Discovery Bible Study

Discovery Bible Study (DBS)

Discipleship, inspiring one another to follow Jesus, is the heartbeat of The Chapel. At the centre of this is the use of DBS – allowing the Spirit of God to speak through the Word of God..

This is NOT an evangelism training programme! This is a process that will enrich your reading of the Bible and which can be used in evangelism/discipleship when opportunity presents. We are not here to cajole, manipulate or even convince others to believe what we believe. Instead we look for opportunities to introduce others to Jesus and to inspire them to follow him.

Usually when we talk about DBS, because it is such a simple methodology, many will question its effectiveness ‘long term’. A better question might be:

How well is the church doing at making disciples now?

Jesus said that making disciples involved ‘teaching them to obey everything’ he had commanded. (Matthew 28:19-20). Discipleship has little to do with Bible knowledge or theology… it has everything to do with obeying Jesus (God). DBS focuses on teaching the disciple obedience, and then helping the disciple discover what God wants them to do.

Traditionally, we have talked about ‘evangelism’ which leads to a ‘decision’ which is then followed by ‘discipleship’.

  • Evangelism has often involved a tool or a technique.
  • The Decision has often involved a specific prayer, confession or declaration.
  • Discipleship has often, at best, been a course of study .

The goal has been to reach those who are OUT and get them to decide to come IN. In the process we create a very clear sense of ‘them and us’ and we rejoice when we see the ‘task’ complete!

However, using DBS we shift our thinking so we see that, while there is still an IN and OUT, that is more a matter for the individual and God to work out. Our task is to recognise that people are either moving towards Jesus or away from Him. Our role is to discern where people are at in relation to Jesus, to discern what the Holy Spirit is doing in their life, and to do what we can encourage them to engage in process of exploration… reading the Bible, allowing the Spirit to speak to them, and encouraging them to act in obedience to what He is saying.

Our role is to encourage the search, not to teach. The expectation is that the Holy Spirit is at work, He will speak and He will honour His Word.

“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.”
John 16:13

“Taste and see that the Lord is good.”
Psalm 34:8

It is more important that a person learns to obey the Word they know than it is for them to simply know more of Word. Accountability is therefore a high value, as is being ready and able to pass on to others the things that they are learning.

Our desire is to see groups of people gathering to DBS in all sorts of times and places. We are looking to multiply two types of DBS group:

  • Discipleship Groups – focused on discipleship within the church
  • Discovery Groups – focused on discipleship within the community, on the Peninsula and beyond (see Your Town)

If you want to know more, please complete the contact form below.