In every chapter of my spiritual life, I can remember being a part of a Bible study. Perhaps you were like me, and before you got saved you were that friend that got invited to Bible study on Wednesday nights. You may have even liked it. Maybe you had the fortune of growing up in church and Bible study is all you’ve ever known. Either way, as believers we are called to preach the word to lost people. And speaking from personal experience, the best way to do this is with an open Bible, people who want to learn the Bible, and if you’re as spiritual as my Bible study is, some flaming hot cheetos and capri suns.
After I got saved, I joined a Bible study where I came in knowing nothing about my salvation or the word of God. At this Bible study there were no tricks or programs, just people who loved me and opened their Bibles. The simple act of sitting with an open Bible and letting someone teach me and allow me to discover God’s word is to this day one of the greatest things to ever happen to me. However, now that I find myself with years of ministry experience, the greatest peaks of my walk have been witnessing souls accept Christ as their lord and savior in the Bible study setting where believers are letting God use his word.
Since then, I have been a part of many Bible studies with many different modes and philosophies of instruction. I remember attending a Bible study at a friend's church where the leaders filmed themselves instructing. It may come as a surprise when I say that Bible study ended for a myriad of reasons. I went to one where it was called “Bible study” but really we just ate chips, talked about girls, and watched the Royals. (People who aren’t Christians do this, too.) It wasn’t until I plugged into a Bible study at Midtown Baptist Temple that I saw what Bible study could be. It could be a tool that God uses not just for the spiritual growth of my brothers and sisters in Christ, but a tool for evangelism. Having opportunities to share the gospel in Bible study requires things from the leader and the saved members of the Bible study, which made me ask myself:
Are you willing to learn?
I really hope whoever is reading this is a part of a church that has a Bible study. And if you are on the fence about it, I’m telling you it's the absolute best. Sunday mornings are so much fun, and I love praising the Lord and listening to my pastor teach the word. But there is a nature of Bible Study that is designed to make you uncomfortable and trust your church family as well as trust in the Lord. Whether you are a Bible study leader, Bible study attendee, or Bible study avoider, you need to learn the Bible and you need people praying for you.
So before you begin thinking about evangelism in your Bible study, I encourage you to ask yourself if you’re willing to learn. Are you willing to learn how to talk to people? Do you have truths about God’s word that you can learn from the other believers in your Bible study? Because if you do not have a humble heart that's willing to learn, you will miss out on why you are at Bible study and miss out on evangelism opportunities that may arise. You have not mastered the word, so go to Bible study and there may even be ministry opportunities waiting for you there. I’ve only ever seen evangelism in Bible study work when there is an open Bible and people know how to use it.
Souls all around us are spiritually starving and thirsting after truth and grace. If we are not willing to learn, we will never be able to rise to the need of leading those souls to eternal life, let alone discipleship.
Amos 8:11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:
Are you willing to love?
Sometimes we get selfish with our Bible studies. Don’t get me wrong, some of the greatest moments of camaraderie, fellowship, and edification have been from the days where its just me and my brothers in Christ getting around the Word of God. But sometimes we get so caught up in viewing Bible study as rest from the mission when in reality Bible Study is just another battle field in the mission.
If you are a Bible study leader or member of a study, then I hope you find those times to get refreshed by brothers in Christ. But I pray you get the privilege of having a lost soul attend your Bible study. The best part about this is that it's never a person that makes sense. It’s always a random person that outside of Bible study you would probably never hangout with. But before you make the drive to Bible study, you need to ask yourself if you are ready to love the people who are not saved in your Bible study. Plan time to hang with your friends another night, because at Bible study there might be a person who isn't saved and is in great need of a Christian who is ready to show them the love of Christ.
Are you willing to listen?
When I talk about listening to the lost, of course I mean trying to understand where they are coming from so you can shape your gospel presentation accordingly. Like I have said many times, it's someone who got invited to your Bible study because they work or go to school with one of the people that regularly attend. But they are a non-spiritual person coming into a spiritual setting, and will have questions and opinions that require your complete attention. What I mainly mean by listening is looking for opportunities to possibly switch up the usual flow of Bible study for the sake of potentially winning a soul to Christ.
Leading student ministry, we are always mindful of this. There was a time when we were doing a Revelation study with our high school boys (they asked for it). Both me and my co leader came fully prepared to teach Revelation 5. However, there was a student there who wasn't saved and was asking questions about heaven and salvation. Luckily, the dude who was helping me lead the Bible study was listening for opportunities to share the gospel. As leaders we had two options, keep talking about eschatology or drop the study altogether and walk this student through the process of salvation. Because we were listening for opportunities we dropped the study and spent the rest of the time talking about salvation and were eventually able to be a part of leading him to salvation. There was another time we were studying Psalm 119 in Bible study and the only students who showed up were lost. Do we try to teach Psalm 119 or do we use the time of Bible study to show what the Bible says about eternal life? If we were not willing to be flexible to the structure of Bible study fitting the call to win people to Christ, we would have missed that opportunity and there would be one less soul in heaven.
Are you willing to lead?
The example I used of leading a student to Christ during Bible study is the common trend of our ministry. Easily most of the salvations that have happened in our ministry have been because of someone having questions about it during Bible study and our willingness to meet that need. Yes, its like shooting fish in a barrel in some ways, but there is more to it than that if you are going to lead an evangelistic Bible study. First thing, are you ready to lead someone to make a decision to follow Christ? In case you don’t know me, I am a classic overthinker and my flesh wants to tell me that everything I do is the wrong way it should be done. Whenever I lead someone to Christ or present the gospel, I walk away feeling like I did it wrong. But I take comfort in Romans 10:9-10 . As long as they have recognized their sin and need for salvation, me and sometimes another believer will pray with them and have them pray out loud their need for salvation and belief in what Christ did for them. Thing is, this is a decision they are making for Christ and we cannot overcomplicate it. I once prayed with a brother who, when he got saved, only said in his prayer, “Forgive me.” I for sure thought it didn’t work but to this day he is a model to me of how to be a godly man. Be obedient and don’t make it harder than it needs to be. When your Bible study sees someone get saved its the greatest celebration ever. No super bowl or concert can ever replace the party of watching a soul get saved.
The second important reason we should be ready to lead is to teach the members of our Bible study the importance of evangelism. As a youth leader, what kind of disciples am I making if understanding Revelation 5 is more important than leading someone to salvation? For the rest of their lives, they will associate Bible study with people getting saved. We have students that have entered college level Bible studies with the expectation that lost people will get saved. Michael Scott once said, “I love inside jokes, I’d love to be a part of one someday.” As a Bible study leader, I can make sure the other members of my Bible study have reward at the judgment seat and fruit in their ministry by inviting them to either explain salvation to a lost person or join me in praying with the lost as they decide to follow Christ. Then its not just my role to be the evangelist, but the rest of the Bible study have smelled the blood in the water and are eager to lead in evangelism as well.
I may not know you, but as I’m writing this I'm praying for your Bible study. Your obedience to grow in the knowledge of God’s word and grow in your relationship with your brothers or sisters in Christ through Bible study is so amazing, and I’m so proud of you for counting that cost. Just as someone met you when you were in darkness, you have the opportunity to be that person to someone else even in the context of Bible study. The hard reality is that lost people will come to your Bible study and never get saved. We pray for them and love them. But if you are willing to be a learner, willing to love the worst of the worst, willing to listen to the needs of lost souls, and willing to lead those you minister to, then there will be that one sheep that left the 99 who will find a home forever in heavenly places. Are you willing?
Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Montana Rex leads the student ministry at Living Faith Lee’s Summit in Missouri.