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This month I would like to review a Bible study resource I’ve been using since its founding in 2019, Sojo Academy. Created by Arabah Joy and Jen Evangelista, this resource offers a wide range of faith-based resources not the least of which is a monthly thematic Bible study. I mentioned this briefly in my article Do We Need to Go to Church? No as a possible virtual community to join in the place of a physical church.

What is it?

Sojo Academy, at its core, is an online community of women dedicated to studying God’s Word in depth on a regular basis. Each month, a new study is released. The studies can have a theme based on the season, like Christmas. Or it can be an in-depth look at a particular book of the Bible (like last November’s study of Ruth).

With each new Bible study release, the founders host multiple online group sessions. In general, Sojo Academy hosts four different opportunities to meet and learn together. These are:

• Jumpstart Workshop
• Mentor Monday
• Create & Connect
• Group Bible Study Session

Jumpstart Workshop

New Bible studies are released the first Monday of every month. It is at this time that there is usually the first of the four online group sessions. In this workshop, the group discusses how best to plan your time to make the most of the study. It is especially helpful if you are unsure how to get started or what steps you should take to successfully make the most of what is offered.

Mentor Monday

The next online group session is usually the Mentor Monday (though this is sometimes offered after Create & Connect). In this workshop, you get to meet the author of the month’s Bible study. You can ask questions directly to the person who wrote the study. And often you will also do some of the reading or study together.

Create & Connect

This is the most fun (in my opinion) of the group sessions. This workshop provides new ways to use each month’s creative elements. It is where you can learn how to:

• do verse mapping
• create journals
• create handcrafted cards
• doodle
• do visual scripture memorization
• and more.

Professional crafting or art skills are not required. It is meant to be a fun way to make your Bible study as beautiful for your eyes as for your spirit.

In fact, this is one of my favorite parts of the monthly Bible study. I love crafting. I could spend hours, days, months creating journals, cross-stitching, diamond painting, and more. But I rarely have the time (and have even less money).

However, each Bible study includes different elements like journal cards, tabs, images that I like to print on sticker paper to use in my Bible study itself. I often reuse them for other projects (like my junk journals). And have even printed a couple to stick on my laptop cover.

Group Bible Study

This group session is a little different. It starts off with a 30-minute study session where everyone is on camera, logged into the live session, but studying individually. This can be the actual Bible study for the month, something you are working on on your own, or just a prayer time. At the end of the 30 minutes, everyone focuses back on the screen for sharing time.

Whether it is a something that you learned, a prayer request, or just a moment of praise, women are encouraged to very quickly share what is on their hearts for the group to hear.

It is a time of encouragement and rest in a Christian community of women.

Sometimes, this becomes more of a praise session. Sometimes (like the Let It Go party at the end of December) it is a moment of fellowship and fun.

Though all of these sessions are offered live every Monday (usually) from 1PM to 2PM EST, they are recorded. This means that if you are unable to attend, you can re-watch them at a later date that is more convenient for you. Which is generally how I do it because that hits at 7PM for me which is stories and bedtime for my kids.

Facebook Group

There is one last way to connect with the other women in Sojo Academy. And this is in the private Facebook Group. It is here that you can:

• ask questions about the Bible study
• share personal insights
• ask prayer requests
• find prayer requests to add to your own prayer time
• celebrate the joys of fellow Christian women
• or encourage those who are feeling disheartened.

Though I am not a huge fan of Facebook, it is wonderful to see it used in the service of God.

How to Use It

As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been a member since it’s founding in January 2019. And though I have not taken advantage of the Christian fellowship as much as I should, I have completed every monthly Bible study.

The beauty is that once you have downloaded the materials, you own them for life and can come back to them as often as you’d like. Most women start on the first Monday of each month when the Bible study first comes out. The studies are laid out for five days of study per week for four weeks.

Ideally, you would study during the weekdays leaving weekends for catching up. And the last week of the month (or beginning few days of the next month) could also be used to catch up. I say, ideally, only because the discussions in the Facebook group and in the workshops often are presented as though this is the case.

However, I’ve been known (as have many others) to start late, study only on weekends, or even do a study from a previous month depending on what my life’s circumstances are like. It really is up to you.

The importance is to use the resources that are given to grow your relationship with God and with God’s family. This is not a place of judgment but of encouragement.

Past Lessons

Bible studies are classified in a couple of different ways. First are those that study closely one particular book of the Bible. Others include themes based on the spiritual gifts like prayer. Others follow a particular type of book like our study of the minor prophets. Each brings wisdom and knowledge of the Lord.

Proverbs 1:7 reminds us that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” If we truly fear the Lord (awe, reverence, trust, and love), we will desire time spent learning about Him and His ways. Which is why I so look forward to my monthly studies.

Here is a short list of some of the Bible studies from this past year:

• Fresh Start: Employing Goals, Grace and Godly Ambition for Spiritual Growth
• Made for Community: The Beauty of Connection
• Living Complete in Christ: Lessons from Philippians 4
• How Long, O Lord? A Study on the Book of Habakkuk
• Not Ashamed: Living Rooted in the Gospel
• and more.

Conclusion

I honestly recommend joining this group. Especially if you are unable to join a physical Bible study group. Though community in person is the ideal, our current world is far from encouraging this. So many of us have been left to drift alone.

But the good news is that God is ever present. And His church is not confined to a physical location. We can meet anywhere, at any time. And God’s people are finding new ways to share the Gospel message and create community when old ways fail.

If you’d like to check it out before joining, the ladies at Sojo Academy have offered a free Bible study. “Forget Not His Benefits” is a 1-Hour Bible study that focuses on remembering all God’s goodness and finding joy even in the hard parts of life and is based on a powerful passage for finding joy, Psalm 103:1-5.

This FREE resource is designed to help you dig into God’s word through a meaty, single-session Bible study. It’s perfect for when you only have a short window of time to study and want a soul-refreshing hour with God.

Download it today and enjoy a rich hour in the Word today.