January 6, 2021

Group Answers Episode 186: What We Learned About Groups and Community During This Pandemic

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On this episode of Group Answers, Chris and Brian catch up with three previous guests about the lessons they learned from doing groups in 2020, and how they are going to apply them in 2021.

Ashley Anderson is community groups leader at Church of the City in New York, New York.

Dave Enns is the pastor of life group ministries at North Coast Church in San Diego, California.

Jon Hughes is adult ministries director at Community Christian Church in Chicago, Illinois.

The Group Answers Podcast is a weekly show designed to resource, train, and encourage small group leaders. Each episode considers current trends and resources as well as timeless truths and methods of discipleship. It is hosted by Brian Daniel, a Bible study and discipleship expert in Lifeway’s Groups Ministry, and Chris Surratt, the small group and discipleship specialist at Lifeway and author of Leading Small Groups.

Online Bible Study

December 17, 2020

Online Bible Studies Are Moving!

By Deborah Spooner

January is one of the best times for starting online Bible studies.

As the new year rolls in, many of us experience waves of excitement and hope for what’s to come. We plan practical steps for growth, goal achievement, and making the year a great one. But, it can be difficult to keep resolutions. We often lose steam by the time February arrives.

Online Bible studies are a practical step to ensure you don’t lose momentum on your Bible reading goals and plans.

What’s changed for 2021?

Historically, we’ve hosted our online Bible studies in two ways. We initially ran our studies through a blog platform (like this one). More recently, we’ve held online Bible studies through Facebook Groups. Although these have been solid options that have been useful to facility great study and discussion, we are getting an OBS hosting facelift for 2021. We’re joining Lifeway’s Online Bible Study platform.

What is this “new platform”?

If you’ve done a Lifeway associated Bible study in the past, you may already have experience with the platform! The Lifeway Online Bible study platform, which previously only hosted Lifeway Women’s studies, has undergone changes to be able to include both men’s and women’s studies, as well as studies suitable for a mixed audience. Further changes have updated the user experience to be even more welcoming and easier to use!

When can I try it out?

Two Bible study options will give you a chance to try a Groups Bible study on the updated OBS platform, starting this January. Don’t miss out!

Battle Plan for Prayer (Alex Kendrick & Stephen Kendrick)

Launching Tuesday, January 5, 2021

This is an eight-week video-based Bible study that helps you develop a deeper walk with God as you seek the Lord for your battles. Through this study, you’ll be equipped to create their own prayer strategy, learning to be specific and deliberate in prayer. This study features teaching by Alex Kendrick and Stephen Kendrick on the following topics: what prayer is and is not, why God wants us to pray, specific areas of prayer, specific strategies for prayer, and more.

U-Turns (Tony Evans)

Launching Wednesday, January 6, 2021

This is a six-week video-based Bible study about God’s direction over your life. Dr. Tony Evans shows you the reality of human freedom, the consequences that come from bad choices, and the way to reverse the consequences. By aligning your life choices under God’s Word and pursuing an intimate relationship with Him, you can experience the abundant life Jesus has for you. You get to choose whether or not you want that and sometimes, you get to witness God change the direction of your life.

How do I sign up

It’s simple. Click on the study titles above to visit the associated Online Bible study’s page on the updated platform. On that page, you’ll see instructions about how to register and how the Online Bible study experiences work. If you have more questions about online Bible studies, check out this post.

What is an online Bible study?

If you’re not familiar with this type of study, our online Bible studies are simple to understand and easy to join. Each study corresponds to a printed (or digital version) of a Bible study from Lifeway groups. When you sign up for the OBS, you gain access to the teaching videos that are typically 10 – 20 minute sessions that are typically accessed through purchasing a Bible study leader kit. But, with OBS, we offer these videos for free!

Each week, we post a video that corresponds to a session in the printed (or digital version) of the Bible study and post questions. Anyone joining the OBS is able to answer questions and comment back to others who also answer. These studies build community with people across the US (and abroad!) and encourage an enriching Bible study experience within the virtual group.

You don’t want to miss out. See you there!

Online Bible Study

October 20, 2020

Giveaway for David Platt’s Online Bible Study

By Deborah Spooner

Starting Tuesday, November 3, we are beginning an Online Bible Study of Something Needs to Change by David Platt!

