Week 1

Watch “Tidal Wave”

Tidal Wave from simplechurch.com on Vimeo.

Studying the Scriptures Together

Something simple is easy to reproduce; something complex is not. In most simple churches, there is no teaching from the front. Instead, everybody learns by studying the Bible together. In this way a church is self-feeding and gains the whole counsel of God. 


One pattern for studying the Bible is to look for things in the passage that correspond to three symbols:
A question mark: Is there something that you do not understand?
A light bulb: Is there something that sheds light on this passage, or does this passage bring light to something that is going on in your life?
An arrow: Is God speaking directly to your heart? Is there a way your life must change because of this passage?

Spend about 15 minutes studying Luke 10:1-2 using the question mark, light bulb and arrow pattern. Divide into groups of three to five people and read only a verse or thought before stopping discuss. Ask if anyone has a question mark, light bulb or arrow. Discuss responses.

What did you learn from the method?

Did you notice everyone leaning forward during the study time? Even the body language shows how actively involved people were in the learning process. Studies show that people learn and remember far more when they are allowed to say something than when they just sit and listen.

Was there anyone who did not say anything? The job of the facilitator is to make sure everyone takes part, especially the quieter ones.

If someone has a question from the passage, the job of the facilitator is not to answer it but to ask the group for their ideas. Always seek to find the answers in the Scriptures. In that way, the Bible itself, rather than a leader, becomes the authority.

Was there someone who dominated the discussion? The facilitator should make sure that no one (including himself) does all the talking.

Did you see the advantage of only covering a thought or verse at a time? It enables you to discover more from the passage. (The only time you read more than this is if you are studying a story or incident that only makes sense if the whole passage is read at one time—for example, a parable.)

What did you learn from the passage? Did you see the following points as you studied?

Verse 1:
Jesus had a strategy for the area. He has a strategy for your area too!
Jesus told the disciples where they were to go. He will tell you too.
He sent the disciples out in pairs.
When Jesus sent people to a place, he planned to come too. If Jesus sends you somewhere, He will come with you.


 Verse 2:
According to Jesus, the problem was not the harvest. Many people complain that their area is too hard, that the people are not interested in Jesus. But Jesus tells us the harvest is ready.

If you each find someone outside the group to share this pattern of Bible study with outside of the group this week, it will reinforce these ideas.

More methods for inductive Bible Study:
Simple Inductive Bible Study from David Watson’s Touchpoint blog
1. Listen to or read the passage until you can understand it and say it in your own words.
2. Say or write the passage in your own words. It is only when understanding comes that you can say or write the passage in his or her own words and accurately include the essential information in the passage.
3. Say or write in your own words how you will obey the passage. In the case of those who are not yet believers, this step can be modified to ask what you learned about God or man from this passage. Formulates a series of “I will…” statements. Share these out loud with the group, to establish accountability to obey the passage. You can have husbands and wives or parents and children turn to each other and commit to obeying the passage in their marriage and families.

From “Getting Started” by Felicity Dale
Method I:
A couple of verses are read, and then the group answers three questions:

1. What does it say?
2. What does it mean?
3. What difference does it make in my life?

There is a difference between questions 1 and 2. For example, in John 1 it says “In the beginning was the Word.” Without asking the second question, a huge amount of meaning would be missed.

Another method, learned from Robert Fitts:
“In discussion Bible Study, we simple read the Scripture, each taking turns reading a few verses, depending on how many people are present. While it is being read, everyone is invited to interrupt at any time to make a comment or ask a question.”
-Alpha Omega Bible College

If too much is being read, the facilitator can stop the person reading and ask: Does anyone have a comment? Only a few verses should be read before a discussion develops.

Praying the 10:2b prayer

Prayer is essential to any move of God.

Back in 2002, two friends, Kenny and John, were discussing how to see a church planting movement start across their state. They realized that Jesus had given the key in Luke 10:2. They settled on an experiment. Each day they would pray this prayer together for a few minutes over the phone.

As their praying continued, they realized they didn’t know how to pray the prayer day after day, so they asked the Lord to teach them. He showed them that they needed to be persistent in their praying and to be very specific in what they asked for.

Things started to happen. Kenny was responsible for church planting in his state for his denomination. Prior to their praying, about one person a month contacted him about church planting, but as they prayed together, this soon became a daily occurrence. And in one eight month period, he saw more than 120 churches start as a direct result of this praying.

Kenny and John call this the 10:2b prayer virus (Luke chapter 10 verse 2 and the second part of the verse) and they are seeking to infect everyone they come across with it. Across the world, people are partnering to pray the 10:2b prayer daily, and everywhere they are seeing remarkable answers to prayer.


Pray the Luke 10:2b virus in pairs. Stand and pray actively and loudly. Then arrange to pray the 10:2b virus with a prayer partner (We usually get men praying with men, and women with women) over the phone for the duration of the course.


More helpful resources:
“How 29 believers became 110 believers starting 5 new house churches--and all in less than a year” by Guy Muse



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