Rachel-Ruth Wright’s study group has gone through the book of Genesis and has begun the book of Exodus. I have personally enjoyed being part of this group in the past and can recommend it to other homeschooling moms (or women of any age/stage). I thought I would write a short blog post about it to tell you more!
If you cannot attend the “live”, replays of Rachel-Ruth’s message portion are available to watch.) To be a part of this group, you need to register (free). (But if you just want to watch the replays, these are open to anyone from the AnGeL Ministries website.)
I feel that this time period and format offers great flexibility to homeschool moms since they can listen in while their children continue working on schoolwork or children nap or over lunch, depending on what time zone they live in. (Most of us are muted all the time unless we choose to speak briefly in answer to a question. The group is large enough so that most people do not end up speaking but can simply enjoy listening in.)
Why?
I wanted to find a good Bible study online that would be an encouragement and opportunity for spiritual growth for homeschooling moms, including those with littles or new to Christianity or juggling their own business or wanting something to do with an older daughter or simply unable to be part of a women’s Bible study group in-person.
I recognize that the homeschool life can feel overwhelming and isolating at times, especially in the recent years of societal changes of covid concerns. But sometimes a mother is unable (for a variety of reasons) to attend a local Bible study group at her church with friends. Perhaps there is none meeting at a time when she is available (e.g. she looks after children during the weekday hours and puts them to bed at night). Some in my web audience have these challenges.
A local study might meet at a time of day when it is too busy for “mom the teacher”, or be a far distance too exhausting to travel to.
Sometimes, there is no women’s Bible study in a mom’s geographical area. (Canada is a vast country. There are many places where families live, some of them rural or remote. Churches may have few people attending and some communities have no church.)
In-person groups are, of course, preferred. Yet while some churches and adult Sunday School classes might offer a theologically-solid women’s Bible study group, in some localities, this isn’t the situation.
As a Christian mom, I wanted to find something already in place that I could recommend, something that could work well alongside the busy life of a homeschooling mom! So I tried it out.
Why It’s Good for Moms
Although a good, local in-person Bible study is a preference of mine, in situations when that isn’t an option or if someone wants an additional Bible study group, Rachel-Ruth’s online group can be a true blessing!
- “Homework” is very short! Basically, you go through 2 to 6 Bible verses per week for homework, answering 3 questions. The questions are always the same. (Rachel-Ruth covers a few chapters most lessons in her lecture/message time, giving background and cross-referencing but our homework is, as mentioned, very short, for reading and writing. I appreciate this characteristic of her study since most of my Bible reading time is still with my children and with them, we’re often going through larger portions together. This study doesn’t take a lot of “preparation time”.) I also like that her speaking is quite informal, not in perfect grammar, but rather, just like many of us, she throws in run-on sentences and little stories (even though her content remains well organized and easy to take notes from).
- The method of study is simple yet can be also in-depth. It’s a good method for new believers in Christ as well as older believers. You can view her mom, Anne’s videos of the method used at this link or read about it at this link. The weekly downloadable page looks very similar week-to-week and is in a chart format (which is nice for visual learners). (I personally tend to write notes in my Bible margin much more than making other kinds of notes but still, the format of having a sheet of paper is helpful to many people.)
- It’s free! (I was hoping for either free or inexpensive since I know the moms don’t always allow much of a budget to spend on resources for herself.) The group meets over Zoom.
- It promotes unity among Christian women – I believe that godly unity is a unity of a “shared doctrine”, not necessarily “shared experiences”.
- What I mean by this is that Christian unity should be based on agreeing on the same theology for the essential doctrines of faith, not just meeting because we share a similar lifestyle or culture.
- For a Bible study, I’d rather be in a group with others who are unified on basic doctrine compared to just in a group based on all being the same age or just a particular educational choice because, I think hearing of a variety of ways God is working in people’s lives can be a strength.
- And in this regard, Rachel-Ruth’s Bible study has women from all ages (teen to senior), different situations (single, married, moms, grandmas, homeschoolers and not), and from a variety of cultural backgrounds. (The women who meet together represent a variety of countries around the world, including Canada; this isn’t just a group of Americans so as a Canadian, I’m definitely not the only one living outside of that country.)
- At the same time, I also appreciate that Rachel-Ruth is part of my generation and is also a mom.
- The Bible is upheld as God’s truth for us today by the teacher. While no group leader is perfect, I appreciate the desire of Rachel-Ruth and her more-known family members, to stand for and proclaim God’s truth, whether it is an easy message to hear or one which challenges people. On the “About Our Faith” page at the bottom, we’ve linked to ministries associated with her mom, Anne Graham Lotz, and of her grandfather, Billy Graham. Rachel-Ruth continues in her own expression, in that same faith.
If you are interested in joining this Bible study, you can find the information to do so at the website of AnGeL Ministries. (Full Disclosure: This is not an affiliate link. It is my personal recommendation for women seeking a good online Bible study where they can grow in their faith in God.)