What’s the Bible study about?

When David Platt took a trip to the Himalayan mountains, the staggering hardship he witnessed transformed the trajectory of his life. Now, in this study, he’s inviting you to reflect and wrestle with him as he describes his life-altering trek through the Himalayas. You’ll ask hard questions alongside Platt about human need, suffering, faith, the gospel, and our role. For Christians, ignorance of profound human need is not an option. Neither is indifference. It’s time to explore what it means to follow Jesus in a world of urgent physical and spiritual need.

Session topics include: repentance, physical need, spiritual need, loving God and people, opportunities, counting the cost, the one, and something needs to change.

Click to read free sessions, order the Bible study, or to find out more.

How does it work?

Head over to the Facebook Group to request to join the Something Needs to Change Online Bible study hosted by the Lifeway Groups team.

Once you’ve joined the free group, look for a new video teaching session from Something Needs to Change posted every Tuesday at 7 AM. We’ll continue posting weekly for eight weeks (posted videos will be saved so that participants can view anytime).

Next, jump into the discussion. With each video, we’ll be adding a few questions from the Bible study to spark conversation in the comments section.

Who can join?

The Facebook Group is open to anyone! Join individually and engage with others in the group or invite your friends to join the group and watch the sessions together to discuss in person.

What do I need?

The session videos that correspond to each week in the study will be provided for free. You may also want to purchase an eBook version of the Bible study or a physical copy to complete your study experience. There, you’ll be able to find the additional session material referenced in the videos as well as personal study “devotions” to continue working through the content each week.

Want a free copy?

We are giving away free copies of the Bible study to equip you to best engage with this online study experience! Five people will be chosen to receive one free Bible study book. Complete the form below to be entered into the giveaway.

We look forward to joining you on the journey!

Giveaway form

by filling out this form you agree to receive more information from LifeWay Groups.

Name
First Last
Email

Online Bible Study

October 9, 2020

Join Us for David Platt’s Online Bible Study!

By Deborah Spooner

In our increasingly digital world, we are excited to announce our next online Bible study!

On Tuesday, November 3rd, we will begin studying Something Needs to Change by David Platt. Hosted through our free Facebook Group, the study experience will run through December 22.

About the Study:

Session Topics:

Repentance
Physical Need
Spiritual Need
Loving God and People
Opportunities
Counting the Cost
The One
Something Needs to Change

Click to read free sessions, order the Bible study, or to find out more.

How It Works:

Each Tuesday at 7 AM CT in the Facebook Group, we’ll post a teaching video from David Platt. Each video corresponds to a session in the Bible study, and we’ll post one a week until December 22.
Three discussion questions will be posted along with each video, and group participants will answer the questions in the comments to engage with other participants. Posted videos will be saved so that participants can view and comment anytime.
Participation is completely free!

To Participate:

Head over to our Facebook Group and sign up. You will be asked to accept the group’s rules of engagement and to provide a valid email address. This allows us to send you a weekly reminder as videos are posted and enables David and his team to communicate with you as well.
Purchase a copy of the Something Needs to Change Bible study book or eBook. While a Bible Study Book is not required, we do recommend one to enhance your experience of this Online Bible study.
Join the conversation by commenting in the Facebook Group. Be sure to turn on your notifications so you can keep up with the discussion and be notified as each session is posted.

Share any questions you have in the comments section of this blog post and we will see you on Facebook!

Group Answers Podcast

September 2, 2020

Group Answers Episode 168: Leading Better Discussions With Your Online Group

By Chris Surratt

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On this episode of Group Answers, Chris, Brian, and Ken discuss how to lead a better discussion with your online group.

Ideas Discussed:

Call on a specific person to answer a specific question.
Send questions to group members in advance of the Bible study.
Do not answer your own questions.
Ask group members to raise their hand, use the chat feature, or use the “raise hand” feature in your online meeting tool.
Send group members to a breakout room.
Use a curriculum series that is discussion-oriented.

