Community Bible Study

Every Community Bible Study Class begins with prayer. The first step in developing a class is to begin an informal community prayer group comprised of people from various church backgrounds who desire a Bible study in their area. The group should pray for the Lord’s will in starting a class and for the following leaders: a Teaching Director, an Associate Teaching Director, a Coordinator, and a Children’s Director (for classes that plan on offering a Children’s Ministry). All those involved should feel called by the Lord to launch the new class. The group will meet regularly to pray and may begin an informal Bible study when appropriate.

A CBS Area Director or Area Representative will be in touch with the group to provide support and direction. When the Area Director feels the group is ready and when the key leaders, who must come from different churches, have been identified they will be recommended for Leadership Training which is hosted twice a year in Colorado Springs, CO.

Before the team attends Training, the Area Director will also determine if the locality will be able to meet the CBS requirement of 60 class members. It is not necessary to have 60 members before the team attends Training but there must be the potential to reach this goal. After the class begins there is a grace period to build the attendance numbers. If this criterion is met and the leaders are approved by the Area and the Regional Director, they will attend Leadership Training. At the conclusion of Training, the team will be commissioned and will return home to continue the process of starting a class by:

 Selecting a church facility to host the class
 Holding informational events to interest prospective class members
 Training Core Leaders and Children’s Teachers
 Beginning to meet as an official Community Bible Study Class

If you would like to know more about beginning a CBS class in your community, you may request an Information Kit by clicking here to e-mail the Ministry Service Center. The kit contains materials on Community Bible Study, the CBS Children’s Ministry, samples of the adult and children’s lessons, and a list of study courses. You will also find a sample of our It’s in the Book lessons which are excellent for small group studies and used by many CBS Prayer Groups as their preliminary Bible study. You may order It’s in the Book lessons on our website at www.communitybiblestudy.org under the CBS Marketplace tab.

After you have had an opportunity to review the materials in the Information Kit, you will receive a follow up call or email to discern your interest level in beginning a CBS class. If there is continuing interest, an Area Director will be assigned to assist you with the process of starting a class. This article is also posted on our Community Bible Study website under the “Ministries & Courses” tab for your convenience. We are eager to serve and encourage you as together we seek God’s will for another strong and vibrant CBS class!

Click here for current Prayer Groups available or Select a state below for existing classes