Bible Study Fellowship/ BSF

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Prior MinistryWatch.com Shining Light ‘Top 30’ Exemplary Ministry. Previously listed from 2005 - 2007.

MinistryWatch.com desires to see overall giving to Biblical Christian values increase and as such we developed this format to highlight those ministries which are exemplary. The list is a sampling of the “best ministries” and outstanding examples when we consider Philippians 4:8 and weigh and take account of those ministries that are excellent and worthy of praise.

These ministries are called ‘Shining Lights’ because they are indeed models of letting their Christian light shine before men so that the Gospel may be proclaimed and God be glorified. Consequently, we are shining a figurative light on them so that donors may be aware of their good works and other ministries may learn from their examples.

While identifying the best ministries is challenging given the selfless work that so many do for the cause of Christ, MinistryWatch.com believes that the list of 30 excellent ministries will be helpful to many. Each of the ministries has the following important features in common:

• Legitimate nonprofit ministry and purpose.
• Have shown a willingness to treat donors fairly via a Transparency Grade of “A”.
• Are unashamed of being identified as an evangelical Christian ministry.
• MinistryWatch.com researchers knows of no significant issues that would be of concern to donors.

A high MinistryWatch.com Financial Efficiency Rating was not a requirement for inclusion on this list although most do have good ratings. Many factors were reviewed and strengths in other areas can offset weakness in financial efficiency when determining whether a ministry should be of interest to donors seeking to be good stewards of their giving. Only you can decide for yourself with confidence if a ministry shares your values and with your giving plan.

This is just another step in our mission of encouraging Christians to give more of their talents and resources to Kingdom-building efforts. In short, we wish to help spread the Gospel of Christ by helping Christians give more and more effectively to the works of the Lord. If the Lord uses our list as part of that process, we will have been a blessing to both those ministries who have been ‘good and faithful servants’ with the Lord’s resources and to Christian donors who are seeking to be good stewards of their giving.
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MinistryWatch.com’s Take
July 2003
By Andy Preslar, Research Fellow



Learning, Sharing, and Good Company
Bible Study Fellowship International (BSF) is a Christian ministry, which exists for the purpose of teaching interactive Bible classes for women, men, young people, and children. The goal of these classes is to help participants develop a vibrant relationship with God, and to train those who are called for a lifetime of leadership in ministry.

BSF classes meet on a weekly basis, and are structured to facilitate discussion and sharing among all participants. Students are not “spoon-fed” the Bible, but are encouraged to ask and answer questions about the text. During a BSF meeting, all students have the opportunity to relate what they have learned during the week. As the name implies, BSF is designed to be a source of Bible instruction, mutual sharing and edification, and good Christian fellowship.

How BSF Works
BSF does more than just facilitate discussions. A BSF class includes lectures by the Bible study leader (a trained lay-person) as well as lesson notes, printed at BSF headquarters and distributed to regular class participants at no charge. A BSF class, therefore, is a four-fold training program, consisting of: (1) questions for personal Bible study, (2) lively discussion groups (where participants share insights from their personal studies), (3) lectures with applications delivered by the leader, and (4) Printed notes on the passage just studied. BSF leaders are selected from among class participants. Those who are selected for leadership receive additional training in a separate weekly meeting. Eventually, such persons may become teaching leaders of another BSF class. BSF is, then, a lay Christian ministry, which trains other lay-persons for Christian leadership.

The main responsibility of a teaching leader in BSF is to guide a class through the seven-year study course. This seven-year study is comprised of the following courses: "Genesis," "Matthew," "The Life of Moses," "Romans," "John," "History of Israel and the Minor Prophets," and "The Acts of the Apostles." The goals of this study course include: (a) introducing people to Jesus Christ through his self-revelation in Scripture, (b) helping individuals develop the habit of daily Bible study, (c) helping people to relate their Bible study to daily life, and (d) equipping and motivating “individuals to contribute more effectively to the life and work of their churches.” Throughout the course, class members are given opportunities to take graduate seminars designed to help them put what they have learned to good use.

Who Can Participate?
BSF classes are held in local churches, which have invited BSF to use their facilities. BSF conducts the following classes:

• Daytime classes for women and their preschool children. These classes are far and away the most popular and well-attended Bible studies.
• Evening classes for women. These classes are next in popularity to the daytime women’s classes.
• Evening classes for men. Both the men’s and women’s evening classes offer concurrent programs for the children (ages 6-11) of adult class members.
• Evening classes for singles, men and women (ages 18-35). These classes have yet to really catch on, with relatively few study groups meeting in the U. S. and abroad.

BSF is an interdenominational Christian lay ministry, and classes are open to people of all walks of life, cultures, and church backgrounds (Protestant, Catholic, and unchurched). BSF host churches represent most major, and some minor, church denominations.

BSF around the World
BSF is the result of the vision and work of the ministry’s founder and first General Director, Audrey Wetherell Johnson. Miss Johnson began teaching Bible studies for women in the early 1950s, and worked with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Crusade later in the decade before starting BSF. Miss Johnson retired in 1979, and was succeeded in her role as executive director by Rosemary Jensen. Mrs. Jensen had been a missionary in Tanzania, and a board member of BSF. Under her leadership, BSF relocated its headquarters to the current location in San Antonio, Texas, where the ministry has developed a campus consisting of a complex of buildings on acreage given to BSF. Under Mrs. Jensen’s leadership, BSF developed its leadership training programs, and began to place individuals in countries throughout the world for the purpose of teaching BSF classes. Today, BSF classes are held in almost every state in the U. S., as well as in Latin America, Africa, Australia, and Europe.

Mrs. Jensen left her post as Executive Director of BSF in 2000 in order to assume leadership of this ministry.

Why BSF?
While BSF does not explicitly defend the call for its ministry, the following common presumptions seem to support its ministry: (1) Lay people need more in-depth exposure to the Scriptures than they, in general, receive from pulpit ministries alone. (2) Properly trained laypersons, given a good curriculum, are qualified to teach the Bible to others. This type of ministry is not the solely the domain of the seminary-educated. (3) The type of environment created in a BSF study group helps people to feel comfortable and to get involved in ways not possible in a more formal classroom atmosphere. (4) By taking an eclectic approach to ministry situations, BSF can draw in people who normally would not participate in an evangelical-type Bible study.

BSF’s method is not without potential pitfalls (see “Critics Might Say” below); but overall, it seems that BSF has developed a strategy of ministry that is simple and effective. BSF trains leaders and produces materials in order to help all kinds of people get involved in serious, interactive, Bible study. The profusion of BSF study groups in the U. S. and abroad testifies to the ministry’s popularity.