A survey of resources about small groups at the beginning of the 1990s led to a discovery: Many books on small groups carried an instructional content and touched on groups as instrumental in delivery of that specific subject matter. How a leader was to function relative to a group was discussed as a matter of how to manage an instructional hour. The potential of groups for making connections and building community and serving others was largely unrecognized. What a group leader might do to pull together and maintain a group, or how a group leader might become acknowledged as part of a larger leadership strategy for service and outreach was simply unaddressed. From the insights developed in his complex and widely recommended Prepare Your Church for the Future, best-selling author Carl George extracts the most basic, practical elements of how an individual leader can contribute to the well-being of others and the overall organization. He interprets the role of a group leader in language that is easily understood and remembered: nine commitments leading to a partnership with professional church leaders. Pastors and church consultants consistently report that the people exposed to these nine keys are easy to work with. They readily grasp the reasonableness of the principles, which help them be trustworthy team players in this matter of shared ministry. From the forward, by Robert Coleman, Director of the Billy Graham Institute: "This book speaks to our need for practical leadership training. With profound simplicity, it describes how small groups grow through loving relationships as readers build up one another in the faith. More importantly, the reader learn ways to prepare yourself for leadership in the group. The sequential steps show readers how to bring others into the circle of love, and in the process, how to enlarge your outreach by multiplying disciple makers." This 2007 edition includes an updated Appendix, describing recent developments in the fi

The demand for quality leaders constantly outstrips the supply. If you’re a pastor, team leader, staff member, or board member, you’re always challenged with a leadership shortage. But what can you do about it?More than you’ve ever imagined. The Leadership Baton equips you with a solution that’s time-proven and right at hand: church-based leadership development. More and more churches are adopting it, and no wonder—the principles that made the early church such a spiritual powerhouse are just as effective today. Leadership was never a matter of institutional learning or professional expertise. Rather, starting with Jesus and his apostles, it involved seasoned leaders passing the baton to ordinary people right within the local body of believers. That same approach can help ensure your own church is never at a loss for dependable men and women to enter the leadership race with wisdom, vision and passion.Drawing on the field-tested expertise of the Center for Church Based Training, The Leadership Baton will help you get the leaders you need up and running, developing leadership qualities they can in turn hand off to other up-and-coming leaders. Part 1 casts a vision for church-based leadership training—not merely a program, but a leadership development culture based on biblical and historical foundations. Part 2 presents a whole-life approach to leadership development that is wisdom-based (through courses), relationship-based (through the church community), and personal (through mentoring). Part 3 describes a comprehensive plan for leadership development, then breaks it down to target the needs of governing boards, emerging leaders, pastoral staffs, and interns. With discussion questions at the end of each chapter, this book concludes with two appendices, including a self-inventory for church leaders to help them assess their personal strengths and weak areas that need development. Put the principles in The Leadership Baton to work with patience, and in time your church will never lack the right people at the right time to help it fulfill its kingdom mission.

Some churches grow rapidly, only to hit a ceiling. Other churches have experienced declining or static attendance--many of them for decades. Frustrated pastors and church leaders want growth methods that work, but without adding to pastoral fatigue. How to Break Growth Barriers argues that growth comes when effective leadership and lay-empowerment skills work hand in hand. This requires a shift of focus from the shepherd as the primary caregiver to shepherd as developer and coach of many caregivers. The authors show pastors how to communicate a vision for the future and then how to lead the congregation into the paradigms necessary for potentially limitless growth. The strategies found in this book are not only tried and true, and taken from a biblical perspective of a "harvest" vision. They're also newly updated to reflect our changing culture, including helpful charts and checklists for self-evaluation.

Small groups transform churches—and lives. Small group leaders often feel the weight of shepherding their members. But who shepherds the shepherd? And what are the best ways to provide that support and guidance? These are the questions answered in Coaching Life-Changing Small Group Leaders. When you’re called to coach a small group leader in your church, your mind may be filled with questions: Am I godly enough? What do I have to offer? How do I begin? Although the challenge seems immense, this handbook breaks down the work into reassuring and achievable steps. Originally self-published by Willow Creek Community Church, this expanded and improved edition offers field-tested and biblically supported advice on such topics as modeling a surrendered life to those you shepherd gaining the tools and wisdom you need for coaching helping leaders grow spiritually nurturing the spiritual development and support of leaders. For those who want to coach with excellence and truly help small group leaders thrive, this go-to guide offers practical answers and inspiring examples. You’ll find both challenge and promise in these pages as you learn to carry forth your God-given calling with confidence. “We ask small group leaders to come alongside their group members, but often no one comes alongside them. This is a great tool from two people who have done exactly that for a long time. Small group leaders everywhere will benefit from this kind of coaching.”

The best-selling small group guidebook—over 100,000 sold. NOW UPDATED. Like nothing else, small groups have the power to change lives. They’re the ideal route to discipleship—a place where the rubber of biblical truth meets the road of human relationships. For six years Bill Donahue provided training and resources for small group leaders so that Willow Creek could build a church of small groups. Now he is committed to creating tools that will help church leaders pursue the same goal—to provide a place in community for everyone in their congregation. In Leading Life-Changing Small Groups, Donahue and his team share in depth the practical insights that have made Willow Creek’s small group ministry so effective. The Comprehensive, Ready-Reference Guide for Small Group Leaders The unique, ready-reference format of this book gives small group leaders, pastors, church leaders, educators, and counselors a commanding grasp of: ·Group formation and values ·Leadership requirements and responsibilities ·The philosophy and structure of small groups ·Meeting preparation and participation ·Discipleship within the group ·Leadership training . . . and much more From an individual group to an entire small group ministry, Leading Life-Changing Small Groups gives you the comprehensive guidance you need to cultivate life-changing small groups . . . and growing, fruitful followers of Christ.

Small groups are a great way to promote the spiritual formation of church attendees. But leading them well can be hard work, especially if you don't have a plan. This practical resource helps pastors and small group point people develop and implement a 12- to 18-month strategic plan for their ministries in order to keep it healthy and growing. Developed at Saddleback Church, this completely customizable plan works for any church size and any denomination. Readers answer 22 questions that help them understand their vision, the purpose of their ministry, and how to connect members, grow numerically and spiritually, measure progress, develop leaders, create opportunities to serve, and much more. By the time they're done, readers will have developed their own personalized planner for the next year to 18 months so that they can feel prepared, confident, and purposeful about their small group ministry.

In this revised edition of his small group guidebook, Jeffrey Arnold discusses the basic components and dynamics of small groups and offers training and resources to help you get started in effective small group ministry.