why start a group of the 3x5 club in your church?
A Note from david kalas
A remarkably high percentage of church members have never read the Bible all the way through. That’s what research consistently shows. That is also what my own 40 years in the ministry revealed.
But here’s the thing: it’s not because they don’t want to!
In my experience, most Christians feel a very strong desire to read and to learn the Bible. Consciously or subconsciously, however, it feels to them like a bridge too far. They need help.
The 3x5 Club provides just the help that people are looking for and need!
I have led hundreds and hundreds of children, youth, and adults on a year-long journey through the Bible using The 3x5 Club. Not only has it proven to be immensely profitable for them at the moment, so many of them have reported to me years later that they are still using The 3x5 Club method for their individual Bible reading. If you offer to start and lead The 3x5 Club in your church or among your circle of friends, people will join you, and they will be grateful to you forever.
The 3x5 Club is a calendar year program, which appeals naturally to people’s desire to make New Year’s resolutions and to set goals for the coming year. The 3x5 Club makes reading the Bible feel manageable. It may seem like a big, long book to someone, but reading just three chapters every day doesn’t seem that big or that long. And when people find out what little effort is required each day in order to finish the Bible in one year, they are excited to take it on.
Click around the menus below to see how YOU can start a group at your local church.
But here’s the thing: it’s not because they don’t want to!
In my experience, most Christians feel a very strong desire to read and to learn the Bible. Consciously or subconsciously, however, it feels to them like a bridge too far. They need help.
The 3x5 Club provides just the help that people are looking for and need!
I have led hundreds and hundreds of children, youth, and adults on a year-long journey through the Bible using The 3x5 Club. Not only has it proven to be immensely profitable for them at the moment, so many of them have reported to me years later that they are still using The 3x5 Club method for their individual Bible reading. If you offer to start and lead The 3x5 Club in your church or among your circle of friends, people will join you, and they will be grateful to you forever.
The 3x5 Club is a calendar year program, which appeals naturally to people’s desire to make New Year’s resolutions and to set goals for the coming year. The 3x5 Club makes reading the Bible feel manageable. It may seem like a big, long book to someone, but reading just three chapters every day doesn’t seem that big or that long. And when people find out what little effort is required each day in order to finish the Bible in one year, they are excited to take it on.
Click around the menus below to see how YOU can start a group at your local church.
WHAT IS REQUIRED OF ME AS A LEADER OF A GROUP?
Think of yourself primarily as an encourager. Encourage people to join the group in the first place and to set an excellent goal for themselves for the coming year. Encourage the members to keep attending the group meetings throughout the year. Encourage people to keep up with their reading week after week. And when they’re together, encourage them to ask their questions and to help each other think through the answers.
People find that it is a powerful experience to be “on the same page” -- to know that the other group members are reading exactly the same thing you are every day, and then to be able to talk about it and experience it together.
People find that it is a powerful experience to be “on the same page” -- to know that the other group members are reading exactly the same thing you are every day, and then to be able to talk about it and experience it together.
HOW DO I START A GROUP?
Click the button below to download a handful of promotional material that we've created for you that you can use to advertise your new 3x5 Club group in your church!
These blurbs are meant for you to use in your church bulletin, newsletter, website, and on social media. Just be sure to give folks a way of indicating their interest so that you can follow-up with them about how to get started and about getting together as a group.
Remember: You are offering people an amazing opportunity -- one that will continue to pay dividends for them for the rest of their lives! Don’t be shy, therefore, about extending the invitation, both personally and publicly. Finally, once you have a group signed up, direct them to the homepage of the website (www.my.the3x5club.com) so that they can get themselves acquainted with the program and how to get started.
These blurbs are meant for you to use in your church bulletin, newsletter, website, and on social media. Just be sure to give folks a way of indicating their interest so that you can follow-up with them about how to get started and about getting together as a group.
Remember: You are offering people an amazing opportunity -- one that will continue to pay dividends for them for the rest of their lives! Don’t be shy, therefore, about extending the invitation, both personally and publicly. Finally, once you have a group signed up, direct them to the homepage of the website (www.my.the3x5club.com) so that they can get themselves acquainted with the program and how to get started.
HOW OFTEN ARE WE TO MEET?
You can convene your group with whatever regularity seems best to you and your group members. Some groups might meet monthly in order to touch base and reflect on what they’ve been reading, experiencing, and wondering during the month. Some groups might meet weekly, corresponding to the organization of the website, and reflecting together on each week’s material. And some groups might choose some virtual method for keeping in touch with each other every day as they do their daily reading.
