by Kameron DeVasher | May 9, 2024 | Sabbath School
Every local Seventh-day Adventist church conducts a weekly Bible study class we call Sabbath School. The General Conference produces a new Bible study guide (known affectionately as “the quarterly”) every three months that focuses on a different Bible topic, book, or doctrine. This curriculum helps church members maintain a strong Bible foundation for their faith and reinforces our global church unity.
Furthermore, we are told that “The object of Sabbath school work should be the ingathering of souls.” (Counsels on Sabbath School Work, p. 61) When properly conducted, local Sabbath School classes can provide an engaging, small group setting to invite our spiritually interested friends, family members, and Bible study contacts to share in our exploration of God’s Word.
To help church members tap into the soul-winning potential of Sabbath School, MichiganSSPM is trying an experiment—providing an invitation card for church members to share the blessing of Sabbath School with spiritually interested people in their lives. Each quarter we will develop a unique invitation card corresponding to that quarter’s Sabbath School study topic. These will be available as a downloadable file that can then be printed (with a matte finish, preferably at a local or online print shop) then customized with your own handwriting to specify your Sabbath School’s starting time and location.
If this proves a useful resource, we’ll provide a new invitation card each quarter. If not, let us know and we’ll look for other ways to help make Sabbath School a hub for soul-winning for you and your church family.
Click here to download the invitation card file.
God bless!
by Kameron DeVasher | Jan 9, 2024 | Bible Study Offer
Since launching in 2016, BibleStudyOffer.com (BSO) has grown both in the total number of Bible study interests (over 10,000!) as well as the number of participating churches (currently 348 in the United States and Canada). But wonderful as such growth is, the real aim of BSO is not measured quantitatively but qualitatively; in the personal, timely follow-up each Bible study interest receives. The last thing we’d ever want to do is rejoice over a great number of Bible study interests hungry for the Bread of Life—who we neglect to feed!
To help ensure that the vital work of timely follow-up is taking place, BSO now includes a delinquency protocol that automatically reminds church coordinators via email and pop-messages in their BSO account when a new interest has not been visited promptly. Here’s how it works.
After immediate notice is given when someone first signs up and is added to your BSO study interest list, you have 4 days to record an initial visit before you get your first reminder notice on day 5:
OOPS! You have at least one Bible study request that is due for a visit. We advertise follow-up service of 5-7 days, and one or more of your church’s requests has been waiting 5 days.
- Check your church’s study requests for any “new” (unvisited) interests. If you or someone on your BSO team has made an initial follow-up visit, record the visit as either attempted or completed. This will change their status from “new” to “active.”
- If someone has not yet followed up with these requests, be sure to do so soon! If no visit has been recorded in the next three days, this interest will be automatically removed from your list of Bible study requests and sent to the Discover Bible School for mail correspondence follow up.
Thank you for sharing God’s Word with seekers in your community. God bless!
If after that reminder still no visit is recorded, the next message is given on day 7:
WARNING! This is the last day to visit one or more of your Bible study interests!
- Check your church’s study requests for any “new” (unvisited) interests. If you or someone on your BSO team has made an initial follow-up visit, just record the visit as either attempted or completed. This will change their status from “new” to “active.”
- If someone has not yet followed up with this request, please to do so immediately! If no visit is recorded today, this interest will be automatically removed from your list of Bible study requests and sent to the Discover Bible School for correspondence follow up tomorrow.
Thank you for sharing God’s Word with seekers in your community. God bless!
If still another day goes by without a personal visit from a local BSO representative, the study interest will be re-assigned to the Voice of Prophecy’s Discover Bible School for correspondence follow-up. When that happens, the local BSO coordinator will receive this message:
UH-OH! One or more of your unvisited Bible study requests have now been sent to the Discover Bible School for mail correspondence follow up.
The uniqueness of BSO is the opportunity for local churches to personally and promptly follow-up with spiritually interested people in their own communities. We are confident that you and your church family share that goal and will make every effort to visit new interests promptly in the future.
