Three Purposes of a Bible Study

Small-group Bible studies are an important part of FOCUS' work on campus. When training students and missionaries on how-to lead a Bible study, I like to ask: "Why do we lead Bible studies?" and then play devil's advocate. It is easy to lose track of why we do the things we do.

Below are the three purposes or goals of leading a Bible study. They can serve as three indicators for how your study is going.


Deep Transformation: Through interaction with God’s word and one another, it is our hope that the lives of your Bible study members will be profoundly changed. The purpose of a Bible study is not to simply learn information or to be a part of a Bible study club, but allow the Lord to transform our lives. Specifically, we hope that students, through Scripture, are drawn more intimately to our Lord in the sacraments and liturgy of the Church where they can most fully receive the gift of God’s grace in their lives.

Intimate Fellowship: If people are going to be deeply transformed, they will need others along the way, not only to help this transformation, but also to make sure they continue this transformation in the future. Your goal as a leader is to take a group of people with various backgrounds and personalities and help them form authentic relationships with one another.

Spiritual Multiplication: Another important dynamic of small groups is their ability to be reproduced. As you lead, pray that the Lord will raise up members of your small group to go on to disciple others and to lead Bible studies of their own.



What other indicators can help someone determine whether or not their study is thriving?

For more: Check out our How-to Lead a Bible Study series