Discovery Bible Study
Progressive Evangelism
Contents
- How a Discovery Bible Study works
- How to use this plan
- 1The Father who receives the lost Luke 15:11-24
- 2Jesus forgives and heals Mark 2:1-12
- 3Jesus obeys the Father through baptism Matthew 3:13-17
- 4Jesus seeks and saves the lost Luke 19:1-10
- 5Jesus meets people personally John 4:7-19
- 6Hearing and responding to God's Word Mark 4:1-20
- 7Jesus calls ordinary people to follow Him Luke 5:1-11
- 8The values of God's Kingdom Matthew 5:1-12
- 9Trusting God instead of living anxiously Matthew 6:25-34
- 10Loving your neighbor: the good Samaritan Luke 10:25-37
- 11Jesus, the Good Shepherd John 10:1-15
- 12Who is Jesus, and what does it mean to follow Him? Mark 8:27-38
How a Discovery Bible Study works
This page is for whoever leads the study. Everyone else only needs the passage.
A Discovery Bible Study has no teacher. The person leading only asks the questions; the Bible does the teaching. That is what makes it simple enough for anyone to lead — no title, no training, no materials, no money.
Eat, digest, grow
- Eat the WordRead the passage aloud, read it again, then close the Bible and have someone retell it in their own words. Reading is the bite, re-reading the chewing, the retelling the swallow. If the group can't retell it, read it once more before going on.
- DigestWork through the four questions. This is where the passage turns into faith and obedience — answered from what the text actually says, not from what someone already knew.
- GrowGrowth is God's part, not yours. One plants, another waters, but God gives the growth (1 Corinthians 3:6–7). Do the cycle faithfully and leave the growing to Him.
The four questions
Answer from what the passage actually says — stay in the text.
- What does this passage show me about God?
- What does it show me about people — and about myself?
- What will I obey this week? (a concrete step, with a day)
- Who will I tell?
The shape of a meeting
- Look backWhat are you thankful for? What is hard right now? How did you obey what we found last time, and who did you tell? Pray briefly for each other.
- Look upRead, re-read, retell — then the four questions.
- Look forwardEach person says out loud one concrete commitment — a sentence that starts “I will…” — and names one person they will tell. Next time, the group asks about both. Asking is what turns a discussion into obedience.
The one rule: don't teach
The moment you start explaining, the group stops discovering. If someone says something that is not in the passage, do not correct them — ask, kindly, “Where do you see that in this passage?” and let them look. The text and the group sort it out. This is the rule that lets someone who has been in two studies lead the third.
Four to fifteen people. About an hour, once a week. Nothing else required.
How to use this plan
Who this is for
- Anyone, anywhere — including someone you have just met. This is the list to reach for when you don’t yet know the person, don’t know how long you’ll have, or don’t know where to begin. The passages are short, story-shaped, and easy to retell, so nobody needs Bible background to take part.
- A group that may never become a group. Unlike a plan that assumes twelve weeks, this one is designed to be worth doing even if it only ever happens once.
How to use it
- Always start with the prodigal son. Study 1 — Luke 15:11–24 — is the door into everything else, and it is the one passage that works with almost anyone. Don’t reorder the list to open with something you find more interesting.
- Scale it to the commitment you actually have. The list is built to stop cleanly at three points:
- One-off — study 1 only. A single study with anyone, anywhere. A meal, a waiting room, a bus ride.
- A month — studies 1–4. Weekly for four weeks. Enough to see whether a rhythm forms.
- The full journey — studies 1–12. A complete evangelistic study.
- Don’t announce the length up front. Ask for one study. If the group wants another, you already have the next eleven — and an invitation to “just one study” is far easier to say yes to than a twelve-week commitment.
- Finish what you start. Once a group has agreed to a month or to the whole list, complete it. Trailing off after study 6 teaches that God’s word is optional.
- Facilitate, don’t teach. The sequence carries the theology so you don’t have to. Keep asking, “Where do you see that in the passage?” Don’t chew their food for them.
- End every study in obedience. An honest commitment and one person you’ll tell — every time, from the very first study. That habit, formed on day one, is what turns a curious reader into a disciple who makes disciples.