Thank you for sharing God’s Word with seekers in your community. God bless!
The first time an interest is re-assigned for correspondence follow-up, the local BSO coordinator simply needs to click an acknowledgment button and their BSO work will continue seamlessly. If subsequent interests are re-assigned due to delinquency, the local coordinator will receive notice that their church’s BSO account has been paused. This means that they can continue to work with current study interests, but no new interests will be assigned to their church’s BSO account until their delinquency issues have been addressed.
The reason we’re going to these lengths is that in recent months literally hundreds of Bible study interests have gone unvisited and have been re-assigned for corresponded follow-up.
The uniqueness of BSO is the opportunity for church members to visit local Bible study interests personally and promptly. We trust you share this goal and will continue to use BSO to enhance your church’s Bible study ministry.
by Kameron DeVasher | Sep 6, 2023 | Bible Study Offer, Personal Ministries
What do the Hillsdale, Tecumseh, Farmington, Detroit Oakwood, Grand Rapids, Owosso, Belgreen, Houghton, Ann Arbor, Cadillac, Warren, Kalamazoo, South Flint, Saint Johns, Alma, Mt Pleasant, Jackson, Wyoming, Riverside, Big Rapids, Gobles, Otter Lake, Saginaw, Waterford, Lansing, and Holland churches all have in common? They all had people sign up for Bible studies with Bible Study Offer last month! Besides those in Michigan, spiritually curious people in North Carolina, Missouri, Texas, Tennessee, Montana, Kentucky, Indiana, Idaho, Arkansas, Illinois, Georgia, Oregon, and California also registered with BibleStudyOffer.com—and all just in the month of August!
Some of those new interests were invited to take studies by someone when they attended a local church. Others responded to an advertisement in the mail, and still others signed up through Facebook or Twitter. But regardless of how they heard about it, they all expressed interest in learning more about the Bible.
Now that they’ve done their part it’s time to do ours. The greatest need in Bible study ministry today isn’t more learners, it’s more leaders. To the same degree that we praise the Lord for hearts moved to study the Bible we need to pray to the Lord for eager hearts willing to help people on their journey with God. Some 2,000 years ago Jesus said it this way: “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” (Luke 10:2)
If you are willing to be a laborer in harvest field of your community, speak with your pastor, Personal Ministries leader, or Bible school coordinator in your local church to see how you can help lead those interested in spiritual things to the truth they need in Jesus.
by Mark Howard | Jan 3, 2023 | Bible Study Offer
There are really only 3 ways to get a Bible study. You can: (1) ask in the morning; (2) ask in the afternoon; or (3) ask in the evening. In other words, you’ll rarely if ever get a Bible study unless you ask for one. So just ASK! BibleStudyOffer.com makes it easy to ask people personally, which produces by far the best results. You can also ask through various advertising methods. Below you’ll find a list of ways to generate Bible study interests using BibleStudyOffer.com:
- Church Services and Events – Visitors who attend your church services or ministry events are often interested in Bible studies. By pointing them to BibleStudyOffer.com, you can offer Bible studies to everyone who visits your church with a simple, non-intimidating question:
“Have you heard about our Bible school?”
Church members don’t have to be study leaders to tell guests about the Bible school. Anyone can highlight the resources and study options available with BibleStudyOffer.com. by directing them to the church’s BSO resource center (see “How to Setup Your Bible School,” #9, p. 15 of this manual). Enthusiastically tell guests about these resources; let them know they can study them on their own or with a study coach; show them how to sign up using the church signup card, website, or phone number; and be sure to let them know there is also a set of children’s lessons available for the young people in their lives!
- Ask People You Know – You can offer Bible studies using BibleStudyOffer.com to friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, and other acquaintances. Simply ask the question:
“Have you heard about BibleStudyOffer.com?”