Your group meetings can be highly structured or very casual. They can be a time to watch and discuss together the teaching videos on the website. They can be an occasion for taking the weekly quiz in The 3x5 Club Complete Book of Bible Quizzes and then walking through the review material together. Or they can be a time for open-ended discussion about what the group members have been reading and thinking.
Your group meetings can be highly structured or very casual. They can be a time to watch and discuss together the teaching videos on the website. They can be an occasion for taking the weekly quiz in The 3x5 Club Complete Book of Bible Quizzes and then walking through the review material together. Or they can be a time for open-ended discussion about what the group members have been reading and thinking.
BUT WHAT IF I DON'T HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS?
Sometimes people are intimidated by the prospect of starting and leading a Bible study group. They’re afraid that they have to be a good teacher or have all the answers. But that is not required of you to be a group leader for The 3x5 Club.
People are bound to have questions as they read, and it’s a good thing for them to bring their questions to the group. As a group leader, it will be important for you to help group members distinguish between questions that are matters of fact and questions that are matters of opinion or interpretation. For example, if someone asks, “How far was it that Mary and Joseph traveled when they went from Nazareth to Bethlehem?”, that is the sort of question that has a factual answer. If no one in the room happens to know the answer, it is at least the sort of information that can easily be researched and discovered.
On the other hand, if someone asks, “Were Mary’s mother and father still alive when she had the baby Jesus?”, that is also the sort of question that has a factual answer, but we don’t know the answer.
Meanwhile, if someone asks, “Why did Mary make the trip to see her relative Elizabeth?”, that is the sort of question for which the answer is a matter of opinion or interpretation. It can be very profitable to open up that sort of question to the group to let them discuss it together. Asking “What do you (plural) think?” is an excellent tool for a group leader to use!
People are bound to have questions as they read, and it’s a good thing for them to bring their questions to the group. As a group leader, it will be important for you to help group members distinguish between questions that are matters of fact and questions that are matters of opinion or interpretation. For example, if someone asks, “How far was it that Mary and Joseph traveled when they went from Nazareth to Bethlehem?”, that is the sort of question that has a factual answer. If no one in the room happens to know the answer, it is at least the sort of information that can easily be researched and discovered.
On the other hand, if someone asks, “Were Mary’s mother and father still alive when she had the baby Jesus?”, that is also the sort of question that has a factual answer, but we don’t know the answer.
Meanwhile, if someone asks, “Why did Mary make the trip to see her relative Elizabeth?”, that is the sort of question for which the answer is a matter of opinion or interpretation. It can be very profitable to open up that sort of question to the group to let them discuss it together. Asking “What do you (plural) think?” is an excellent tool for a group leader to use!
OK, I'M IN! WHAT RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE FOR US?
The 3x5 Club offers helpful companionship. When people are trying to read the Bible all on their own, they get easily discouraged and frequently give up. By being part of The 3x5 Club, however, they know that they are literally on the same page with a group of church friends. They have people with whom they can discuss what they’re reading and talk about their questions together. And they hold each other accountable and encourage one another.
The 3x5 Club offers more than just a method: it offers resources. Our website (www.my.the3x5club.com) provides everything an individual or group might need for a successful and meaningful year-long journey through the Bible:
The 3x5 Club offers more than just a method: it offers resources. Our website (www.my.the3x5club.com) provides everything an individual or group might need for a successful and meaningful year-long journey through the Bible:
- Monthly reading calendar bookmarks to help participants stay on track
- Weekly teaching videos to help explain the material
- Memory devices to help learn the material
- Inspiring quotes and reading tips to help encourage participants in their reading
- Catch-up calculators to help participants who fall behind
ARE THERE ADDITIONAL BIBLE READING RESOURCES?
Yes! Other available 3x5 Club resources include The 3x5 Club Complete Book of Bible Quizzes, The 3x5 Club Kids Activity Book, and The 3x5 Club Daily Journal.
The book of quizzes is a comprehensive workbook featuring a whole-Bible test, weekly quizzes, and helpful review material. This resource is a treasure for any group leader who wants to help people really learn the material together.
The activity book for kids is designed to help children stay connected to the Bible all through the year with weekly puzzles, coloring pages, and activities that are synchronized to the weekly reading assignments.
The daily journal is designed as a personal resource to help an individual reflect on what they are reading, apply it to their lives, and grow in their relationship with God.
The book of quizzes is a comprehensive workbook featuring a whole-Bible test, weekly quizzes, and helpful review material. This resource is a treasure for any group leader who wants to help people really learn the material together.
The activity book for kids is designed to help children stay connected to the Bible all through the year with weekly puzzles, coloring pages, and activities that are synchronized to the weekly reading assignments.
The daily journal is designed as a personal resource to help an individual reflect on what they are reading, apply it to their lives, and grow in their relationship with God.