Resources Mentioned:

Leading Better Discussions blog post

Group Leadership

August 27, 2020

Leading Better Discussion in a Group that is Meeting Online

By Ken Braddy

Every once in a while, we all need a little boost. Some of us need a boost of energy. Others need a boost of confidence. If you are leading an online Bible study group, chances are you could use some ways to boost the discussion taking place. By now you’ve learned that teaching online is different than teaching in a classroom or living room. Your group members may not have fully adjusted to this new virtual environment, but you can have great discussion with a little boost. Here are 6 ways to boost discussion in your online group:

Call on a specific person to answer a specific question. By asking a person to respond to your question, you’ll get better responses than if you throw a question out to the group. You can even say to another person, “I’m coming to you next with the same question…get ready!”
Send questions to group members in advance of the Bible study. Use email or text messaging to send a few questions to your group members before you meet. If they have a day or two to ponder the questions, you’ll get a boost in the discussion during your Bible study.
Do not answer your own questions. If you are a group leader and frequently ask questions in your group, do not let silence intimidate you into answering your questions. If you do, you’ll train group members to wait for you to respond. Ask your question, wait 15-20 seconds, take a sip of coffee and relax, and I promise that someone in your group will be more uncomfortable with the silence and they’ll answer your question—just wait them out! Additionally, Christian educator and groups expert Robert Pamino’s research validated that the quality of responses goes up after people have had at least 20 seconds to contemplate their answers.
Ask group members to raise their hand, use the chat feature, or use the “raise hand” feature in your online meeting tool. Your online meeting tool, such as Zoom, will have features like “chat” and “raise hand.” Encourage your group members to use these, but don’t forget about the old-fashioned way…ask them to physically raise their hand if they want to ask a question or respond to one.
Send group members to a breakout room. If you use Zoom, the tool can divide your group into smaller ones and you can send them to a breakout room in smaller groups of 3-4 people to discuss a question you’ve assigned to the larger group. This is the same as using buzz groups in a classroom, except you’re doing so virtually.
Use a curriculum series that is discussion-oriented. Lifeway’s Bible Studies for Life series is designed to get group members talking. Each session contains 5 really great discussion questions, and the leader guide has three more alternate questions. The questions are provocative and open-ended so that discussion is boosted, not stymied. If you want to take a look at some free samples, click here to jump to the Bible Studies for Life homepage. It will be worth your time!

By implementing any or all of the 6 strategies above, you’ll boost discussion in your online Bible study group. Pick one or two to try the next time you meet with your group online.

Group Leadership

August 18, 2020

Five Ways to Continue Discipleship Through COVID-19

By Brian Daniel

“At the very time of greatest stress came the epidemic of influenza, and this was perhaps the most far-reaching hindrance to [small groups] work which has been known in a generation…

….We had anticipated that it would take many months for the [groups] to rally, but they came back in March. There flowed in a steady stream of orders, which indicated that the [group leaders] were well organized, full of purpose, and had rallied themselves. As a result, the year, which had been so trying for many months, ended full of hope and promise.”

(1919 SBC Annual, pp.449-450)

Early in the Twentieth Century (the Center for Disease Control doesn’t specify when it started nor its origin), what is now referred to as the Spanish Flu infected more than 500 million people worldwide, or about a third of the world’s population at the time. It was first diagnosed in the US in the spring of 1918. That was a different day. Travel wasn’t as easy or as common. Communities didn’t come into contact with one another as often or as intimately. Because of all of this, the Spanish Flu didn’t spread nearly as fast as COVID-19. According to the SBC Annual, quoted above, churches closed in September 1918 and remained closed through the fall and winter, most not re-opening until March 1919. In terms of modern pandemics, the Spanish Flu was unprecedented. According to the CDC, the “number of deaths was estimated to be at least 50 million worldwide with about 675,000 occurring in the United States.

There are two reasons for beginning this post with this brief history lesson. First, while the effects of COVID-19 in practically every area of life—ranging from how we work to job loss to school to church practice and everything in between—has been profoundly jarring, this isn’t the first time either Lifeway or the church has faced something of this sort. In fact, given the modernization of medicine and today’s technology, one can logically deduce that leaders in 1919 had a greater challenge. Second, if the results of the Spanish Flu and the subsequent revival of discipleship is any indication, we need to be ready for what’s next and look with expectancy for a similar revival when we emerge from the immediate threat of the coronavirus. Yet, while we remain between the pre-pandemic church and what God has in store for us on the other side, it’s important to remember that discipleship must continue and that we as leaders, like those in 1918-19, continue “full of hope and promise.”

