How to lead an interactive group discussion

Your goal:
To lead an interactive group discussion (dialogue) about a passage of the Bible (or a reading
assignment from some book). Your task is to guide this group discussion using good and simple
questions, summarizing and drawing conclusions, and encouraging applications. Please
understand that your task is to lead an interactive discussion (not to preach or give a speech).
Make it your goal to get everyone to participate. As the group discussion facilitator, you want to
encourage each participant to share what they have learned and observed from their homework
assignment that week. The value of a group discussion is that it helps each participant to clarify
and to understand what they have read or studied at home, and to apply this to their life, family,
and ministry. The great challenge for you as the group discussion facilitator is to keep the
discussion on track, to keep it simple, and to encourage good understanding on the part of every
participant. This means that you will need to prepare good questions beforehand, and during the
group discussion time you will need to clarify if anything is not clear and to summarize the main
points.

Process:
Prepare the following questions beforehand:
1. Hook: Come up with a good “hook” to introduce the topic. A “hook” identifies a need or
problem that we all face, related to the topic we have studied. The “hook” will help to create a
sense of need so that the participants will want to find a solution to a problem related to the
topic.
2. Book or Bible Passage: Come up with a few good questions so that the participants will
understand the main content of the text. We want the participants to understand what the
author has written, what this means, and how we could or should apply it to our lives, families,
and ministries.
Ideas for good Questions:
a. What are key words the author used. How would you define these words?
b. What did the author say about...?
c. What impacted you most about what the author said?
d. When the author said this (___), what do you think he was trying to communicate?
e. With what you just said (summarize what he said) -- ask a follow up question.
f. Are you all in agreement with (some point) ...?
g. What is the author’s main point or central message in this passage, paragraph, or
chapter?
3. Personalize: Identify Principles and Appications
a. How does this apply to our situation or context?
b. Do you all agree with this point?
c. Does someone have an example of this in your own life or ministry?
d. What are some principles we can use for our own lives, families, churches?

Important:
1
Your purpose is to lead a discussion, NOT TEACH A CLASS !! Please do not tell the group
everything you have learned (don’t preach or give a speech)!! Your task is to lead a group
discussion in which EVERYONE participates! As the group facilitator, you should not speak more
than 10% of the entire time. Understand that your main task is to ask good questions and to
summarize what the participants have said. A good group discussion facilitator needs to let his
“inner teacher” die!!

Example of good discussion questions for “Manual: Guide To

Biblical Interpretation”
1. Hook:
What benefit is there in studying the Bible?

2. Book:
a. What was the truth in Part 1 most impacted you?
b. What is the greatest danger for those of us who serve in the church if we do not study the
Bible? Why?
c. What does “hermeneutics” mean? What is the importance of using good hermeneutics in
studying the Bible? What are dangers if we do not interpret the Bible correctly?
d. What are the greatest difficulties you have had being motivated to study the Bible?
e. What does it mean that the Scripture is not only true, but also “sufficient” ?

3. Personalize:
a. Name one important thing you have learned from this study for your life and/ or ministry.
b. What is your personal conviction about the importance of being a life-long student of God’s
Word?
c. What will I put into practice in my life and ministry as a result of this study?