Nurture Women New to the Bible

Make it easy for first-timers to learn and not give up!

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 didn't give up. Some of them kept on because they had signed up for the course and didn't want to quit. Others had someone tutor them through the study. One mentioned that only God strengthened her enough to keep trying. Even after a couple of years, one woman said she still gets lost in the regular women's Bible study at her church.

In our current culture, it is not wise to assume that anyone has a fundamental understanding of the characters and historical details in the Bible. Most first-time attendees are women new to the Bible.

My heart wants to make the experience of these "Bible study newbies" so much better than that. Because I've been listening and watching over the past 25 years of active Bible Study leading, I've picked up some insights about helping women new to the Bible. I'd like to share these with you.

Nurturing women new to the Bible

#1 Acknowledge the presence of women new to the Bible

Women who are unfamiliar with the Bible attend your church, your Bible study, and your women's group. You may not know who they are, but they are there.

Are you a small group leader? Assume that some of the women in your small group do not know how to find a Bible verse, read it and answer a question. Explain churchy words the first time you use them (Gentiles, grace, salvation, redemption) and repeat until you think everyone has heard. If you are studying the gospels and talk about John, say which John it is—John the Baptist or John the disciple of Jesus.

Are you a ministry director? Do everything you can to communicate to women that you want to provide a safe place for women who are new to the Bible at your church. Then, offer them some of the resources I mention below.

#2 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. 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.

When you encourage "Bible study newbies" to start reading through the Bible, have them start reading the New Testament rather than beginning in the Old Testament. I can't think of a better start to understanding the Bible than reading the life of Jesus!

#3 Provide the best tutoring for them

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 doesn't 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 15 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 them 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.

Several of those women grew like weeds in their faith and in their Bible study skills, so much so that in 3-4 years, they were leading Bible Study small groups of their own. It was fantastic!

Choose a Short and Easy Study for women new to the Bible

That's the whole premise behind my short and easy Graceful Beginnings Bible studies for women new to the Bible. The lessons are basic with simple terms and easy-to-understand questions. Any woman can pick up one of these studies and feel confidence in learning something of God's Word as she works through it. We hope she'll 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. Learning 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 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.

1. Work through the lesson together when you meet. Allow at least an hour.

2. 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.

3. After every few questions, read the summary paragraph and discuss anything confusing or interesting.

4. Then, let her do the extra Bible reading and reflecting on her own before the next time you meet.

5. Talk about what she learned in her reading/reflecting before you work through the next lesson.

If you are leading your group through a Graceful Beginnings study:

You will likely want each woman to work through the lessons on their on 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 making lunchtime at work more fun. The process of leading the lesson is similar to the one-on-one time but faster since the women have already had a chance to consider their answers.

1. Look up and read each Bible verse. Read the question and let her answer it.

2. After every few questions, read the summary paragraph and discuss anything confusing or interesting.

3. For those books with associated videos, watch the video together (or read the teaching section) and discuss the “Reflect” 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.

Ministry leaders:

If you are a ministry leader, 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!

Happy leading!