Heart and soul

Last Updated:June 23. 2009 8:58PM
Published: June 24. 2009 3:30AM

For those seeking a better understanding of the Bible, the Community Bible Study might be for you.

Soon to begin its 24th year in the Shoals, the group sees its mission as bringing women together for fellowship while deepening their spiritual life.

While the group meets at Woodmont Baptist Church in Florence, it is not tied to any one denomination.

“This group crosses many barriers,” says Sue Gaston, assistant teaching director for the group. “We cross age, race, denomination, economic status and the river.”

One of the ways the group accomplishes this is by keeping the discussions centered on the Biblical text and not on individual church doctrines.

“The only essential for Community Bible Study is faith in Christ,” says Pam Wright, teaching director. “We just stick to the Scriptures.”

Both Gaston and Wright stress that the Bible study is not intended to replace church in anyone’s life.

“We are not in competition with any church,” Gaston says. “We want people to attend church.”

The Bible study covers one book of the Bible a year. Sessions are centered around the school year, beginning in late August and ending 30 weeks later in the spring. In 2008, the Bible study tackled Revelations. This year, it will examine Genesis.

Participants are given a study book, which includes daily devotionals and readings, Wright says. Then each Wednesday, the women meet. The Bible study, which lasts about two hours, starts with singing, a devotional and announcements. Then members break up into small “core” groups, where they talk about the week’s lessons.

Core groups, Wright says, are one of the essentials of the study, as it allows the women to build relationships with other members. Members are assigned to a group and stay in that group for the year. The groups are formed, Gaston says, so that each has a mix of women from age, denomination and location.

After the core groups have met, the women come back together for a lecture and conclusion of the lesson.

“The lecture brings out more of a life application for the lesson,” Wright says.

She says the goal each week is for “every person to leave with something — how the Scripture applies to me today.”

And occasionally, the women have lunch as part of the week’s program.

The lessons, which are designed by the organization’s home office in Colorado, are systematic and organized, Wright says.

“I could not believe how easy it was,” she says, adding that “like anything in the world, the more you put in to it, the more you will get out of it.”

Community Bible Study also offers classes for children of participants. This gives mothers of preschool-age children the ability to attend the study, and gives the children activities to participate in as well. This past year, the Bible study had 255 women involved, with 45 children attending as well.

The class costs $25 for registration, plus a $60 materials fee. There is a $5 fee for each child, with a $10 maximum per family.

If you don’t have the money, don’t let the cost deter you. The fee can be waived, Gaston says, all you need to do is ask. The group says they won’t turn anyone away.

Wright says women join the Bible study for many reasons, to deepen their spiritual life and even to meet other women.

“I came to make a friend,” Wright says. “But I received so much more than that.”