As we wait and take measures to perpetuate discipleship—encouraging group members to immerse themselves in the Bible and maintain our own discipleship and spiritual growth—we have created a handful opportunities to keep on the path God has called us to in this season. During this time when it’s such a challenge for groups to convene, whether due to municipal restrictions, Zoom fatigue, or health concerns, it’s important to stay on the right track even at an individual level. Below are five ways in different formats to remain on the road to greater Christ-likeness.

The Good Life Online Bible Study

https://www.facebook.com/groups/thegoodlifeonlinebiblestudy

This experience is for anyone with an interest in learning more about the good life espoused in the Beatitudes. Pastor Derwin Gray’s new Bible Study, The Good Life, will be made available for anyone that signs up using the link above. Invite group members, family, or friends to engage in community built around this 8-session study. We recommend ordering the Bible study guide at Lifeway.com as a complement to the weekly video event. In the description with each video, we’ll add questions regarding the teaching. Then, you’ll comment with your answers to start the discussion!

Pray Like This: A 52-Week Prayer Journal https://www.lifeway.com/en/product/pray-like-this-a-52-week-prayer-journal-P005826967

We talk a lot about prayer. We ask for prayer and commit to prayer. Scripture describes prayer as crucial in our relationship with God through Jesus. But do you find it hard to remain grounded? Has consistent prayer been a challenge over the years? Are you in a season in which your prayer life might have become stale? This journal has been created to get you in the habit of reading Scripture daily, to serve as a guide to improve your prayer life, and discover the path to knowing God more intimately.

No More Excuses 90-Day Devotion for Men https://www.lifeway.com/en/product/no-more-excuses-a-90-day-devotional-for-men-P005826966

Adapted from the popular No More Excuses Bible study for men, No More Excuses: A 90-Day Devotional for Men will challenge you to lay down your excuses, stop compromising, and fight to be a man of character and commitment. Each day, you’ll find a Scripture verse, short devotion, and thought-provoking question to help you find purpose, meaning, and direction in life and become the man God has called you to be.

Unanswered Personal Bible Study https://www.lifeway.com/en/product/unanswered-personal-bible-study-book-P005819108

This Bible study provides precisely what many of us need today: tools and answers! It addresses several challenging topics, including mental health and suicide, paranormal activity, the resurrection, how we got the Bible, suffering, and why God is sometimes silent. The study will show you how to answer, how to explain, and how to respond in a deeply personal and effective way, as a thoughtful ambassador of Jesus. You will leave this study enriched, characterized by a thinking faith, capable of communicating confidently, and committed to escape the tendency to offer trite answers to a skeptical world. It’s also great to work through with a friend, co-worker, or spouse.

The Power of God’s Names Personal Bible Study https://www.lifeway.com/en/product/the-power-of-god-s-names-personal-bible-study-book-P005819105

The study examines 11 names of God. The words translated as name show up over one thousand times in Scripture and routinely carry with them power, responsibility, purpose, and authority. The study for personal discipleship offers biblically rooted content on the meaning and power of God’s names and encourages us to call on God through the names that speak to their needs. Like the Unanswered Personal Bible Study, this experience from Dr. Tony Evans is a great opportunity to share with a friend.

Online Bible Study

August 14, 2020

Free Giveaway for The Good Life Online Bible Study!

By Deborah Spooner

Starting Tuesday, September 8, we are beginning an Online Bible Study on The Good Life by Derwin Gray!

What’s the Bible study about?

Everyone wants to be happy. We spend our money, time, and energy chasing our version of the good life. And on the way, we run ourselves into physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion. But what if the happiness we’re all striving for isn’t the happiness we were created for?

Pastor and author Dr. Derwin L. Gray believes there is a better road to happiness, and it is found in the Beatitudes of Jesus. In this section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus revealed the shocking, countercultural path to true flourishing. It comes not through wealth, fame, or laughter but through poverty, obscurity, and mourning. This 8-session small-group study demonstrates how Jesus taught us to search for, find, and hold on to the good life.

Session topics covered: lamenting, humility, mercy, peacemaking, persecution, and more. Click here to read a sample, order the Bible study, or find out more.

How does it work?

