7 Creative Ways To Use Bible Studies

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning if you decide to make a purchase through my links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. See my disclosure for more info.

 

You want to do a Bible study, but time seems to be the enemy. I get it. For the last two years, I’ve really had to get creative with completing Bible studies. One study that I started at church last year, I had to finish a little different way than I started. This spring I had to forfeit being involved in one of the 5 week studies offered at church because of  too many scheduling conflicts with my family and ministry. I know how tough it can be to make Bible study a priority, especially a group study.

Today I wanted to share what I’ve learned in the past couple of years regarding the use of Bible study curriculum. Just because a study is designed for a set number of weeks doesn’t mean you have to use the material in that format. If you have your heart set on doing a Bible study, then God will help you make the connections and give you the ideas you need to follow through. Here are 10 creative ways to use Bible studies that may spark a new avenue for you.

1. Borrow a Bible study from your church library.

Many churches will allow purchased Bible study curriculum to be checked out by members. This gives you the freedom to watch during times that work for your schedule.

2. Use digital downloads and complete a group study curriculum as an individual.

Lifeway has a unique feature that allows you to download each Bible study teaching video individually. Group studies offer a myriad of benefits that you won’t receive when doing a study alone. But doing it alone is better than not doing a study at all, right? With Lifeway, you can purchase the study workbook, then pay a small rate to download each video. The beauty of this method is that you can do the study at your own pace.

3. Purchase an entire group curriculum to use on your own.

One of the reasons I love Proverbs 31 ministries so much is that the Bible studies they offer are very affordable to purchase. Christian Book Distributors is the best place to purchase a DVD and participant’s guide together. For example, Lysa Terkeurst’s study, Made to Crave, is available for only $24.99 right now.

4. Host a Bible study marathon.

The first time I stumbled on offering this type of study, it was because we experienced a harsh winter and some weeks were iffy at best. At the end of the study, we decided to do a marathon and watch all the DVD’s in one night. Check out this post on how to host a Bible study marathon to see how you can use this method.

5. Invite your friends to participate in a non-video Bible study.

Choose a free Bible study printable or Bible reading plan to do together as a group. You could use social media to share your thoughts with one another or even send a group text at the same time each day to connect with each other.

6. Build a personal library of Bible studies to use and share.

Through hosting Bible studies for many years and blogging about Bible studies, I have a library of over 30 different Bible studies. Even if you’re not a blogger, you can still build a library by entering online Bible study giveaways and by checking your local Christian bookstore for discounted studies. You can request for your name and email to be put on a list for when the studies are marked to clearance.

7. Cut the number of designed weeks for the curriculum and double up.

If the study is a 10 week study, schedule 5 meetings and watch two videos or do two sets of discussion according to the curriculum. Or maybe you want to do an 8 week study but you can only fit in 6 meetings. Just adapt accordingly. Obviously, the most ideal way is to complete the study in the number of weeks designed. But if you have to drop parts of the discussion or watch more than one video in a week, you are still benefiting from God’s Word greatly!

Women today have full plates and countless demands. Learning God’s Word and building community with others is just as important as it has always been. My prayer is that this post has encouraged your heart to be involved in Bible study and use whatever creative method necessary in order to embrace and enjoy growing your faith. One easy way to enjoy reading the Bible each day is to participate in the monthly reading challenges offered here on the blog.

I’d love to hear from you today. What creative ways have you found to use Bible study curriculum?

Rachel