Recently, someone asked our staff how we teach people to study the Bible. We were asked, “I have been heavily burdened with the fact that our churches are not teaching people how to study the bible for themselves or how important it is to study. I was pleased that Cuyahoga Valley Church actually teaches the Bible and isn’t strictly doing topical studies; however, that still left the question about teaching the congregation to study on their own.”
I was pleased that we actually have a multifaceted strategy. Below is what I wrote to answer the question:
“Thank you for your passion about the word of God.
“We share your passion at CVC. One of the fruits of new life at CVC is that we help people become Self-feeders on God’s word.
“We have several ways of trying to teach people to self feed.
“When a person becomes a new believer, we encourage them to attend our Your New Life class. In that class is a short section on teaching people how to feed from God’s word.
“We then encourage them to take a 12 week class that deals with the basics of the faith. Two of those sessions are on Bible Intake. We talk about hearing, reading, studying, memorizing, meditating, and applying God’s word. We give them a plan to study God’s word along with journaling.
“Another resource that is available is our Live New Journal. You can find one at the information table. It is a tool that is unique to CVC that is specifically designed to help people feed on God’s word on a daily basis and to record their thoughts consistently.
“Many LifeGroups that we offer are tied to the messages on Sunday morning. It’s an opportunity for people to dig deeper into the passage that was taught on the weekend.
“We also have some Discipleship Huddles that meet on a regular basis. One of the key questions that is always asked is this: ‘What is God teaching you from His Word and what are you doing about it?’
“So, I hope you can see that we are not only encouraging people to read the Bible and study it from the pulpit but that we also have specific strategies and plans and materials to help make that happen.
Thanks again for your passion for the Word of God.”
