It’s hard to believe that it’s time to kick off your 2020 fall Bible Studies!
With social distancing still in place in many parts of the country, the typical get-together may look a little different during the fall of 2020. That’s why we reached out to women’s ministry leaders from around the country to bring you some creative ideas for kicking off your fall Bible studies this year.
Ideas for Kicking Off Fall Bible Studies in 2020:
- Host an outdoor picnic where women can gather safely and sign up for fall studies.
- Invite women to a Facebook live party to introduce the new studies you are offering and have specific ways for them to sign up.
- Have a virtual sign-up party where you show previews of the video teaching and explain how to purchase books before the study. Give away a free Bible study book to those who show up online and add some fun and games. (Need some ideas for online icebreakers and games? We shared some fun ideas here.)
- Host a drive-through Bible study sign up and meet and greet with the study teacher or facilitator. Whether the study is being offered at church, in a home, or online, invite women to drive by to “meet the teacher” and pick up their study books and/or get other instructions on how the study will be hosted.
- Create a kickoff meeting and a weekly leader meeting for online or small group study leaders to review the study and work through it as a leadership team. Have these Bible study leaders open the study up online with their neighborhood, apartment building, or community to reach out and minister to the community.
- Offer a training event (with a smaller live event and a Zoom option) to help women learn how to study the Bible on their own. “I told the women that the Bible was the only thing I could offer them, but it was the best thing I could give,” said Paula Vawter, the women’s minister at Quail Springs Baptist in Oklahoma City.
- Create a fun Bible trivia game using facts from the Bible study you will be hosting. Play the game online or with social distancing in preparation for what women will learn in the study.
- Host an online scavenger hunt featuring everything you need for Bible study. Have women connect online and find the items in their homes. Create the list of what women will need to participate in the Bible study (Bible, Bible study book, pen/pencil, headphones, etc.). Add some fun things in to keep this lighthearted and/or to see what women will come up with (for example, water/coffee mug, favorite snack, other items they might want or need nearby during an online Bible study).
- Depending on your church’s guidelines, offer options of in-person studies with social distance parameters, as well as virtual options for those who desire to connect via online. (Need some ideas on how to merge digital and physical groups this fall? We shared some ideas here.)
- Do a giveaway to encourage women to enlist friends to sign up for Bible study. The person who has the most friends sign up wins a Bible study preview pack filled with goodies related to the study and personal study time. Include items like a journal, pretty pen, basket, mug or water bottle, and snacks.
- Let women know ahead of time the specific precautions you’ll be taking to make them feel safe and welcomed (Zoom and in-person options, distanced chairs, small discussion groups meeting in larger rooms for spreading out, etc.).
- Host a simple but nice kickoff brunch or dinner for the first study while taking lots of precautions to make women feel safe and welcomed. Put someone friendly in charge of managing the Zoom group so they feel part of what is going on throughout all the different parts of the study.
What creative ideas or suggestions do you have for kicking off a fall Bible study this year? Tell us in the comments below!