A model for missions

Throughout the world, Christian groups meet regularly for bible studies, often within tight time constraints. Such meetings include what we call the Sunday School - typically before a Church worship service. A major challenge of these fellowships is the need to have a study that can be completed within the tight schedule, and yet leave participants with learning that they can apply to their daily lives. Danite's Group Bible Study (DGBS) series is a response to this challenge.

Group Bible studies take various forms. In some cases, a Bible study is essentially a teaching session whereby an appointed teacher teaches a group in what is mostly a one-way communication, except for responses to pre-set questions asked by the leader. In terms of content, some studies are purely mechanical where it is mostly a matter of seeking plain answers from Bible passages to questions the way school pupils would seek answers to Comprehension questions - sometimes even having crossword puzzles as part of the study. The DGBS series aims to blend teaching with open discussions with a focus on practical application.

The series has two objectives: First, a study must lead to practical applications of bible principles to the lives of participants and to their environment. Secondly, each study material must be of the right length for a meaningful one-hour group study.

We take a theme and guide the users through a series of about twelve studies, each on a topic on the theme. The intention is that the users would take a topic per week, leading them to cover a theme within a quarter of a year (3 months). There are three paragraphs to each (one-page) worksheet, each intended to teach a key point. Each paragraph is followed by questions aimed at applying the focus of the paragraph to practical life.

Raphael S. Awoseyin

Lagos, Nigeria.