Establish: Nurture Women Who Are New to the Bible

ByMelanie Newton Lifestyle disciplemaking
Lifestyle disciplemaking ESTABLISH-nurture women who are new to the Bible

I recently heard a relatively new Christian woman say, “I get lost in our small group Bible study especially when people start throwing out Greek words and what they have learned in other studies. I just want to understand the words that are actually printed here. I feel so ignorant like I can never understand the Bible.” My heart just hurt for her. From my experience, I know this precious new-to-the-Bible Christian is not alone in how she feels in our Bible studies. If you are Bible Study group leader, this article will help you properly care for anyone new to the Bible in your group. This is blog #8 in our “Lifestyle Disciplemaking” serie, adapted from our book, Leap into Lifestyle Disciplemaking..

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When I heard that woman say that she gets lost in our Bible Study groups, especially when people start throwing out what they have learned in other studies, my heart hurt for her. She just wanted to understand the words that were actually printed in the current study guide. The experience made her feel ignorant like she could never understand the Bible. From my experience, I know this precious new-to-the-Bible Christian is not alone in how she feels in our Bible studies.

Because I have been listening and watching over the past 25 years of active Bible study leading, I have picked up some insights about nurturing women new to the Bible. The first one is to acknowledge their presence.

Acknowledge their presence

Understanding how “Bible Study Newbies” feel

I asked women in my Bible study group what they remembered about their first time attending a Bible Study. The descriptions that came back were these: frightened, panicked, lost as a goose, isolated, and crying like a baby. Yet, they did not give up. Some of them kept on because they had signed up for the course and did not want to quit. Others had someone tutor them through the study. One mentioned that only God strengthened her enough to keep trying. Even after 2 years, one woman said she still gets lost in the regular women’s Bible study at her church.

We have women all around us who were not raised in a church setting or do not have years of church life where they were taught from the Bible (sermons, Sunday school classes, other). Or they attended a church that even discouraged personal Bible study. Those are the ones who get lost in our Bible-oriented churches. I call them “Bible study newbies.”

If they are new Christians, they need to be discipled in the basics of the faith. We covered the 8 necessary elements of a good foundation that I listed in “Establish: Give Believers Strong Roots” and the “Establish a New or Young Believer” booklet.

Most first-time attendees to Bible Studies are women new to the Bible. They have no clue how to read it to feed themselves. They are like the newborn babies in our own families—hungry for the milk of God’s Word. Most women’s Bible Studies are designed for experienced students. For the “Bible study newbie,” working through the study is like trying to chew steak with only a few baby teeth!

We who know the Lord should want to make the experience of those “Bible study newbies” so much better than that. We should not assume that those new-to-the-Bible Christians in a regular Bible study group will catch up just by being there. This lack of nurture can lead to discouragement, insecurity, and a feeling of “I am not smart enough to understand the Bible.” Soon, they give up. I have seen this happen. For one sweet woman, I was the guilty one.

When I was the small group leader who assumed

Lynn told us on her first day to our Bible study group that she had never been in a Bible study before this. She was a shy new Christian, having just started attending our church. I thought, “She will catch on as we go through the study each week.”

I was wrong, very wrong. Lynn did not know how to read Bible verses and answer questions in a study designed for experienced Bible students. She might get the observation questions, just looking for information. But after that, she would not answer anything. She felt so inadequate.

Instead of coming alongside her, I waited a few weeks. Lynn stopped coming. When I asked why, she told me how hard it was to do the study. I had her moved to a group for beginners, but the whole process of getting to know another group of people was overwhelming. She dropped altogether. I had waited too long to help her. As an experienced follower of Christ, I failed this new Christian.

Since then, I have learned to sympathize with their insecurity and help them get a good start.

Sympathize with their insecurity

If a woman is not much of a book learner anyway, she is going to feel insecure right away and even defeated that she will never be able to learn the Bible on her own.

