Your "I Will" and What's Next

That’s the whole skill: the list carries the direction, so start where people are and move toward Jesus — borrow a proven list or build one with the four rules, and don’t wait for perfect. Now make it real.

“I will start (or finish drafting) a list for ______ before ______.”

A name and a date — an idea with no name and no date produces nothing. Then take your list to a real group. If you haven’t learned the DBS cycle itself yet, start there. You can also browse ready-made plans in our Bible Study Plans collection.

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Keep this: Choosing & designing Bible study plans

The four rules

1. Audience first — decide who the group is and where they start before picking any verse.
2. Short & story-shaped — 10–20 verses, narrative, easy to retell (so the eat step works).
3. A sequence toward Jesus — order the passages to lead somewhere: God, sin, Jesus as Savior.
4. Finish-able — 8–12 passages; each study completable in one 60–90 minute sitting.

The two-question test (use on every passage)

① Could this group retell it? ② Can each study finish in an hour? — If not, shorten or swap.

Borrow before you build — proven lists

List	Who it’s for	Start with
Progressive Evangelism (12)	Almost anyone; scales 1 → 12	The prodigal son (Luke 15:11–24)
The Whole Story: Creation to Jesus (15)	Seekers / the whole story of God	Creation (Gen 1:1–31)
Stories of Hope (9)	Hurting or searching people	Jesus heals and calls Matthew (Mark 2:1–17)
The Commands of Christ (10)	New believers ready to obey	Repent & believe (Mark 1:14–15)
Identity in Christ (5)	Maturing believers	A new creation (2 Cor 5:17–21)
Felt-need packs (8 each)	An entry through a felt need	Courage · Love · Obedience · Peace
Whole-book study	Established / maturing groups	Mark, Acts, Philippians, John

When unsure which to use, ask one question: who is this group, and where are they starting from? You don’t need a perfect list — “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth” (1 Corinthians 3:6–7). Keep it simple, keep it short, and start.