This is the third post in a series on starting Discovery Bible Studies to share Jesus.
Start at the beginning.
Step 3: Discover
We’ve made it to the heart of a DBS—discovering God through his word! It’s time for you, the coach, to send your players (people of peace) onto the field, where they can explore what the Bible reveals about God and about them. Your main tools in this process are a carefully selected Bible passage and some key questions.
Here are the steps in the discovery process:
Read the passage.
Ask, “What does the passage say?” (Select someone from the group to repeat it in their own words.)
Ask “What does this passage mean?” (Or specifically, “What does this tell me about God?” and “What does this tell me about people?”)
Ask, “(If this is God speaking…) What will you do about it?” (Another way to ask this with a non-believer is, “If I believed this was true, how would my life be different?”) At the end of this step, everyone should have a practical “I will” statement.
Alongside the word and the Holy Spirit, these questions start to re-shape a person’s worldview—their beliefs about God, about humanity, and about how we should live. But a Discovery Bible Study is about more than head-knowledge or curiosity. It shifts immediately from knowledge to action, from awareness to real life. If you’ve been involved in many Bible studies before, this may feel very different or even uncomfortable to you. Many of us have not been expected or challenged to instantly put into practice what we read. This is one of the most powerful elements of a DBS. People’s lives actually start to look different as a result.
It’s helpful to remember that in the discovery process, you are the coach, not the player. Your goal should always be to empower the players on the field to successfully engage the game. Once you get them onto the field and provide the tools they need to participate, it’s time to let God connect with them personally. We’ll look at that more in-depth in step four.
Discover
Explore what the Bible has to say about the power of scripture.
Read Hebrews 4:12 and 2 Timothy 3:16.
Ask, “What do these passages tell me about the power of scripture in someone’s life?”
Explore what the Bible says about acting on scripture.
Read Matthew 7:24-27.
Ask, “What does this passage tell me about responding to what I read in scripture?”
Dig In and Do It
Our DBS page offers a wide range of resources to help equip you for mission.