Think about the challenging process of Bible reading and study:

  • First, you need a Bible or Bible app. There are so many translations. Where do you start? For someone new to the Bible, recommend she use an easy-to-read translation (NIV, CSB, NLT, ESV) to help her gain confidence in understanding what she is reading.
  • Then, you need to know what each part of a Bible verse reference means—book, chapter, and verse. The Bible is one book containing a collection of 66 books combined together for our benefit. It is divided into two main parts: Old Testament and New Testament. Someone new to the Bible needs to know that Bibles and Bible apps have a table of contents to help find each book in the Bible.
  • Once you find the verse reference, someone new to the Bible needs to be able to read it and usually repeat back what it says in answer to a question in the study guide. Most Bible studies are written using a specific translation. If she is not using the same translation, the question might not use the wording in the verse reference. That creates confusion as well.

I attended my first Bible study with my college roommate. Because I did not know much other than Psalm 100 (memorized during Vacation Bible School) and Luke 2 (the Christmas story), I felt pretty nervous. I brought the Bible I had been given as a child. My leader helped me find the right place to read and showed me how to discover truth from a Bible verse. She prayed for God to help me understand it. I was so amazed at the treasure I discovered that I could not wait to get back the next week to learn more. That small group Bible study literally changed my life!

Come alongside that woman who is new to the Bible and let her know you want to help her as much as you can. Show compassion to the woman who signs up to attend your Bible study and then feels absolutely overwhelmed because it is too hard for her. Help her. SHE NEEDS YOU.

Provide the best tutoring for them

Anyone can study the Bible for themselves. That is truth that everyone needs to know—from beginner through any experience level. The Bible is God’s Word for every one of us whether you are a book learner or not. The Holy Spirit will help you understand what you are reading. That is what God desires for you so He makes sure you are enabled to do it.

I love this verse from 1 Corinthians.

What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. (1 Corinthians 2:12)

Our God wants us to know and understand what He has freely give us. You can ask the Lord to teach you through what you are reading in His Word. That is a promise and His will. He will answer that prayer with, “Yes!” Be ready yourself to explain to a new believer what she has in Christ. We include this in our “Establish a New or Young Christian” booklet.

Twenty years ago, I was in a large Bible study with about 200 women. One of the women came up to us leaders and said, “My mom would like to come to Bible study. But she does not know anything about the Bible. Do you think you could offer a beginners’ group?” DUH! Why had we never thought of this before?!

The next fall we offered a small group for “Bible study beginners” as part of our large study. Within a couple of weeks, we had fifteen women signed up for it! There was a genuine need we had not previously acknowledged. So, we asked two women to be the group leaders whose hearts wanted to help those beginners at Bible study.

The leaders gave their “newbies” tabs for their Bibles (today, showing how to use a Bible app). They selected specific questions from the lesson for the women to work through in the group and a few to work through at home (so not to be overwhelmed by the whole study). They helped them learn how to read a question, look up a verse, and try to answer the question afterward. They worked at explaining things in basic terms, making it easier for those women to understand.

Several of those women grew like weeds in their faith and in their Bible study skills. In three to four years, they were leading Bible study small groups of their own. It was fantastic!

The example I shared above is an example of intentional tutoring for Bible study beginners in a regular study designed for experienced Christians. You can also work through the weekly Bible study lesson with someone in your group who is new to the Bible until she feels comfortable doing it on her own.

What is even better is offering a Bible study designed especially for women new to the Bible.

Choose a short and easy study for women new to the Bible

Whether you are leading a group of women who are new to the Bible or just doing a one-on-one study, choose a study that makes it easier for them to learn. That is the whole premise behind my short and easy Graceful Beginnings Bible studies for women new to the Bible.

The Graceful Beginnings lessons are basic with simple terms and easy-to-understand questions. Any woman can work through one of these studies and feel confident as she learns something from God’s Word in each lesson. We hope she will be ready to pick up another study and keep going. Our goal is that she gets to know both God and His Word better with each lesson. Any “Bible Study Newbie” will learn how to study the Bible with confidence and joy!