You’ll head over to the Facebook Group to request to join the Online Bible study hosted by the Lifeway Groups team.

Once you’ve joined the free group, you’ll look for a new video teaching session from The Good Life to be posted every Tuesday at 7 AM. We’ll continue posting weekly for eight weeks (The videos stay live throughout the duration of the Facebook group, so even if you miss a video, you can still go back and review it).

Next, you’ll jump into the discussion. With each video, we’ll be adding a few questions from the Bible study to spark conversation in the comments section.

Who can join?

The Facebook Group is open to anyone! You can join individually and engage with others in the group or invite your friends to join the group and watch the sessions together to discuss in person.

The author, Derwin Gray, will also join the group to engage with discussion and share additional insight into the content.

What do I need?

The session videos that correspond to each week in the study will be provided for free. You can also get an eBook version of the Bible study or a physical copy to complete your study experience. There, you’ll be able to find the additional session material referenced in the videos as well as personal study “devotions” to continue working through the content each week.

Want a free copy?

We are giving away free copies of the Bible study to equip you to best engage with this online study experience! Complete the form below to be entered into the giveaway.

We look forward to joining you on the journey!

Giveaway form

by filling out this form you agree to receive more information from LifeWay Groups.

Name
First Last
Email

Group Leadership

August 11, 2020

Best Practices for Online Groups

By Chris Surratt

As you might imagine, having an online group experience is considerably different than sharing a living room or classroom in person. Here are a few tips for participating in or facilitating an online group experience.

Recommend group members to download meeting software at least 30 minutes prior to meeting, just in case they have technology issues they need to work out.
Make sure your face has sufficient lighting.
- Lighting works best in front of your face, not behind.
Make sure your face is centered in the video camera.
- Members probably don’t want to see only your forehead or neck throughout the meeting, so position your camera accordingly.
Select the quietest room/location you can find.
- Turn off anything making noise in the background (TV, radio, appliances).
- Put pets in a different room or have them in a place where they will be most quiet.
Only use one device per household.
- When two devices are used in the same room, it produces feedback that affects all group participants.
- If two people feel more comfortable participating with their own devices than sharing the same one, each should have his or her own room for doing so.
Mute your computer unless you’re talking.
- If everyone’s microphone is turned on at the same time, the sound quality can be an issue and it can be hard to hear the person who is talking. The best policy is to mute yourself when you are not talking.
- If you are muted, make sure to nod your head and listen well so people can recognize you are following them.
- You will be muting and unmuting a lot, so get used to it.
- Also, you’ll get called out if you don’t unmute, so don’t be offended.
- The host may mute you if you don’t do this yourself, so don’t take that personally.
Be an assertive moderator.
- The moderator/host of the group will need to be welcoming and in charge. Make sure as host you jump on a few minutes early to welcome everyone.
- Redirect the conversation or mute participants as necessary. This may feel rude at times, but it is necessary to manage a good online experience for the group.
- Generally speaking, the moderator should talk 30% of the time and listen 70% of the time.
Create a plan for participants to indicate they’d like to talk.
- Since participants will often be muted, having a plan will help you know when to mute and unmute.
- You may try something like raising a hand, answering in a specific order, or another signal.
- Utilize the “chat” features to post questions for discussion.
Give your full attention to the group experience, resisting the urge to multi-task.
- When participants are not paying full attention it can be a big distraction online just like an in-person group.
- When talking, spend some time looking at the camera, not just the screen. This digital form of “eye-contact” goes a long way toward creating a sense of connection and community.
Stay in touch afterwards.
- Assign prayer partners to call each other after group is over and pray with them.
- Or text each other in gender specific text chats to share requests.
- Leverage GroupMe, Facebook Groups, WhatsApp, etc. as a place to stay connected and keep the conversation going throughout the week.

As we implement best practices for online groups, can we find best resources? Turns out Lifeway and various Christian leaders have partnered for resources that are especially timely in this current season. Check out an online Bible study group for Derwin Gray’s The Good Life, a multitude of teaching video options, and individualized resources such as Pray Like This: A 52-Week Prayer Journal or Foundations: A 260-Day Bible Reading Plan for Busy Believers.

