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Small groups nurture close relationships and spiritual growth in an atmosphere of openness and acceptance. Here are resources to assist your planning and implementing a small group ministry that supports your congregation's mission.
SPECIALIZED MINISTRIES : Small Groups
  The Complete Guide to Small Group Ministry: Saving the World Ten at a Time (Book)
Robert L. Hill, Author.
Boston, MA: Skinner House Books, 2003.
The Complete Guide to Small Group Ministry introduces congregations to "covenant groups," discusses their importance in congregational life, and provides guidelines to launching, sustaining, and growing them.
Connecting to God: Nurturing Spirituality Through Small Groups (Book)
Corinne Ware, Author.
Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 1997.
This book provides a model for developing a spiritual life through the interaction of a small group.
 Gathering the Seekers (Web Resource)
Premised on the view that small groups can serve as significant channels for spiritual empowerment and congregational vitality, this online tutorial presents a model for developing and sustaining "NET" groups in churches.
Know and Be Known: Small Groups That Nourish and Connect (Book)
Brooke B. Collison, Author.
Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 2007.
Small group ministry is an effective tool for intentionally encouraging deeper spiritual community in a congregation, and Brooke Collison has written a concise manual on doing such ministry effectively. Included is a guide to training leaders.
Reflecting with God: Connecting Faith and Daily Life in Small Groups (Book)
Abigail Johnson, Author.
Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 2004.
Abigail Johnson leads the reader through each step of facilitating theological reflection groups and examines the "ripple effect" of reflection groups on a community.
Small Groups in the Church: A Handbook for Creating Community (Book)
Thomas G. Kirkpatrick, Author.
Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 1995.
Small Groups in the Church is a planning and training handbook that explains the context for developing small groups, how to recruit leaders, the leadership training process, and how to inaugurate new groups.
 Activate: An Entirely New Approach to Small Groups (Book)
Nelson Searcy, Kerrick Thomas, Authors.
Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2008.
Nelson Searcy and Kerrick Thomas present a reproducible small-group process that challenges many of the assumptions currently held about small groups. They ask readers to rethink small-group methodology, structure, strategy, and leadership.
Becoming Friends: Worship, Justice, and the Practice of Christian Friendship (Book)
Paul J. Wadell, Author.
Brazos Press, 2002.
Focusing on the kinds of friendships that should abound in a Christ-centered church, Paul Wadell asks readers to create "the kind of community that can faithfully enact God's narrative of love, healing, and redemption in the world."
Building Community: Christian, Caring, Vital (Book)
Loughlan Sofield, Rosine Hammett, Carroll Juliano, Authors.
Ava Maria Press, 1998.
These authors appreciate the realities of living in community, call the difficulties normal, and offer strategies for working through the tensions and problems.
The Catholic Experience of Small Christian Communities (Book)
Bernard J. Lee S.M., Author.
Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2000.
Through surveys and personal interviews, the author and his research team of theologians and social scientists reflect on small Catholic Christian communities and their significance for church renewal.
Companions in Christ: A Small-Group Experience in Spiritual Formation (Book)
Marjorie J Thompson, Stephen Bryant, Janice Grana, Authors.
Nashville, TN: Upper Room Books, 2001.
Helping individuals grow through the Christian community experience, this 28-week study includes daily individual scripture study and meditation coupled with weekly group reflection, exercises, and accountability.
The Connecting Church: Beyond Small Groups to Authentic Community (Book)
Randy Frazee, Author.
Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2001.
What is authentic community? And why do so many find small groups disappointing in their search for community? Randy Frazee seeks to answer these questions as he offers a different model for providing belonging and connection among people.
Cultivating Communities of Practice: A Guide to Managing Knowledge (Book)
Etienne Wenger, Richard McDemott, William M. Snyder, Authors.
Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 2002.
Small group ministry initiatives, committee structures, or coalition building efforts with other congregations may benefit from this book's seven principles for cultivating communities.
