Ideas for Introducing a New Study

Ellen, a Coffee Break leader at Ridgewood Christian Reformed Church, asked for ideas on how to introduce a study. Their group began Discover Isaiah in January. She was looking for creative ideas to help participants connect to the Isaiah study. Ellen and I had a great time brainstorming ideas together.

Here’s what we came up with. Please add your creative ideas to the list!

• Invite someone with dramatic reading skills to read through portions of the text. Ellen’s group will study Discover Ruth in the spring. They already have a volunteer to do a dramatic reading of the book of Ruth.
• The Bible Project - The Bible Project has free videos and graphics on Biblical Themes and overviews of books of the Bible. For instance, if you are studying Discover Mark, you could show the Bible Project Mark overview video to your group. They also have a downloadable posters that outline major themes of the book.
• Invite a special guest - Ridgewood invited their pastor to talk about a theme from Isaiah. Ridgewood has also invited other guests. In the fall, they invited Sharon Garlough Brown, the author of the Sensible Shoes books series.
• A Coffee Break group in Cuernavaca, Mexico ended the study of Discover Esther by acting out the story. A group might introduce a study with a dramatization of the story or parts of the story. What might happen if they also ended with the same drama? How would it be the same or different?

How has your group introduced a new study? What study did you do? What did you do or what would you like to try? Share your ideas!

You can post your ideas: 

• by commenting below
• on the Coffee Break Groups Facebook page
• or by emailing [email protected]