The It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way video study is designed to be experienced in a group setting, such as a Bible study, Sunday school class, or any small group gathering. To ensure everyone has enough time to participate in discussions, it is recommended that large groups break up into smaller circles of four to six people each after the video is viewed.
Each participant should have her own copy of this study guide, as well as her own copy of the book It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way. This study guide contains notes for video segments, directions for activities, discussion questions, and personal studies that will deepen learning between group sessions. This study guide also tells which chapters of the book should be read before each group session. You will dig deeper into the book in the personal studies between group sessions.
The time notations—for example, 20 minutes—indicate the actual time of video segments and the suggested times for each activity or discussion.
Noting the suggested times in bold with the section heading will help you to complete each session within the time frame your group has available.
If your group meets for two hours, you will probably be able to cover all of the questions even in the longer sections. You will also have time for the optional activities. If your group meets for 90 minutes, you may need to omit the optional activities and decide how long you can spend on each of the other sections.
You may also opt to devote two meetings rather than one to each session. In addition to allowing discussions to be more spacious, this option has the added advantage of allowing time to discuss the personal studies and the chapters of the book. In the second meeting for each session, devote the time allotted for watching the video to discussing participants’ insights and questions from their reading and personal study.
Each group should appoint a facilitator who is responsible for starting the video and for keeping track of time during discussions and activities. Facilitators may also read questions aloud and monitor discussions, prompting participants to respond and ensuring that everyone has an opportunity to participate.
A brief leader’s guide for each session is enclosed with the DVD of the video.