Going Virtual with Your Sunday School

We know there is nothing that replaces the face-to-face interaction that takes place in a Bible study group. The group you lead is your group and we (Lifeway) don’t want to replace you. Instead, we want to help you continue to lead your group and do it well even if you can’t meet face-to-face. 

If your church has decided to not meet in response to COVID-19, that does not mean you need to stop leading your group to study the Bible. Here are some ideas that may help you during these days. 

1. Use text to your advantage. Send everyone in the class a group text message and remind them to read the Bible passage to be studied along with the content in the Personal Study Guide. Set a time for teaching to take place and do it by group text. 
   1. Begin by posing the question at the beginning of the lesson (the one you would have used if you were meeting face-to-face). 
   2. Direct the group to read a Scripture passage section from the Personal Study Guide or Daily Discipleship Guide. 
   3. Give group members time to read, then send a follow-up question (use the questions in the group plans or the Personal Study Guide). 
   4. Allow members of your group to respond. Close with a challenge and encourage the group to begin to look at the next lesson or if using the Daily Discipleship Guide, direct them to complete the daily activities in the week ahead. 
2. Use Social media platforms to conduct a virtual class. Skype, FaceBook Live, GoToMeeting, and Zoom are some of the more common virtual platforms. Each have pros and cons, and each have limits to the number of people who can respond in real time. If you use FaceBook Live, encourage the group to post questions in the comments section. If you use Zoom, remind the group to either mute their personal video and audio or to be ready to be seen and heard by the rest of the group. 
   • You will need to create an account with the service you select and then use the tools in that service to invite the group to join you for that meeting, usually by email or cell number. 
3. Use Social media to foster discussion. Instead of going live on FaceBook, post a recording of you teaching a summary of the lesson, ending with a question or two to foster discussion (use the questions in the resources). You will want to make this a private group so the comments can be kept between the group. 
4. Email is a useful tool. Send a message to everyone in the group. Encourage them to review the Personal Study Guide or Daily Discipleship Guide by a specific time, and include three or four questions. Encourage the group to use “reply to all” in response to the questions. Share prayer needs in the same way.