Meet Me In The Bible framework, book, and bookmark; and to get to know one another. I recommend this approach if your participants are new to studying the Bible. If you choose this approach, plan for a 9-week Bible study.

APPROACH #2: Use the first night of Bible study to dive right into the study, covering the Introduction to Colossians + Philemon on page 7 of the book. If you choose this approach, you will need to clearly communicate prior to the first night of Bible study how to order Bible study materials. Participants will need to watch the How to Use the Meet Me in the Bible Framework video before coming to the first Bible study meeting. If you choose this approach, plan for an 8-week Bible study.

See a sample schedule for both approaches below.

APPROACH #1 (9-week study)

First meeting:

1. Welcome! Distribute Bible study materials.  

2. Watch How to Use the Meet Me in the Bible Framework video as a group.

3. Talk about different strategies and paces for completing each Bible study lesson. I give a few different strategies in the article titled, How Should I Pace My Bible Study?

4. Move to discussion. A few questions you can ask during your first meeting to get to know one another are:

   -Where is your hometown? What did you like about growing up there? What do you not miss about your hometown?

   -What do you hope to gain from this Bible study?

   -Do you have any questions about how to use your book and bookmark, or do you have questions about what to expect?

   Please refrain from asking everyone to tell a little about themselves on the first night. Participants will default to sharing how long they’ve been married and how many kids they have. This will exclude single women, widows, divorcees, and women who do not have children. Carefully choose questions for the first night that are inclusive of everyone.

5. Give instructions and reminders for the next week:

   -Read through the book of Colossians and Philemon this week, and take note of what connects these 2 books of the Bible.

   -Page 7 of your book will be completed as a group during next week’s meeting.

Second Meeting:

1. Cover Introduction to Colossians + Philemon, completing page 7 of your book all together.

2. Move to discussion. A few questions you can ask during your second meeting:

   -What did you discover that was important to you about Colossians + Philemon?

   -Do you relate to Paul? If yes, how so? Do you relate to the Colossians? If yes, how so?

   -Do you have any questions about this study so far?

3. Give instructions and reminders for the next week:

   -Work through Week 2, Colossians 1:1-14, The Fruit of the Gospel before the next meeting.

   -Next week will begin with discussion over Colossians 1:1-14.

Third meeting:

1. Discuss Week 2, Colossians 1:1-14, The Fruit of the Gospel. Use the prompts on your bookmark as discussion questions. You can also use questions from the article, Content-specific Discussion Questions for Colossians + Philemon. The wrap up question at the end of each lesson in your book will always help jump-start discussion.

2. If you are incorporating a formal teaching time, move to a time of teaching after discussion. If you teach first, participants will discuss your teaching points rather than what they discovered while reading the Scriptures.

3. If you are a leading a collaborative Bible study and you do not have a formal teaching time, move to a time of prayer after discussion.

4. Give instructions and reminders for next week.

   -Work through Week 3, Colossians 1:15-23, The Heart of the Gospel before the next meeting.

   -Next week will begin with discussion over Colossians 1:15-23.

All other meetings can follow a format similar to the third meeting.

APPROACH #2 (8-week study)

Prior to the first meeting:

Communicate the following:

1. Where and when to order Meet Me in Colossians + Philemon books. OR communicate when and where they are to pick up their books if you are ordering them. 

2. Send a link to How to Use the Meet Me in the Bible Framework. (You’ll find the link on page 3 of your book.) Make sure they know to watch the video, with their book and bookmarks in hand, before the first Bible study meeting.

3. Let your participants know that you will complete page 7 all together on the first night, so they know what to expect.

First meeting:

1. Welcome! Then dive into the Introduction of Colossians + Philemon.

   Note: If you are including a formal teaching time, begin with teaching the Introduction of Colossians + Philemon, then move to a time of discussion. If you are hosting a collaborative Bible study without a formal teaching time, begin with discussion time as described below, then discuss the Introduction to Colossians + Philemon all together.

2. Move to discussion. A few questions you can ask during your first meeting to get to know one another are:

   -Where is your hometown? What did you like about growing up there? What do you not miss about your hometown?

   -What do you hope to gain from this Bible study?

   -Do you have any questions about how to use your book and bookmark, or do you have questions about what to expect?

   Please refrain from asking everyone to tell a little about themselves. Participants will default to sharing how long they’ve been married and how many kids they have. This will exclude single women, widows, divorcees, and women who do not have children. Carefully choose icebreaker questions that are inclusive of everyone.

3. Talk about different strategies and paces for completing each Bible study lesson. I give a few different strategies in the article titled, How Should I Pace My Bible Study?

4. Give instructions and reminders for the next week:

   -Work through Week 2, Colossians 1:1-14, The Fruit of the Gospel before the next meeting.

   -Next week will begin with discussion over Colossians 1:1-14.

Second Meeting:

1. Discuss Week 2, Colossians 1:1-14, The Fruit of the Gospel. Use the prompts on your bookmark as discussion questions. You can also use questions from the article, Content-specific Discussion Questions for Colossians + Philemon. The wrap up question at the end of each lesson in your book will always help jump-start discussion.

2. If you are incorporating a formal teaching time, move to a time of teaching after discussion. If you teach first, participants will discuss your teaching points rather than what they discovered while reading the Scriptures.

3. If you are a leading a collaborative Bible study and you do not have a formal teaching time, move to a time of prayer after discussion.

4. Give instructions and reminders for next week.

   -Work through Week 3, Colossians 1:15-23, The Heart of the Gospel before the next meeting.

   -Next week will begin with discussion over Colossians 1:15-23.

All other meetings can follow a format similar to the second meeting.