Launching Men's Bible Reading Groups

OBC Men, here is a new opportunity for fellowship with your brothers in God's Word.

This last Saturday (April 6) at the Men’s Breakfast Pastor David led a discussion on the importance of reading the Bible, and reading the Bible in community with one another. If you missed this time, I encourage you to catch up by listening to the audio here.

This past month we surveyed the men of OBC about interest in participating in a men’s Bible study, and a significant number of you expressed a desire to participate. Given the varying availability through the week and the geographic spread, we’re working to cluster small groups of men together with the aim of launching Men’s Bible Reading Groups at the end of this month.

Small Groups for Bible Discussion and Prayer

Instead of a teacher/student format, our aim is that these groups would be places for mutual discussion and prayer, and we would keep the size of these groups relatively small (capped at five people). The general framework for these groups is based on David Helm’s short book One to One Bible Reading: A Simple Guide for Every Christian (Matthias Media, 2011). We have a case of these books, and we’re handing them out to all men who are interested. If you are hoping to participate in one of these groups, please grab a complimentary copy off of the OBC Bookshelf, and read it by the end of this month.

Connecting with Your Group

This week we will reach out to those who have completed the survey to connect you with the others who have shared similar availability. Once you connect, establish a regular meeting time/place that will work for you all, and have your first meeting on the last week of April to share your testimonies and get to know one another.

Our Reading Schedule

It is our intent by design for our Men’s Bible Reading Groups that we will walk through the same books of the Bible together. For May–July, we will read and discuss the Gospel of Mark. We will provide a reading schedule so you know what to read before each week’s meeting. In August, we will have a content break, in that we will still meet to discuss personal reading and pray for one another, but we won’t have an assigned text for that month. In September–November we will read and discuss Proverbs, followed by another content break for the month of December.

In conclusion, here’s next steps for you:

• If you haven’t completed the availability survey and would like to participate, please complete it here.
• Get a copy of David Helm’s One to One Bible Reading and read it by the end of the month. Copies are available at the OBC Bookshelf.
• If you completed the survey, you will receive an email connecting you with other guys with similar availability. Reach out to them and get together on the last week of this month to have your first meeting and to get to know one another, and you’ll begin the Gospel of Mark in the first week of May.

As you have questions, please reach out to Pastor David or myself.

Finally, please pray with us for the Lord’s blessing, that these groups would bring OBC’s men into fellowship together in God’s Word for the sake of mutual edification and encouragement, and that the Lord would be glorified in this endeavor.

Blessings in Christ,

Pastor Ben