Don’t preach. Ask questions.
God is on mission to reconcile all things to Himself, and He invites us to be a part.
We join God’s mission. We discover and walk in our identity as ambassadors of Christ. And we make an eternal impact.
But how do we make an eternal impact?
We make an eternal impact by making and multiplying disciples.
Watch the Video
In this video, I explain the basic Discovery Bible Study questions and how they help disciples make disciples.
Watch the video here:
Don’t preach. Ask questions.
One simple way to begin is by sharing your testimony with someone and then asking:
“Can I share a story about what God is doing?”
If they say yes, you can share a Bible story and begin a simple question-and-answer group.
That is the heart of Discovery Bible Study.
You share a Bible story. Then you ask questions.
This is very important: we don’t preach; we facilitate.
Why Discovery Questions Matter
Many people hear the Word of God, but not everyone responds in obedience.
James says:
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”
— James 1:22
Discovery Bible Study questions help people move from simply hearing the Bible to discovering, obeying, and sharing God’s Word.
In a Discovery Group, the facilitator is not the center. God’s Word is the center.
The goal is not to show how much we know. The goal is to help people listen to God’s Word and respond.
The Basic Discovery Bible Study Questions
After you share a Bible story, ask these simple questions:
1. Do you like this story?
This question helps people begin responding naturally. It gives them permission to talk about what stood out to them.
2. What do you find difficult about this story?
This helps people honestly wrestle with the story. Sometimes the most important conversations begin with what feels difficult, surprising, or uncomfortable.
3. What do you find hard to understand in this story?
This gives people freedom to ask real questions. It also helps the group return to the story and look carefully at what the Bible actually says.
4. What does this story tell us about God?
This is one of the most important questions because the Bible is first of all revealing God.
We want people to discover who God is, what He is like, what He desires, and what He is doing.
5. What does this story tell us about people?
This question helps us see ourselves clearly.
Bible stories reveal human need, sin, faith, fear, obedience, rebellion, repentance, and our need for God’s grace.
The Two Most Important Questions
All the questions matter, but two questions are especially important because they move the group from discussion to discipleship.
6. How are you going to obey what you just learned?
You can also ask:
What does this story tell us that we ought to do?
How can I apply this to my life?
This question matters because Jesus did not command us only to hear His Word. He calls us to obey.
Jesus said:
“…teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”
— Matthew 28:20
Discovery should lead to obedience.
7. Who are you going to share this story with?
This question moves the group toward multiplication.
The person does not need to know everything. They can simply share the story they just heard with someone else.
That is how God’s Word begins to spread from person to person, home to home, and group to group.
Disciples Who Make Disciples
Paul told Timothy:
“What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.”
— 2 Timothy 2:2
That is multiplication.
Whatever I teach you, you teach others.
That is the simple principle behind Discovery Bible Study. When you are discipling someone, you can say:
“I will share this with you, but I am going to ask you to share this with someone else.”
Then when you meet again, you ask:
“Did you share what you learned with somebody else?”
This builds loving accountability into the group from the beginning.
In fact, we are already discipling someone even before they become a Christian. They may not know everything yet, but they can say:
“Let me tell you the story I heard.”
From Hearing to Multiplication
Think about a normal church service.
Many people sit down, hear the Word of God, and then go home. But how many people are actually accountable to say:
“I am going to take what I heard, share it with somebody else this week, and come back and report who I shared it with.”
That kind of obedience and sharing changes everything.
It moves people from simply hearing the Word to obeying it and passing it on.
This is how disciples make disciples who make disciples.
This is multiplication.
And this is how we make an eternal impact.
What Comes Next
This post is part of a growing disciple-making pathway.
In the next post, we will look at practical Discovery Bible Study resources that can help you begin.
After that, we will begin walking through a simple Discovery Group format called:
Come. Follow. Fish.
This format is based on Jesus’ words:
“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
— Matthew 4:19
Through the Come. Follow. Fish. lessons, we will learn how to gather with others, discover God’s Word, obey Jesus, and share His story with the people around us.
Join God’s Mission
God’s mission is not only for pastors, missionaries, or Bible teachers.
Every follower of Jesus is called to make disciples.
Start simple:
Share your testimony.
Ask if you can share a Bible story.
Ask discovery questions.
Help people obey what God shows them.
Encourage them to share with someone else.
That is how disciples make disciples who make disciples.
That is multiplication.
And that is how we make an eternal impact.
Learn more and receive future disciple-making resources:
https://godonmission.org
Related resource:
Discovery Bible Study Resources — Coming Soon
Partner with us in God’s mission:
https://globeintl.org/members/greg/