Family Group Bible Studies

The BCM is making some major changes for the school year 2011-12. One of those changes is the way that we structure our small groups. We've asked and listened to many students about what they would like about the current set up and what they would like to see differently. We've decided to change the structure of small groups for several reasons and believe this is the direction that the Spirit is calling us.

We are going to switch from single gender small groups to coed small groups. We are looking forward to seeing students challenge each other in this environment. There will still be opportunity for the groups to split into single gender to meet for Bible study and/or prayer. We desire to see accountability and maybe even some smaller discipleship groups form out of the larger group. The groups will have both a male and a female leader who will serve as facilitators of the discussion, will give different view points and give each gender a chance to learn from the other.

We are hoping to pair a couple from the local community with each group. We pray that pairing a couple with each group will bring new wisdom and a chance for connecting and discipleship within our community. Our desire is for the couple to occasionally host the group in their home and to serve as mentors to the group as a couple.

We are planning to continue to have Freshmen Mentors placed into each group. This is something that we began incorporating last year. The goal of the Freshmen Mentors is to help freshmen become acclimated to college. They will achieve this by inviting them to a meal, to attend events at the B and on campus, take them out for coffee, etc. This position will end near the end of September, obviously however the Freshmen Mentors can continue to invest in the freshmen.

As a staff we are very excited about this change. We look forward to seeing how the Lord is going to use this change to help us equip the believers involved in our ministry and to reach the non-believers on our campus. Pray for us as we begin to interview students for these positions.