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 is designed to help congregational leaders form small groups that enhance a sense of community, address individuals’ deepest needs, facilitate personal spiritual growth, and offer opportunities for involvement in the mission of the larger church.

The manual is divided into three sections. The first, “Understanding Small Groups,” explores how small groups have played a role in growing the church and nurturing the faith throughout the history of the Christianity. It also offers four guidelines for measuring the quality of a small group: How well do they listen to God? How caring are they? What is their relationship to the larger church? And how well do they welcome the stranger?

The second section, “Organizing Small Groups in Your Church,” outlines the process for developing and implementing an intentional ministry through small groups, including ways in which pastors and lay leaders can work together to accomplish this goal. Various approaches are offered, taking into account the different capabilities and resources of churches of various sizes.

The third section of the book, “Training Small Group Facilitators,” includes instructions for conducting six different training sessions, including one specifically designed for facilitators of support and recovery groups.

Throughout the book are reproducible resources and training materials that could be used by church planning teams or small group leaders. This resource would be of assistance to congregational leaders of discipleship groups, ministry groups, support groups, or recovery groups, or those interested in creating such groups.

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