Since the Graceful Beginnings lessons are designed for anyone new to the Bible, you will probably want to work through the first book together with the other person or small group as an example of how to do a Bible study. If you are discipling a new Christian, start with A Fresh Start. The other books can be done in any order.

In a one-on-one setting:

You can help a “Bible study newbie” by doing a Bible study book designed for beginners with her one-on-one. This is really beneficial to do before she signs up for the large group study. It is much less intimidating to someone just learning from the Bible. The following process is based on the format of our Graceful Beginnings studies.

  • Start with prayer: Ask the Lord Jesus to teach both of you what He wants you to learn through the lesson.
  • Work through the lesson together when you meet. Allow an hour.
  • Look up and read each Bible verse. That way you can make sure she knows how to find Bible verses to read and how to answer the question asked about that verse.
  • Read the summary paragraphs and discuss anything confusing or interesting.
  • Encourage her to listen to any associated podcasts before you meet. Ask what grabbed her attention and highlight specific things you want her to know. Always discuss the application question at the end.
  • Encourage her to do the extra Bible reading and reflecting on her own before the next time you meet. Talk about what she learned in her reading / reflecting from the last lesson before you work through the next lesson.

In a group setting:

It is helpful to have each woman work through the lessons on her own before meeting together to discuss them. If they do this, the lessons should take an hour or less to cover. This could easily fit into a workplace setting to use your lunch break for disciplemaking.

The process of leading the lesson is similar to the one-on-one time mentioned above but faster since the women have already had a chance to consider their answers.

  • Look up and read each Bible verse. Let them read the questions and answer them.
  • Read the summary paragraphs and discuss anything confusing or interesting.
  • Encourage them to listen to any associated podcasts before you meet. Ask what grabbed their attention and highlight specific things you want them to know. Always discuss the application question at the end.

There you go. Enjoy the blessings of discovering God’s Word together with women who are new to the Bible. Watch her experience a joyful walk with Jesus.

If you are a ministry leader:

  • Consider offering a “Beginners” group for those new to the Bible. Ask the Lord for leaders who will nurture them well.
  • Keep a supply of Bible studies for beginners on hand to help your new women get a great start in studying the Bible.

The bottom line is this:

Make it easy for women new to the Bible to learn and not give up!

Ask Jesus to help you with all of the above steps to choosing a Bible study for yourself or for your group. Depend on Him to show you what to do. He is faithful! 

Stay Christ-focused as you take the next steps

Based on the content of this article, what are your next steps?

  • If you are leading a Bible study group with at least one “Bible study newbie” in it, make sure you come alongside her to give her a good start. Do not assume she will catch on by being in the group. If you cannot do it, ask an experienced woman in your group to do so.
  • If you have several friends who are new to the Bible, consider asking them to do a Graceful Beginnings study with you. Use the suggestions I have given above for leading the group. Most of the studies also have a suggested discussion guide as well.
  • If you are a Christian who is new to the Bible, please ask an experienced Christian to help you learn how to study the Bible for yourself. The Spirit of God inside you will make you able to understand God’s Word over time. And it will be so satisfying. You will not be hungry again.

For all of you women who have influence over other women in your church, women’s ministry, or any kind of small group, let us change the way we feed our Christian sisters who are new to the Bible. Ask Jesus to give you compassion for anyone new to the Bible and the willingness to help them learn how to feed themselves from His Word. Trust Him to lead you to those who need your help. Then, watch what He does!

As women trust in Christ and grow in their faith, the next phase of disciplemaking is to LAUNCH them to do all of that with their peers. That is the subject of the next article in this “Lifestyle Disciplemaking” series.

Lifestyle disciplemaking activities are interwoven throughout our Live Out His Love Bible Study of New Testament women.

Let Jesus lead you into lifestyle disciplemaking. Jesus followers become disciplemakers.

Recommended: Take our “BIble Study Leadership Made Easy” online video course to help you be the best Bible Study leader you can be.

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