CHRIS SURRATT (@ChrisSurratt) is the discipleship and small groups specialist for Lifeway Christian Resources, a ministry consultant and coach with more than 20 years of experience, and the author of Leading Small Groups: How to Gather, Launch, Lead, and Multiply Your Small Group.

Group Leadership

August 10, 2020

How to Choose a Bible Study for Your Online Group

By Chris Surratt

After several months of social distancing, most of us are now accustomed to gathering with our communities online.

It took us a few attempts to understand how online conferencing platforms work, but we did it, and now it’s time to utilize this new normal for more than just catching up with our groups.

For a lot of small groups, that means figuring out how to successfully choose and work through a Bible study virtually. It’s not always an easy task under normal circumstances, but now it’s especially difficult.

What worked well with a group sitting around a living room or classroom, may not translate as well to a video call. Here are a few things to think about as you decide what study might work best for your online group.

TYPE OF CONTENT

There are natural limitations to how deep a conversation can go in an online format. It’s more difficult to read body language and have the back-and-forth necessary to get too far below the surface of a line of discussion. That limitation will narrow the choices for the type of study content you offer.

Sermon-based. If everyone in the group is a member of the same church, then a sermon-based discussion is an easy option. Most church services are now online only, so it’s easy for a group member to watch the message before the group meeting–even if they didn’t catch it on Sunday.

If your church doesn’t offer discussion questions to go along with the messages, Smallgroup.com is an easy-to-use website to help you write your own. You can get a free 30-day trial with no obligation to continue.

Short-term. If you would rather do a short-term (6-weeks or less), stand-alone type Bible study, this is a great opportunity to poll the group to find out where the felt needs are right now.

They may be battling feelings of anxiety, loneliness, and/or depression during this uncertain and isolated time, so choose a study that brings biblical truth to those very real issues.

Dealing with doubt? Try Help My Unbelief by Barnabas Piper. Struggling with purpose? Consider Pathways by Tony Evans. Wondering how to engage with injustice? Study The Church and The Racial Divide by Trevor Atwood.

Video Study. Video supported studies are always a good choice for groups. It takes the burden of teaching the content off of the group leader, and allows him or her to facilitate a conversation around the teaching.

However, watching a video online with a group is more difficult than in-person. There are sometimes technical and legal issues with sharing a video, and longer videos will take up too much discussion time.

Look for studies with shorter teaching videos (10 minutes or less) or ask the members to watch them ahead of the group meeting. You can even rent or buy videos to send to your group or use individually. Smallgroup.com allows you to easily distribute the video by email or post a link anywhere on the web to share.

You’ll even see teaching from past live events you can incorporate into any small group experience. Or consider an “online Bible study,” hosted by Lifeway Groups, that allows your group members to access the teaching videos for free and to engage in a Facebook Group (as well as your own small group) with comments and discussion.

GROUP ENGAGEMENT

The way the group engages the content will be slightly different in an online environment. This will require the host/facilitator to be more active in bringing people into the discussion.

Where making eye contact with someone in an in-person group is sometimes enough to encourage them to speak, that is not possible online.

Until the group is more comfortable with the format, the facilitator may need to audibly call on someone if no-one jumps in. This will get less awkward the longer the group meets virtually.

The number of questions you get through will probably be fewer than normal, and that’s okay. Don’t feel pressured to finish every question in the study.

Choose two or three in advance that will adequately cover the topic in the allotted time, and give the rest as “homework” for the group to work through during the week between meetings.

Follow-up with group members is more important now than ever before. Because the online group discussions will probably stay more on the surface level, it’s important to connect by phone or text with individuals for those soul check-ins that we all need right now.

Some group members will be more open with their feelings, and others will need some in-between the lines discernment. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom as you make these phone calls.

It’s time for our online groups to continue the mission of creating disciples within the context of community. The study of God’s Word is an important part of that process.

Online Bible Studies Are Moving!

Giveaway for David Platt’s Online Bible Study

What’s the Bible study about?

How does it work?

Who can join?

What do I need?

Want a free copy?

Giveaway form

Leading Better Discussion in a Group that is Meeting Online

Free Giveaway for The Good Life Online Bible Study!

What’s the Bible study about?

How does it work?

Who can join?

What do I need?

Want a free copy?

Giveaway form

How to Choose a Bible Study for Your Online Group

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