How to Lead a Small Group Inductive Bible Study

By Coreena Blum

Shelly, a sixteen-year-old, raised her hand and spoke as tears flowed down her cheeks, "I want to thank Jesus for dying for me two thousand years ago. I'm realizing today that there is nothing that I can do to mess up what God has already done for me in Jesus." Shelly's response came after experiencing the Bible come alive through inductive Bible study. Many teenagers are looking for a deeper experience with God. Inductive Bible study is one way to deepen that experience.

The following is an outline of the basics of inductive Bible study:

1.	Begin with a sharing question that matches the subject of study. (E.g.–The question, "What was your favorite hiding place when you were small?" would work well when studying the parable of the hidden treasure.)

2.	Always pray before the Bible study begins.

3.	Break the group into smaller groups of three or four to facilitate increased participation.

4.	Read the passage, in several translations if necessary.

5.	Begin the study. (Every inductive study includes three types of questions–fact, interpretation, and application questions.)

a.	Fact questions–

i.	Fact questions make sure people hear the words of the text. Answers should be found only in what the text actually says.

ii.	Sometimes having a Strong's Concordance to look up Greek and Hebrew definitions of words will be wise.

Example fact questions from Matthew 4:17: "From that time Jesus began to preach and say, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'"
•	What action did Jesus call for when He preached?

•	What does the word 'repent' mean? (Look up in Strong's Concordance.)

•	What reason did Jesus give for His call to repentance?

b.	Interpretation questions–

i.	Interpretation questions lead to the exciting "Aha" moments of the study.

ii.	The answers to interpretation questions should be found in the immediate text or surrounding context.

Example interpretation questions from Matthew 4:17:
•	What would it look like in this context to repent (taking into account the dictionary definition of 'repent')?

•	How is the nearness of the kingdom related to repentance?

c.	Application questions–

i.	Prepare to apply the major points where people will be feeling conviction.

ii.	A useful tool for application questions includes the following chain of questions:

(1)	How do you feel about . . . ? (Whatever conviction or picture of God has come through the study.)

(2)	What would be an appropriate response? What would it look like if a person were to take this seriously? (Write responses on the board.)

(3)	Which of these (responses on board) do you need most? Pick one and write it down.

(4)	What is the first step you would have to take? (The step must be both measurable and attainable.)

(5)	When are you going to do it?

(6)	Who is going to hold you accountable?

iii.	Some other kinds of application:

(1)	Personal response

(a)	What do you want to say to God? About God?

(b)	Write a prayer, a song, or create something that expresses your response.

(2)	Corporate response

(a)	If we were taking this seriously as a group, what would it look like?

(b)	What would be our first step toward making this a reality?

(c)	When will we do it?

Example application questions from Matthew 4:17:

•	We noticed that repentance is a result of the kingdom coming near and not the other way around. Jesus is near you now. He is not waiting for you to get your act together, and yet He is saying to you, "Repent." What would repentance look like for you? Write your answer down in a sentence or two.

•	Who would like to share what you wrote?

6.	Be prepared to illustrate and emphasize–sometimes an idea needs extra emphasis before it will come alive for people in the group.

a.	Personal stories are the best because they carry the authority of experience.

b.	If individuals in the group get excited about what they are seeing, you can invite them to explain what is grabbing them and why.

7.	Never answer your own questions. To do so dampens self-discovery which is one of the major advantages of inductive Bible study.

The Word of God is still alive today. Open it up and discover God speaking to you through the text and through the lives of the young people you study with.