How does a virtual Bible study work? What do we do each week?
Before your first virtual session, make sure that you are comfortable with Ascension’s Thinkific online video platform as well as the video conferencing program you choose to use (Zoom, Google Meet, etc.). Practice “meeting” virtually with a friend ahead of time to learn how to use the controls, especially how to “mute” participants and how to put notes or a link in the “chat” feature.
During the first virtual group session, focus on helping your members feel welcome and comfortable with the virtual environment. Start with introductions or a simple icebreaker to get the conversation going. You will want everyone to be on “mute” unless they are speaking to the group—background noises are very distracting in a virtual group setting! You as the leader can mute those who can’t figure out the controls for themselves.
Set up your group protocol for speaking—is your group small enough that people can speak freely whenever they like? Or is it so big that you’d like them to raise their hand or use some other method of keeping order?
During that first session, consider “sharing your screen” and showing your group step-by-step how to log onto their Thinkific video account and view the study videos. Explain clearly what you’d like them to prepare for next week (usually, Video 1 on Thinkific).
After that, your weekly routine should include these elements:
- Home Preparation: Your participants should complete their at-home readings from Scripture and work on the study questions found in their workbook. Encourage everyone to complete as much as possible, but assure participants that they will still get a lot out of their study experience even if they can’t finish their homework each week. (This is particularly helpful for busy parents or working adults.)
- Virtual Group Meeting:
- Watch the Thinkific videos individually: First, your group members should log onto their own individual Thinkific accounts (online access is not included in adult Study Sets and must be added to your order) and watch the videos. This is better than streaming the video together on a platform like Zoom because there will be no lag time for viewers.
- Host a group discussion on your video conferencing platform (Zoom, Google Meet, etc.): Use your group “meeting” to do a little bit of fellowship (an icebreaker, or maybe highs and lows, or prayer intentions), and then dig into the discussion questions provided in your workbook.
To help with accountability, many virtual groups choose to say, “At 7:00 p.m. we are all logging onto our individual Thinkific accounts to view the videos, and at 7:30 p.m. we are jumping onto Zoom to do our group discussion.” In this way, you help your participants schedule time for the videos into their weekly preparation.