Give them a sample pack, public display card, pocket tract, or business card, and say:
“It’s a ministry run by my church that offers free Bible study resources. You can get study guides and videos on over 20 topics. People love them because they bring together the most relevant Bible verses on a variety of topics so you can know what the Bible really says. You can study with a study coach – which is how I’m involved – or on your own. Do you think you’d be interested in something like that?”
An alternate method uses the principle of gaining trust by asking for a favor, just like Jesus when He asked the woman at the well for a drink (see John 4):
“It’s a ministry run by my church that offers free Bible study resources. You can get study guides and videos on over 20 topics. Anyway, they’ve asked me to be a study leader but I’d really like to get some experience by studying with someone I know. Would you be willing to go through some studies with me?”
If your friends shows interest, offer to study with them and determine which study resource they would like to use. If they say they’re too busy or seem otherwise uninterested, respond by saying:
“That’s no problem. I totally understand! Why don’t you hang on to this [pocket tract/card/sample pack] and when you get a chance, check out the website. You can sign up there for the free studies anytime.”
- Share Using Technology – Using the Miscellaneous Graphics Package in our downloadable digital resources, you will find pre-formatted graphics that make it easy to offer Bible studies by sharing BibleStudyOffer.com over social media, text, or email. Included on the website is also a promotional video designed for sharing.
- Church Member Advertising – Even when not personally offering studies, church members can generate interest with BibleStudyOffer.com advertising materials. Pocket tracts and business cards can be left at restaurants, gas pumps, hotels, and stores. Public display cards can be set up with permission in many doctor, dentist, auto mechanic, hairstylist, laundromat, and business office waiting rooms. Vehicle stickers can be also be used to advertise, along with the great gear like t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, mugs, etc., available through the BSO website.
- Door-to-door Outreach – A time-tested way to find Bible study interests is by simply going door-to-door telling people about BibleStudyOffer.com. When using this method, it is true that the greater percentage of people will not show an interest. Still, because you meet so many people in such a short amount of time, there is a good chance that you’ll find a few who are interested. And when the whole church is organized for door-to-door outreach, it is a quick and effective way to find multiple Bible study interests. For example, if you found only one person interested for every 10 you contacted, and you had 5 groups in your church who could contact 10 homes in an hour, then in one short afternoon your church could generate 5 Bible studies!
Wearing name badges when going door-to-door can express that you represent a larger organization, increasing trust with some people. A file formatted to print a name badge insert sheet, consisting of four 3” x 4” inserts on an 8 ½” x 11” page—each containing the BibleStudyOffer.com logo—is available for download in the “Resources” tab of the Coordinator Panel of the website. There is a Word document file, in which you can type the names before printing, and a PDF file, in which you print the page “as is” and neatly write in the names. In either case, you will need name badges that hold 3” x 4” inserts (NOT 4” x 3”) with lanyards.
It’s ideal, when going door-to-door, to go with a partner. It can also be beneficial for a young person or child to join you as this brings down people’s defenses, as well as giving the young person an experience in personal soulwinning. Bring along several sample packs (see “How to Setup Your Bible School,” #8, p. 16 of this manual), along with some business cards and pocket tracts (these can all be ordered by coordinators in the “Store” tab of the their Control Panel of the website). Those with experience using religious surveys when going door-to-door may choose to offer the BibleStudyOffer.com study options at the conclusion of the survey. Or, you may choose to use a short and direct canvass such as the following:
“Hi, my name is —–, and this is —–, and we’re passing out flyers about BibleStudyOffer.com. [Give public display card or tract.] Have you heard of us? [Wait for response.] Okay, well it’s a free offer for Bible studies. We have prophecy studies, topical studies, and children’s studies. The prophecy studies go over what the Bible says about the end times, and include DVD presentations that cover the same topics. The topical series goes over things like Why there’s so much pain and suffering in the world, God’s plan of salvation, What happens when people die, How to live a fuller life, and things like that. The children’s lessons are like the topical ones, only designed for a younger audience. Do any of these sound like something you’d be interested in?”
