6 Foolproof Questions for Discovery Bible Study

Carol Davis, a Missions Specialist, tells the story of a seminary student who interned at Church on Brady Street while she was on staff there. The young man—who we’ll call “Fred”—was assigned to the computer because that appeared to be where his skills could do the most good. But the young man had a different vision of his service in that Hispanic neighborhood in Los Angeles. He wanted to go out into the field. 

To do outreach, Church on Brady Street would go out into public areas—such as parks—and get to know folks in the area. They would ask people they met about having a Bible study in their home. Using this method, Fred found a Spanish speaking father who wanted his son to learn English. The father agreed that Fred could come to their home and teach his son English using the Bible.  

A Simple Strategy

The first week Fred was teaching, the whole extended family lined the walls of the room watching. Fred returned to the church to check a Spanish/English parallel Bible out of the library. The church used Six Bible Discovery Questions to lead the in-home Bible studies.  

1. What do you like about this passage?

2. What don’t you like about this passage?

3. What don’t you understand about this passage?

4. What do you learn about God from this passage?

5. What do you want to do in your life based on this knowledge?

6. What verse do you want to think about this week?

Fred got a copy in Spanish and learned how to pronounce the words correctly even though hedid not speak Spanish.  

PREGUNTAS DE EXPLORACION

1. ¿Qué le gusto más?, o… “Que le gusto más de esta historia?”

2. ¿Qué fue lo que menos le gusto?, o…. ¿Qué es lo que más le inquieta?

3. ¿Cuál parte no entiende? o … ¿Qué preguntas tiene acerca de este asunto?

4. ¿Qué aprendió acerca de (El tema o tópico) o…? ¿Qué aprendió acerca de (Dios, Cristo, el Espíritu Santo, el hombre, el pecado, etc.) ?, o….¿Cuáles cosas aprendió acerca de cómo es (¿Dios, Cristo, ¿…?)                                   

5. ¿Qué necesita hacer Vd. acerca de esto?

6. ¿En cuál verso o frase le gustaría continuar pensando?... ¿Por qué?

The second week, Fred went to the home and showed the family a Bible passage. Someone in the family read the passage in Spanish, and Fred read the first question in Spanish phonetically. The family talked among themselves in Spanish, answering the question. When the conversation died down, Fred read the second question and then the third, fourth, fifth and sixth. They continued this pattern every week that summer.  

Reproducing Disciples

As the summer came to an end, the family had a goodbye party for Fred before he returned to seminary. Fred took a Spanish-speaking church member with him to the party, and he led the whole family to Christ. A house church was planted in their living room then and there.

About a month later, the church got word that two of the family members—an uncle and a brother—had been deported to Mexico. About two months after that, the church heard that the men had planted a church in their village in Baja California. They started leading Bible studies with the six questions they still remembered. They did not think they needed anything else to start Bible studies and a church. 

Simple, Effective, and Reproducible

This story got my attention. I figure any method that leads to an extended family being saved, starting a house church, and deploying two missionaries to start a church in their home country (when the missionary does not even speak the language) has to be God-breathed. Carol Davis says this method disciples people into salvation instead of waiting until they are saved before starting to disciple them.  

This Bible study is easy to lead. Ask six questions, and watch the time. There are no wrong answers. If a question comes up that the leader does not know the answer to, they can simply reply, “I don’t know the answer to that, but I can find out and get back to you.” Minimal training is required to launch a new Bible study.  

I have led Bible studies in Brazil in Portuguese (an easy language to read phonetically). I have trained church planters and Bible study leaders in Russia in Russian—not an easy language to read phonetically, but I had a good coach. 

1. Что вам больше всего понравилось в этой истории?

2. Что вам понравилось меньше всего?

3. Что вы не поняли в истории?

4. Что вы узнали о Боге?

5. Как вы думаете применять это знание?

6. О чем в этой истории вы бы хотели подумать на этой неделе?

We model this method in our House Church class at the Wynne Unit. It takes some time before the men quit preaching and start discussing. Eventually, they get it and have some great discussions. We limit the discussion groups to four so everyone can answer every question. Most people coming into the class say they have never had this kind of Bible study. They are never asked about their thoughts or opinions, only taught what to believe. It doesn’t take long for them to figure out that they can use this method anytime, anywhere. 

Navigators published a discipleship article about twenty years ago, and I can still remember one point: The best discipleship method is asking questions. Teach people how to think, not what to think. I have seen evidence that this method accomplishes that goal. 

Sally Hinzie is a Church Consultant who has worked at UBA for many years. Her primary areas of ministry focus include church planting, bible storying training, organic church, and ministry implementation.

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