"Wedging in" and "making time for" are not phrases we like to associate with serious Bible study. The language we use to describe Bible study programs and promote them can be significant in terms of the importance it will hold in the lives of the faithful. Pastor Jim Reiter at Chapelwood United Methodist Church in Lake Jackson, Texas, planned a slightly different approach to encourage serious Bible study. Rather than creating a separate time he decided to weave Bible study into the regular rhythm of church life. After attending a Living Word for Leaders workshop last November, Pastor Reiter chose to use the Lenten season to take his new, 800-member parish through See Through the Scriptures®.The church broke with its historical vespers tradition during Lent and instead developed a flexible worship/study schedule – i.e. at 6:00 a.m., 12:00 noon, and 6:00 p.m. every Thursday for seven weeks. Picking up on the events and celebrations of the church year can be an excellent pre-existing opportunity for innovative educational opportunities.

A  seasonal study — a starting point
"The provision of a short-term study during Lent, when they were ready to do this kind of deeper study, was a great introduction and refresher," said Reiter. He promoted the upcoming Lenten study with a sermon series on spiritual discipline, weekly front-page articles in the church newsletter, and announcements at worship services. In each case the publicity stressed that no one would feel intimidated by the study material or class format. "For those people who said, ‘I’ve always wanted to study the Bible, but I was afraid you’d assume that I knew something,’ it was made clear that they could ‘hide’ behind someone else and hear the Bible for the first time themselves," says Reiter. "We adults are not much beyond our childhood where we needed pictures to help us see the [whole biblical] story."

This Lenten experience has inspired Pastor Reiter to offer See Through the Scriptures® as a Fall Saturday retreat , and then repeat it often as an orientation for new members. It is his hope that the course will create a foundation of biblical understanding at Chapelwood – a foundation on which to build.

Crossways International offers many short courses that can be easily integrated into existing parish programs and community celebrations; e.g. stewardship, missions, new member integration, retreat settings, and the holidays of the church calendar.

For more on See Through the Scriptures®, click here.

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