Bible Clusters

1. Start with those you know. Would your friends, family or someone else you know be interested in having a conversation with you around Scripture? Remember: Bible Clusters are not just for "religious people." Everyone is welcome—all backgrounds, beliefs, and perspectives.
2. It’s ok to start small. If you have 3 people, then that’s great! More? Great as well, but the optimal size is 6-8 people. Great conversation can happen in groups of every size. Remember, your main goal is to read the Scripture, talk about it and pray.
3. Choose a passage of Scripture to read and discuss. There are no right or wrong Scripture passages to choose from, and there are thousands of verses in the Bible. Do consider choosing a section of several verses that work together. If you plan to read a story that has a lot of names, dates and places in it, consider creating a reference tool like a slide show or pdf document you can share.
4. Choose a time and place that works best for your group. That may be a house, a reserved room in a library, a coffee shop, or restaurant. Because of the nature of working with artists around the world, Engage Art also meets virtually through Zoom, and this may be an option for you, as well. Plan on meeting for about an hour.
5. Open in prayer. When you gather, feel free to open in prayer to set the tone, calm hearts, and prepare to read. Then remind everyone of the ground rules: (1) be respectful of what others have to say, (2) all perspectives are welcome, and (3) have fun!
6. READ. Have someone read the Scripture out loud. Do not coerce people—many are not comfortable reading aloud. We recommend each person have the Scripture in front of them, either on their phones, a physical Bible, or a print out of the verses, because they will want to refer to the passage throughout the conversation.
7. TALK. Some good starting questions are: What stands out to you as you read this passage? What do you think God is saying in this Scripture? What do you feel when you read this passage?
8. Create space for everyone to speak. As the conversation continues, the goal is to have each person feel free to speak openly. Any points they’d like to discuss or any aspect of the Scripture they want to highlight is fair game. Be sure no one person dominates the conversation—this is part of your job as the facilitator. (See more about facilitators below.) Be sure to equally welcome those who have studied the Bible for decades and those who are totally new to Scripture.
9. PRAY. Be mindful of timing. We recommend that Bible Clusters last 1 hour. Once the discussion comes to a close, pray. You should begin with a short, casual, heartfelt prayer referencing the Scripture, the conversation, and asking God for help to understand Him and His Word better. It is important for you to model how to talk with God, because for some people, this will be the first time they’ve heard a prayer that doesn’t include Thee and Thou. NOTE: This prayer is not about prayer requests from the group, world events, or individual concerns.
10. Meet again. Choose another time and date to meet. Ideally, choose a consistent time and place to make scheduling easier for everyone. Engage Art Bible Clusters are currently the last Tuesday of each month at 9pm EDT on our Artist Facebook Group.
11. Have fun. Be sure to have fun! Sometimes there’s a misconception that when we gather around God’s Word we have to be boring and solemn. Respectful of God and one another, yes! But not boring. We are reading about the Creator of all creators, and so there’s nothing boring there! Enjoy the time of connecting with others, hearing them, sharing your thoughts and learning.

We recommend that you explore additional resources for Bible Clusters here. These resources were produced by Pastor David Ingrassia (the creator of Bible Clusters) and the team at Charlotte Awake.