What’s the Deal With Personal Study Guides?

Not to be confused with MSG (bad), PSGs (good) are an essential discipleship tool for small groups. The PSG (Personal Study Guide) is an important part of the group Bible study experience.

It sounds self-serving, I know, because I work for a Christian publisher that creates PSGs for its Bible studies. But even before I went to work for Lifeway, I was what Ken Blanchard would describe as “a raving fan”—a raving fan of PSGs. In fact, I was such a big fan that every kid, student, adult, and guest in my Sunday School received a PSG. Here are four reasons why PSGs are a good idea:

1. Discipleship doesn’t take a day off. You know as well as I do that people attend Bible studies sporadically. People are often present one week, then absent the next two weeks. But if that person has a PSG, they can continue to read, study, and respond to God’s Word between Bible study sessions. Just because the person is absent doesn’t mean they should take time off from being immersed in God’s Word!
2. The group experience is better with PSGs. Having a PSG before the group meets for Bible study makes it possible for group members to read and study ahead. They can jot down questions, respond to statements made by the author, and mark words or phrases for which they need more clarification. Coming into a group Bible study “warmed up” helps every member get into the Bible study. PSGs give group members plenty of material to jog their thinking, challenge their understanding, and apply biblical principles to their lives.
3. The PSG helps guests fit in. Savvy churches are handing out PSGs at their guest centers and in their small groups. When a person fills out a guest information card, they are handed a PSG. The PSG is theirs to keep, whether or not they attend a group. Having PSGs at greeter stations sends a healthy signal that the church cares for its members and guests, invests financially in people’s spiritual growth, and raises expectations about what will take place in the Bible study groups. It’s difficult to get visitors to attend a Bible study group; fear of the unknown often keeps some people away. But having a PSG in advance puts the guest on a level playing field with every other member of the group.
4. The financial investment is fantastic. A PSG produced by my company costs approximately $2.65 per person. Before you say “that’s a lot of money” (because you may be purchasing them for hundreds of people), consider this: each PSG contains 13 complete Bible studies. By doing the math, this means each session costs $.20!

There is no other resource to help people mature in their daily walk and nothing more economical to create better group experiences than the Personal Study Guide.

Ken Braddy is manager of Lifeway’s ongoing Bible studies. He leads a weekly Bible study group at his church, and blogs daily about Sunday School at kenbraddy.com.