Discovery Bible Study

Discovery Bible Study (DBS) engages people of any age or level of biblical knowledge, from new believers to seminary graduates. DBS is an obedience-based model that forms participants as doers of the word. Its simple format makes it easy to demonstrate and lead so that study groups can easily multiply.

Jorge, a VMMissions church planter from Colombia, shared that the DBS model is typically an initial part of his church planting efforts as house churches are established.

Overall Guidelines

Each week, one person will lead the group. This role can rotate so others have experience leading, which contributes to multiplication.
Agree to adopt the KISS principle - Keep It Short and Sweet (This is especially important for the initial sharing time. It is helpful to make a plan for how much time to allow for each step, and stick to it.)
Keep to the structure, but allow the time to be an authentic time of caring for each other and encouraging God’s activity in everyone’s life.
Plan to spend a minimum of an hour per session.

Discovery Bible Study in 3 Steps

STEP 1

Open your session by LOOKING BACK over the past week.

Highlight what you are thankful for. Where did you see God at work? How was your faith nourished?
What was challenging for you? What roadblocks did you encounter?
Based on what you learned the previous week, how did it go following and sharing what God showed you?

GOAL: To build trust and to care for each other, setting the stage for prayer and creating a healthy environment for accountability.

STEP 2

Engage with a narrative scripture passage and focus your energy on LOOKING UP. Stories from scripture, especially the gospels, are ideal.

(For example, work through the book of Mark one story at a time.)

One person reads the passage aloud.
After a brief pause, a second person reads it again. (Ask participants to use the same Bible translation to avoid distraction.)
A third person retells the story in their own words.
The whole group listens, and then fills in any important details that may have gotten lost.Dig deeper into the text by asking three crucial questions:

What does this passage say about God?
What does this passage say about humans?
What does this passage say about obedience?

It can be helpful to think in terms of SPEC. Does the text suggest that there is…

a Sin to avoid?
a Promise to claim?
an Example to follow?
or a Command to obey?

GOAL: To hear God speak through his word and through each other. Keep the focus on what we are meant to learn from the text about God, ourselves and our response.

STEP 3

Make LOOKING AHEAD an opportunity for practice and accountability.

What do I need to do to obey what I have learned? Try to create an “I will …” statement to set a goal of obedience.
With whom might I share this Bible passage, my story, or the gospel story?
In this upcoming week, what is going to be a challenge?

Close by asking for the Holy Spirit to open opportunities for you to share and for the empowerment to obey.