Women’s Ministry Bible Studies

This book was reviewed by Pastor Armin Panning and is recommended by our review team. It is available at NPH!

This book offers mothers the chance to see and apply the principles for motherhood that God has given in His Word and provides material for discussions on practical ways to apply these truths to our own lives.

God intended for your children to know Him and His true and unconditional love. He longs for us to live a life of purpose and meaning. He asks us to travel a road that often isn’t easy but comes with rewards that don’t fade or rust.

There are 12 lessons in this book.  For a complete list of details, please visit the website www.biblemoms.com.

Talk to your pastor and ask him if you could put together some ideas about having a women’s Bible study, following the suggestions below. Pray for God’s guidance as you prepare your plan.

1. Define the focus of the group and who will be served: young moms, working women, new Christians, mature Christians, cross-generational, or a particular interest group. Define the needs of the women that this Bible class will be meeting.

1. Articulate why a woman led women’s Bible class would be helpful to meet the above needs.

1. It is important to keep your group focused on your purpose. How will the group keep from becoming a social group, therapy session, “gripe group,” or breeding ground for gossip?

1. Consider where you will meet, when, how often, and whether you will provide childcare. Will you serve refreshments?

1. Define WHO will lead the group and how that will be decided? What are the qualifications necessary to be a leader, i.e. “full of wisdom and the spirit” or something else?

1. What are the arrangements for pastoral guidance? (See also, “Keeping a Women’s Bible Study on Track.”) Should questions arise in a lesson, your pastor stands ready to guide you to the best of his ability. Share with him concerns and needs that have surfaced.

1. What materials will be used as the basis for the study and who will decide what is valuable for the particular group wishing to begin a study? Choose your materials wisely. If you have questions, check with your pastor. He will be happy to guide you in your choice of a book or study. (See also, “Evaluating Bible Studies” or “Discernment in Bible Study Materials.”)

1. After these considerations have been clearly written, take it to your pastor and/or church council or elders to ask their permission, prayers and guidance. If this will involve women from more than one congregation, be sure that all of the pastors and congregational authorities involved are aware of the above information and identify which pastor/congregation will be the recognized advisor/responsible body.

1. If there is support for this class, start with a small group as a sort of “pilot” group so you can deal with the “blessings” first on a small scale. This will also give you a chance to work out the kinks and deal with unforeseen circumstances: length of lessons, more discussion than you planned, presence of children.

1. After the pilot, decide who the wider group is to include and be sure to make the class focus, study method, material/resources, attitude toward children, etc., widely known so those who fit your target group and are interested will know they are welcome. You don’t want to earn or inadvertently develop a reputation as an exclusive club! Women seem to be especially sensitive to feeling “left out” or unwelcome. Be careful here.

1. Plan a course of study for a year. Know where you’re headed and how you’ll be meeting the needs you identified earlier. After that time get feedback from the group as to whether or not this is meeting their Bible study needs and adjust/expand as necessary.

Studying God’s Word together as women is a tremendous blessing and responsibility. Know that your synod’s Women’s Ministry Committee is praying for you and here to help and support you. Visit the WELS website at www.wels.net/women and check out the resources available under “Bible Studies and Resources

Tips for Leading a Small Group Study

Congratulations! If God has led you to lead a group of women through this material, you are sure to have some interesting discussions, some disagreements, and most importantly, you will find the joy of Christian fellowship as you bond in the process of studying the Word together. I was pushed, shoved, and all but bound and gagged into leading the women in my church through these studies. I was happy to write them, but I certainly didn’t want to get in front of people and read. I like to talk, but I hadn’t been trained as a teacher. Here are a few things that helped me get through the first lesson and the years after:

1. Prayer: I asked my pastor, the Adult Spiritual Growth Team, my family and friends to pray for me. I asked them to ask for courage, and for the Lord’s guidance and direction. Start each lesson with a prayer, too, for the Holy Spirit to come to you and to lead you to the truth.
2. Humility: Two months into the “Mom’s Bible Breakfast,” as we called it at my church, a woman came up to me and said what she loved about the study is that I wasn’t so much a leader as a part of the group. I didn’t quite know how to respond to that, but in the course of the next several months, I realized it was because I often asked if anyone could explain what particularly confusing portions of scripture meant, or I’d say what I was thinking, then add, “Am I way off with this?” Humility is helpful, too, if you are able to admit the things you are struggling with in your life. I found that when I opened up, the other women were glad to open up, too, and that’s how we got to know each other, and how we knew how to pray for each other.
3. Time Management: This can get tricky and only gets easier with experience. If you were to go straight through each lesson, it would take about two hours. However, the best classes were the ones when we all shared our insight into how the scriptures changed our lives or the struggles we had, etc. I learned that the most profound truths often came from diversion. I also learned to limit the diversion, especially if it went down an avenue that couldn’t bring a lot of insight to the group. If one person gets going on things specific to her that doesn’t add a lot to the group, try to encourage her and move on, then approach her after the study to talk more with her individually.
4. Let each woman know she is important: Greet each woman when she comes. Introduce visitors to the group. Never put anyone down when they say something, even if they are way off base. If you put them down, they may never come back and they might not ever learn the truth. To respond, try saying, “Does anyone else have a different take on this?” or, “I was thinking it meant this. What do you guys think?” Be gentle and considerate, and when you are totally at a loss for words, say a quick prayer for help.
5. Be prepared: You will need Bibles, and a dictionary is good to have on hand. Work through each lesson beforehand so you are prepared with an answer if the group gets stuck.
6. Ask for volunteers: The rule in our group was you didn’t have to read if you didn’t want to, and I didn’t call on people for answers. I read the devotion and any passages I didn’t have a volunteer to read. Often, if we had several passages to look up, I had one table look up one passage, another table the next, and asked for a volunteer from each table to read the passage so as to save time.

Holy Father, reveal Yourself to all those who work through this book. Enter their hearts, and plant in them the seeds of life. In Jesus’ name. Amen.