How often will your group meet and what types of studies will you have? One way to choose your approach is to start with a calendar. If possible, plan from an annual perspective and then focus on each month. This is a good time to dream about what God can do in his community. Keep your group members in mind and what their needs are as you plan.
Don't forget to allow some flexibility in your planning. Facilitate Bible study group discussions on topics that appear in the BibleProject app reading journey. My job is to guide people to the Bible, allow them to go into Scripture for themselves, let them talk, ask questions, and discuss with each other. So how do you carefully select people a leader? When inviting people to participate in the Bible study, show the material to the potential group member and explain clearly what the group will and will not do.
People who attend simply for communion or to find encouragement through conversation can very quickly derail Bible study and, in fact, frustrate the very purpose for which the group has gathered. Therefore, to begin a new Bible study, make it absolutely clear to the participants this goal of studying the Word of God. Sometimes leaders choose Bible Study for the group, but you may want to solicit feedback from group members. If God has called you to lead a Bible study group, I know that you will spend a lot of time in prayer and plan and think hard about being an effective leader.
That extra vision of your study time or that comment from a wise Bible teacher or scholar, that clever saying, that keen observation of another believer, and even an appropriate joke add an element of fun and prevent Bible study from becoming routine, monotonous and dry. You can lead a big discussion without much preparation, but you need a deliberate plan to discuss and apply the Bible. Consequently, for a successful new Bible study, the group will need solid material to help each participant engage God in and through His Word. You can start and lead a Bible study not because you're so big or smart or you've been a Christian for a long time or because you know the Bible very well.
That's not to say you should minimize the Bible, but if people in the group don't know each other, it's important that they learn more about each other. A more experienced group of Bible students will be able to handle material that requires a greater amount of time on task and that engages in the details of each verse or passage.
