One on One Bible Reading: Weaving into Church Culture (Model #3)
“One-to-one Bible reading is not a ministry or program, but a simple, relational, and powerful tool that can be injected into the ministries of a church.”
How many volunteers does a children’s ministry need?
No matter the size of a church, the answer is always the same: more. This need for an endless supply of volunteers applies not only to our children's ministries but to all the ministries and programs of a church. Though a ministry leader’s highest goal is to glorify God by making and maturing disciples, it can sometimes feel like they spend more time trying to fill ministry rosters. It’s for this reason that pastors and leaders have a gut-level aversion to the suggestion that their church should start new ministries. They think to themselves, “Why start something new when we don’t have enough volunteers to run the ministries we already have?” Rather than starting new ministries and programs, leaders should make it a priority to refocus and fuel those already in place.
One-to-one Bible reading is not a ministry or program, but a simple, relational, and powerful tool that can be injected into the ministries of a church. Far from growing your church’s to-do list, one-to-one Bible reading can help a church’s ministries refocus their attention upon discipleship and fuel that mission by empowering its volunteers. Here are three examples of how ministry leaders have refocused and fueled discipleship in their ministries by injecting one-to-one Bible reading.
Charla’s Women’s Ministry
The COVID pandemic upended many church rhythms. Though ministries and programs were back in motion by the spring of 2021, lingering restrictions and varying comfort levels caused a thick cloud of uncertainty to stretch to the horizon. Gatherings were unpredictable and often discouraging causing many leaders to seek out discipleship rhythms that COVID couldn’t touch.
In this season, Charla leads her church's women's ministry to substitute their annual spring Bible study with an intentional season of one-to-one Bible reading. She selected a small group of mature women in her church, equipped them to read one-to-one, and released them to meet regularly with one or two other women in their church. Not only did these smaller Bible reading partnerships avoid many of the hurdles and pitfalls created by the pandemic, but brought several other unintended benefits as well. It allowed the women to personally invite those who wouldn’t otherwise sign up for a Bible study, it easily flexed to fit the fluid nature of women's schedules and maintained a greater retention rate than their typical Bible study. Some of these one-to-one relationships continued long after this season of one-to-one drew to an end.
By injecting one-to-one Bible reading into her women’s ministry, Charla didn’t only help navigate the roadblocks of a difficult season but found a discipleship tool that they returned to even after the pandemic was over.
Micah’s Youth Group
While most churches have youth ministries, many wonder whether they are effectively making disciples of the next generation. A 2019 Barna study reveals the discouraging statistic that “nearly two-thirds (64%) of U.S. 18–29-year-olds who grew up in church […] have withdrawn from church involvement as an adult after having been active as a child or teen.” However, the faith of some has remained firm. The study reveals that 1 in 10 young people in this age group hold orthodox beliefs and are actively engaged in a life of faith. Of this group, referred to as “resilient disciples,” 85% stated that they came from a church where someone intentionally invested in their spiritual growth.
With this data in hand, youth pastor Micah organized intentional one-to-one Bible reading partnerships. He trained his youth leaders and other trusted adults in his church with this simple tool and paired them with members of the youth group. In time, he found that these intentional word-driven partnerships gave students a safe space to wrestle over deep questions of life and faith, gave leaders a hands-on way to equip students to read the scriptures, and helped foster multi-generational relationships in the life of his church. Many of the adults stayed in touch with the youth as they left for college, checking in on them and helping them connect with a church family.
By injecting one-to-one Bible reading into his youth ministry, Micah didn’t only help focus his youth ministry on its goal to make “resilient disciples” but rallied his team of youth leaders to partner with him in this valuable work.
Silas’ Young Adult Ministry
As an intern at his church, Silas was given the responsibility to connect with young adults. The problem was, there weren't many young adults to be found. For a few months, Silas started connecting with those who were already at the church, gathering them together and inviting them to bring their friends. Though he slowly built a faithful core, the problem was that his full-time job, full-time seminary load, and growing family limited his capacity to invest in this group.
Not wanting the group's unity and growth to be limited by his capacity, Silas organized an evening where the young adults learned about one-to-one Bible reading, were equipped to do it, and were allowed to practice it with one another. Though the group only gathered every other week, he encouraged the young adults to connect on off weeks to read the Bible together one-to-one.
By injecting one-to-one Bible reading into his young adult ministry, Silas equipped and released the young adults to seek continued growth and connection beyond what he was able to facilitate on his own.
Conclusion
The goal of a church’s ministries is to bring glory to God by making and maturing disciples of Jesus Christ. One-to-one Bible reading is not another ministry of its own, but is a tool that church ministries can use to refocus and fuel this mission.
BEN RUHL - ONE ON ONE DISCIPLESHIP, PASTORAL MINISTRY, AND PREACHING
Ben grew up in Houston, TX and started following Christ at a young age. After graduating from high school, Ben studied the Bible at Torchbearers Bible Schools in England and Austria, Moody Bible Institute (BA) in Chicago, IL, and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (M.Div) in South Hamilton, MA. Ben met his wife Olivia while studying at Moody. They married in 2015 and have two kids: 5-year-old Davie Henrietta and 1-year-old Cal McCheyne.
After graduating from Gordon-Conwell in 2017, Ben and Olivia moved to Alton, NH where Ben pastors BeFree Community Church Alton (EFCA) and is the Executive Director of Small Town Summits, a ministry that seeks to provide encouragement, connection, and equipping for small-town pastors, laypeople, and churches. When not parenting, pastoring, or spending time with Olivia, Ben likes to carve wood.