Whether it's your first time as a Bible study group leader or it seems like you've always been the shepherd for a small flock, these basic tips may help you build a feeling of community and encourage active participation in your next meeting.

1: Be spontaneous

A great way to create a relaxed feeling in your small group Bible study is to break away from regimented schedules. While you should always try to begin and end the Bible study at its scheduled times, encourage your group members to share their insights and interpretations of the verses being studied, and a lively discussion will follow.

Some Bible study groups have found that having their meetings on weeknights rather than before Sunday services creates a looser, more relaxed environment and a feeling of community. Snacks don't hurt, either.


2: Be aware of language limitations

Words change meanings over a very short period of time, and English is a more fluid language than most. Many words in older Bible translations have changed their meaning since they were translated. Some words in the King James Bible now mean the opposite of what they did at the time of their translation. For example, the word "let" sometimes meant "to refrain or prevent" back in the 1600s.

Supplement your small group Bible study with lexicons and word study books in Hebrew and Greek that focus on the meaning of the original words.

3: Don't exclude other versions of the Bible

There are hundreds of different versions of the Christian Bible published today, from the King James and New International Versions to customized study Bibles geared toward different groups, from children or teenagers to alcoholics or business people. As a small group Bible study leader, you should be aware of the existence of these differences.


With the help of small group study guides, like those from Word Among Us Ministries, and by studying the original Hebrew and Greek meanings and comparing them with the modern translations, you can help your Bible study group gain a better understanding of the scripture.

4: Don't get too far away from the Word

Although study guides and lexicons can be helpful in understanding the meanings of the words in a verse, it is important to use scripture to interpret scripture. If you were interpreting ancient Babylonian texts, you wouldn't use the New York Times or Shakespeare as a reference guide.

Context is everything. Rather than taking a verse of scripture on its own, it is important to encourage your Bible study group to not only read the before-and-after verses, but also to read the verse in the context of the entire paragraph, chapter, book and Bible.


Word Among Us Ministries is a Bible study resource for small group Bible study leaders that offers study guides to assist with interpreting scripture through the use of other scripture. These Bible study resources can be found at gailknox.org, or small group leaders can call (918) 492-0945 to ask questions about Bible study methods and leading small group study.

Here is the example of study skills and study techniques difference. One of the study skills is quick and effective remembering of new phenomena. In order to get such skill one should apply study techniques such as improving memory, choosing his/her own technique of remembering (there are four of them: associative, sounding, moving and watching) and monitoring. So in order to get good memorizing skill a student should apply three study techniques. Study skill and study technique can be presented in chain like cause-effect where study technique is a cause whereas study skill is an effect.

Cause-effect chain clearly defines the study techniques which are to be applied for each definite study skill. The above listed study techniques can be used for improving memory and developing memorizing skill. However, the above list is very common and each student and teacher should choose or create different memory techniques depending on students' perception preferences and topics to be learnt. Associative technique for memorizing is the most effective for humanitarian subjects while sounding and watching techniques are better to applied while learning physical, mathematical and other symbols which are difficult to be associated with some pictures or other words. Moving technique for improving memory can be better applied for art classes as it develops good techniques for expressing feelings, thoughts and emotions by body movements. Moving technique for memory can create students good actors!

Fast reading and research are the other study skills which have their own techniques as well. For fast reading skill it is useful to apply such techniques as reading a lot and reading aloud. Both techniques can be developed through continuous practice only. Research skills apply numerous study techniques: summarizing, outlining, analysis, comprehension and fast reading, of course! All these techniques have different study methods to develop them. For example, summarizing technique can be developed through brief reviews and short description practice; teachers can ask students to describe briefly some news or events occurred at their homes, country or the world. Here the time limit should be (approx. 5 minutes) after which other students should retell what they have understood while their classmate was briefing. Outlining technique is a vital part of research skill, therefore it must be developed from the very young age. Teachers may ask his/her students to outline each lesson after it finishes and write this down with all corrections and additions which have been made by a teacher and other students.

Teachers should help students develop their skills and techniques because class works with other students are easy to comprehend when a group of people with the same interests are striving to achieve the same goal and are willing to help each other.

College life can be a lot of fun but there are college and university study exams that need to be taken. Unless you are the type of student who can sail through college and university exams with little or no effort, you're going to have to spend time studying hard in order to pass them. The stressful situations that college exams bring can hold you back if you do not learn how to handle it in a health manner.

You obviously must study before taking your university exams and you should make an effort to review all of the material that was covered in classes thoroughly. Many students get so anxious and worked up that they actually make themselves sick with worry and stress and are unable to recall the information that they studied. Does this sound familiar? If so, you need to find a way to help you relax or you may very well find yourself failing courses.

The sooner you can start preparing for your college exams, the better chance you'll have at scoring high marks. This may sound obvious, but with all the distractions that come along with college life, it can be easy to put off studying until the last minute. Doing this will cause a lot of unnecessary pressure and you're not going to help yourself if you approach your college course preparation this way.

You also need to make sure that you have a study schedule laid out when you're getting ready to take an exam. Lay out a schedule of the material you are going to study and follow the plan. Many college and university students don't remember to build ample rest time into their study plan and end up being too tired to accomplish anything effectively. The best way to prepare for college testing is in short sessions so that you're able to absorb all of the material.

Make sure you get enough sleep and eat properly. If you're not healthy and alert you are going to find your exams much more difficult then they would've been if you had taken proper care of yourself.

At the end of the day, your college examinations are important but they aren't worth making yourself sick over. If you find yourself becoming overly anxious about taking those college exams, consider getting in contact with a tutor who may be able to give you some additional help as needed.