For Leaders
Leading Exploring the Bible: The Dickinson Series
Step right in--the water's fine. Leading Exploring the Bible: The Dickinson Series is easier than you think!
Our group leaders are not necessarily the ones with the most Bible knowledge. Anyone who can help create and maintain a loving and judgment-free atmosphere will be an ideal group leader for Exploring the Bible: The Dickinson Series. The Student Text provides the information and your Leader's Guide tells you how to prepare and what to do for every minute of every session.
Here are some common questions about group leadership for the Exploring the Bible courses. Don't see your question here? Contact us.
- Who can lead a group?
- My Bible knowledge is sketchy. Can I still do it?
- What records do I need to keep or submit?
- Does my church or sponsoring organization need to pay a fee?
- Will you help me recruit a class?
Be sure to also check our FAQ.
If you have ever led a group, used a curriculum, or taught a class of any size, you should have no trouble picking up one of the detailed Leader's Guides and running with it. Each course has its own Leader's Guide with step-by-step instructions for both preparation and in-class activities. The introduction to each Leader's Guide has tips on how to put a group together, how to deal with difficult class members, sample advertising blurbs, and more. On the Amazon page for the Leader's Guide for What Is the Bible? you can click on "Look Inside" and see for yourself.
My Bible knowledge is sketchy. Can I still do it?
In a word, yes. The Bible knowledge necessary for the course is in the materials. Just follow the step-by-step Leader's Guide and you'll be fine. Will there be questions asked that you can't answer? Without a doubt. One of the things you'll learn from the texts is that there are plenty of questions that even the most credentialed scholars or faith-filled pastors can't answer. When you wade into religious waters, even if only in academic study, you will find that you end up with more questions than you started with. But your Leader's Guide and Student Text explain what to do with those more difficult questions and how you can still allow your students to learn and go away hungry for more, even when you don't have all the answers. Which you won't.
What records do I need to keep or submit?
If you have a group of only informal students, then you will only need two things: The evaluation forms (both student and facilitator) and the Certificates of Participation for whichever course you are leading. They can all be downloaded from the Forms page, and the evaluations are also in the back of the Student Text (student evaluation) and Leader's Guide (facilitator's evaluation). Time is allotted to fill out evaluations in the outline for the final session in all courses and instructions for submission are in each Leader's Guide.
There is also time in that last session to celebrate the accomplishment of your students. For all informal students you can just download the Certificate of Participation for whatever course you're doing (again, on the Forms page), fill it out and give it to them. We don't need copies or records.
Does my church or sponsoring organization need to pay a fee?
No. There is no fee to start using the material in your church, school, or community. Purchase the books on Amazon and go.
Some churches, schools or organizations might provide their own credit, which is fine and requires no fee to us as long as those groups are not asking for a fee. However, if a school or other organization is using our course material and granting credit for a fee, they should contact us about whether a licensing agreement is needed. No licensing is needed for a school or seminary to simply use one of the student books as a text for a class. But if you are using our complete material, including the lessons in the Leader's Guide, and receiving money from students to take those courses, licensing may be appropriate.
Will you help me recruit a class?
In the back of each Leader's Guide are some sample advertising blurbs that you can adapt for your situation to advertise the course. The introductory material in the Leader's Guide also has some tips for putting together a group. Soon you will be able to upload your course information on this website so that those seeking a course in their area can find you.