Difficult Conversations: Taking Risks, Acting with Integrity (Book)
Katie Day, Author.
Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 2001.
Author Katie Day shows how congregations can move beyond superficiality to spiritual growth and action by being willing to initiate, cultivate, and sustain "difficult conversations" on controversial issues.
The Facilitator's Fieldbook: Step-by-Step Procedures, Checklists and Guidelines, Samples and Templates (Book)
Thomas Justice, David Jamieson, Authors.
New York, NY: AMACOM Books, 1999.
Thomas Justice and David Jamieson have provided an exceptionally thorough set of step-by-step procedures and guidelines for facilitating meetings.
Gathered and Sent: The Mission of Small Church Communities Today (Book)
Bernard J. Lee S.M., Michael A. Cowan, Authors.
Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2003.
The authors profess that Roman Catholic small groups should not be restricted to personal conversations. Rather, they need to engage in political and economic dialogue with other groups and in the larger cultural setting.
 Lazarus at the Gate: An Economic Discipleship Guide (Article)
Gary VanderPol, Mako Nagasawa, Rachel Anderson, Authors.
2008.
Holding that "money is a critical object of modern Christian discipleship," the authors have designed this open-source 12-week study enabling small-group participants to support one another in their practices of economic discipleship.
Listening for God: Contemporary Literature and the Life of Faith (Book)
Paula J. Carlson, Peter S. Hawkins, Editors.
Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress Press, 1994.
Maintaining that contemporary American literature may be one of the most rewarding places to listen for God, the editors introduce eight authors whose writings edge the reader toward a new awareness of God.
The Little Book of Dialogue for Difficult Subjects: A Practical, Hands-On Guide (Book)
Lisa Schirch, David Campt, Authors.
Intercourse, PA: Good Books, 2007.
Lisa Schirch and David Campt offer a step-by-step process for organizing, designing, facilitating, and assessing the effectiveness of dialogue on controversial issues. They discuss when dialogue is useful, how it works, and how to sustain it.
Simple Small Groups: A User-Friendly Guide for Small Group Leaders (Book)
Bill Search, Author.
Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 2008.
Countering the tendency to make small groups the answer for all church problems, Bill Church emphasizes the potential of small groups to develop the "Three C's"—Connecting, Changing and Cultivating—among their participants.
Small Group Idea Book: Resources to Enrich Community, Worship and Prayer, Study, and Outreach (Book)
Cindy Bunch, Editor.
Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003.
Looking for ways to get your small group started? Or perhaps your small group has grown deeper, and you would like help with going to the next level? No matter how you are involved, this book provides useful material for small-group leaders.
A Spiritual Formation Workbook: Small-Group Resources for Nurturing Christian Growth (Book)
James Bryan Smith, Lynda Graybeal, Authors.
San Francisco, CA: HarperSanFrancisco, 1993.
Responding to the growing small-group movement within congregations, A Spiritual Formation Workbook provides an important planning and implementation tool for facilitators.
Starting Small Groups—and Keeping Them Going (Book)
George S. Johnson, David P. Mayer, Nancy Vogel, Authors.
Harold Eppley, Rochelle Melander, Editors.
Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress Press, 1995.
This handbook helps congregational leaders form small groups that enhance a sense of community, facilitate personal spiritual growth, and offer opportunities for involvement in the mission of the larger church.
To Know God: Small Group Exercises for Spiritual Formation (Book)
Michael Gemignani, Author.
Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 2001.
Drawing on centuries of teachings in Western Christianity and Eastern Orthodoxy, Michael Gemignani has created a year-long spiritual development program for use in congregations.
Turning to One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the Future (Book)
Margaret J. Wheatley, Author.
San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2002.
"Real change begins with the simple act of people talking about what they care about." With this premise, Margaret Wheatley encourages and instructs readers in the practice of vital conversation.
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