If the person says “Yes,” let them know the two study options:
“We currently have two study options. We can drop off a couple study guides for you each week for you to go through on your own, or we can arrange for a study coach to go over the lessons with you. Which one would work better for you?”
Note: If the person conducting the survey will also be the study coach, they would just say “We can drop off a couple study guides for you each week for you to go through on your own, or we can come by and go over the lesson with you personally.” Also, if the person at the door is of the opposite sex, the study coach needs to take someone of that same sex when he or she returns to give the study.
If they show interest in studying with a coach, respond with
“Great! The lessons generally take about an hour to complete. We just need to find a time in your schedule that works for you. When is the best time to come by?”
Take note of their answer on the signup card, and leave the presentation folder with them, saying
“I know you’re going to love these lessons! Let me leave this with you so you can get started filling out the first lesson, and I [or “a study coach”] will be by [at the time discussed in the previous step].”
This is a great time to offer a short prayer before leaving. Keep it short, simple and positive, by saying something like
“Let me pray with you before I go. Lord, I want to thank you so much for giving us this opportunity to meet today. Please bless my friend ________ and his/her home, [and family, if applicable], and guide us both as we prepare to study the Bible together. We thank you for your love and mercy, and we pray these things in Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Conclude by saying something like
“I hope you have a wonderful day, and I look forward to seeing you next ____________.”
As soon as possible after leaving, be sure to sign them up for the “Study with a coach” option using the website or a church signup card.
If the person would rather have you drop off the lessons for the “Study on my own” option, you would want to respond by saying
“That’s great! I know you’re going to love these lessons!” [If you haven’t already done so, hand them a presentation folder and say] “Let me leave this with you so you can get started filling out the first lesson.”
As with the previous example, take this opportunity to pray with them before leaving. Keep it short, simple and positive, by saying something like
“Let me pray with you before I go. Lord, I want to thank you so much for giving us this opportunity to meet today. Please bless my friend ________ and his/her home, [and family, if applicable], and bless [him or her] as [he or she] studies Your Word. We thank you for your love and mercy, and we pray these things in Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Leave the presentation folder with them, and be sure to sign them as soon as possible for the “Study on my own” option using the website or a church signup card up.
If they don’t express interest in either study option, leave a business card or tract with them and say
“I understand. Here, let me leave you with this [pocket tract or card], and when you get a chance, check out the website. You can sign up anytime with no cost or obligation.”
For each person who expressed interest in the studies, it is essential that you record their names and contact information the best time to study or reach them, and the study option they have chosen. Read from the next section of this manual, “Study Leader Training,” to obtain further details on how to set up and conduct the study based on whichever study option was chosen. For any study interests that were signed up at the door, be sure to enter their names, contact information, the best time reach them, and the study option they have chosen on the website when you sign them up. Or, if you don’t have access, be sure to fill out this information on a church signup card, and give the completed church signup cards to one of your church’s Study leaders or your Bible school coordinator so that these can be officially recorded on BibleStudyOffer.com.
Finally, at homes where you find no one home, leave a tract or display card in the door jam or on the front porch (do not leave tracts inside the mailbox—this is illegal in the United States).
- Mailings – One of the quickest ways to find potential Bible study interests is to do a BibleStudyOffer.com large postcard mailing to homes around your church. Call Seminars Unlimited at 817-641-3643to order a mailing. This can be done by zip codes, mail routes, or by choosing a radius around your church (by distance or quantity). You can also order a supply of large postcards from Seminars Unlimited with the address area left blank. These can then be hand-addressed and mailed to church interests or inactive members.
- Mass Advertising – If you really want to increase awareness of BibleStudyOffer.com, kick off a mass advertising campaign complete with billboards, radio ads, and Internet or social media advertising. Multiple methods of advertising tend to give more credibility to the ministry in your area and increase interest significantly. We currently have two radio ads, one 13-second ad and one 30-second ad, available for download. COMING SOON, we will have a standard highway billboard graphic (14’ x 48’) and other free graphics available for download as well.
