Starting a Campus Bible Study
Forward	Has God put on your heart to start a Bible Study on your college or high-school campus, or even in your home? Whether you are a student or a working professional, these following tips may help you go - and grow on your way!
Pray - Establish a Vision	Psalms 127:1 says, "Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain." This scripture indicates that any ministry that is not birthed by God is pointless. And even if it does thrive, it will require mass amounts of human energy and strength to sustain it. In other words, a "ministry" will be a "misery" if it is started by the flesh. (In the Bible, the flesh speaks of human impure motivations, lusts, weaknesses!) Thus, flesh will ultimately be its sustaining factor, and the ministry will ultimately die and disgrace you, the Lord, and even disgust other people! So pray! When God gives you the vision and anoints you with the empowerment of His Spirit, and when He is the source of the momentum and the One who blesses the work of your hands, then you cannot fail! Not even Satan can stop the ministry! Therefore once you pray and receive a vision and strategy from God, commit it to writing. It doesn't have to be absolutely perfect, but serve as a blueprint, as God is constantly and progressively speaking to us. Habakkuk 2:2 says "And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it." Here in this verse, it shows that by writing it on paper, you have the opportunity to inspire others with it.
Check the Laws	In some schools, prayer or religious assembly is prohibited or forbidden, unless it is initiated by a student. Gather all your facts. If worse came to worse, then have the Bible Study off-site instead of being on the campus. Find out what the rules of the campus are (as applicable). It may also be a good Christian witness to be in good standing with the Dean of the school, or the Director of the Student Union, or facilities manager. These people may be the ones arranging for your room. If you become an excellent ministry and come across to people as an outstanding student and contributor to the campus, you might get to keep that room on a long term basis, year after year, benefiting future generations and semesters of students! Some school laws or rules are inhibitive of the preaching of the Gospel. We can still be a positive and effective witness operating within these limits. Do not directly violate these rules to "preach the Gospel" as this communicates that Christians are law/rule-breakers and have no consideration for due process!
Secure Your Church Support	Make sure that you are in constant communication with your Pastor in this regard. He gives an account for you as a shepherd and pastor over you. He is your covering and keeps you in prayer, and counsels you when you are down, and wages warfare in prayer to protect you against spiritual attack. Ultimately, you represent your church. Therefore there needs to be a solemn agreement in terms of your conduct and character, because if you convey anything negative, it reflects badly on your church!
Form a Core Group	As indicated prior, Habakkuk 2:2 says "And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it." Here in this verse, it shows that by writing it on paper, you have the opportunity to inspire others with it. When you draft a vision statement - a statement of purpose - it makes it easier for your Core Group or Ministry Team to support you. It also helps promote unity. A lack of rules promotes anarchy which can tear your core team up before you start. A Core Group is a bunch of committed regulars who are in agreement with the vision and direction of the Bible Study, whereas a Ministry Team is a group of people working with you, able to minister in tandem with you - able to "dance" with you, so to speak. These two distinctions can overlap. In fact, God wants us all to be able to minister in our everyday lives! The purpose of the Core Group is to establish the Bible Study and serve as a solidifying unity so that no-one can overthrow the Bible Study or turn it in a direction that is not in agreement with the vision statement of the Bible Study.
Determine a Program	Find a program that is Bible-based and not denominationally limiting. Foundational material such as those by Campus Crusade for Christ are an excellent example. Be very sure (especially if you're the kind called to preach) that you don't alter the program to insert your own agenda. I once didn't bring the material by accident, and thus improvised. The Lord blessed that study very well. However, the next week I decided to "preach" my own agenda, and it began to turn the group off! People can grow upset if there is no sense of continuity. If it's a 12-chapter course, people will feel a sense of accomplishment once they reach the end of the program! The feeling and sense of graduating is important for all of us. When you add people, do not allow the number of guests to exceed the size of the Core Group until you have been strongly established! If you don't follow this guideline, you are setting yourself to be vulnerable of being overthrown or the Bible Study going in a different direction than you are capable of managing. Your ability to maintain order is paramount. Let's say you have a core group of four people. Then invite three guests. Then those three join your fellowship, and now you have seven. Then invite six people. If the join, you are now thirteen people and can handle twelve. Let me give you an example. We had a core group of four people, and we had three guests. One of those guests were people of New Age influence. They contributed their opinions, many of which were non-Biblical, causing confusion, and loaded with New Age doctrine. It was a challenge having to shoot down everything they were saying, and yet maintain the flow of the Bible Study! We had a hard time with this one lady just sterring the whole Bible Study in her direction (she was quite possibly oblivious to the effects of her actions).
Characteristics of a Healty Group	Here are some qualities that you will want to maintain in your group: Prepare with Pre-Prayer - God is the one who anoints, blesses, empowers and flows through a Bible study with His presence. When His name is not magnified, the Bible study will feel all dried up! Come early and gather friends to pray 15-30 minutes or more before the Bible study begins. No prayer, no power! Praise and Worship - More than an "icebreaker" to start melting God's "Chosen Frosen", praise and worship truly brings God's presence among the group. In John 12:32, Jesus said, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." So lift Jesus high in exaltation and praise! Love and Welcome - There is a saying that goes like this: "People don't care how much you know. They want to know how much you care." Be sure to show Christ's love and welcome people at all times. Don't greet just the attractive people. Christ-Centered - If the focus is on Jesus Christ, then He'll make everything work out! Interaction - The more dynamic and two-way a group is, the better. Students often don't like being preached at. However, there is a thrill of discovery when they arrive at the answers themselves! Freebies - People like to have resources. Tracts. Training material. If you are, say, an official Bible Study Group for a particular international or national campus ministry, then this ministry might provide you with the materials, e.g. InterVarsity, Campus Crusade for Christ, etc. Also, potlucks - even free food - is a great idea! Activities - People like a sense of belonging. Find out some common interests, e.g. food - and have a gathering! Christ-Centered - If the focus is on Jesus Christ, then He'll make everything work out! Zero Condemnation and Legalism - Legalism is where people take the Bible as a law book and use it to beat you over the head and tell you how you don't measure up to their standards. Instead, it should be a mirror of introspection. The Holy Spirit's job is to convict, but when we as human beings take over God's job, we end up condemning and hurting people! If you need to confront someone who is in sin, do so in private and with love and gentleness! Take Turns Leading - If you are the primary leader of the group, just call yourself an "administrator" or "facilitator" out of humility. If you spot people who have caught the Fire, then given them an opportunity to lead a Bible study as the Lord leads! Practice Giftings - If a person's gifting is to play the guitar unto the Lord, by all means encourage that gift.