Small Groups Resources
Adult Bible Studies
Free online bible studies for a myriad of topics. Download here.
Advent Resources
Lent Resources
Recommended Resources
Resources from our Congregations
Our church leaders have been sharing thoughtful innovative and appropriate resources. We will be sharing these resources for others to model here.
Suggested Reading
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Small Groups for the Rest of Us: How to Design Your Small Groups System to Reach the Fringes
Small Groups for the Rest of Us: How to Design Your Small Groups System to Reach the Fringes
Pastors, church staff and small group leaders are trying to figure out how to make small groups work in their church and they don’t know how. Small Groups. For The Rest Of Us gives them practical, proven strategies on moving people from the fringes into biblically based communities.
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Membership to Discipleship
Membership to Discipleship
Membership to Discipleship offers a fresh, creative framework for thinking about how the discipleship process works, as well as plenty of hands-on strategies and real-life examples of putting theory into practice.
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Teaching Biblical Faith: Leading Small Group Bible Studies
Teaching Biblical Faith: Leading Small Group Bible Studies
This book provides a manageable way to inspire conversation about the many ways the Bible can be taught, the purposes and outcomes of each approach, and how biblical wisdom shapes personal and corporate decision-making.
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Teaching Biblical Faith: Leading Small Group Bible Studies
Teaching Biblical Faith: Leading Small Group Bible Studies
Biblical faith is a lens for viewing life, and Jack Seymour refreshingly illustrates how the reading of scripture is a resource for ongoing theological reflection connecting experience, vocation, daily life, and faith. Teaching has concrete consequences affecting the very ways people of faith view the world and make decisions for living. It matters; it makes a difference in how people think and act. Written in an accessible style, the book provides a manageable way to inspire conversation about the many ways the Bible can be taught, the purposes and outcomes of each approach, and how biblical wisdom shapes personal and corporate decision-making. Useful strategies for leading group Bible study help congregations respond faithfully to the Biblical witness and cultivate a whole congregation approach to Bible study.
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Soul Stories: African American Christian Education
Soul Stories: African American Christian Education
In this revision of Soul Stories, Dr. Wimberly moves even more in the direction of Christian Education with African American families. Soul stories link persons' everyday life with the Christian Scriptures. The soul stories in this revised volume take on a cross-generational orientation with emphasis on linking stories of family identities, events, relationships, and story plot with Bible stories and exemplary Christian faith stories found in the African Diaspora. This orientation builds on an awareness of the continued fragmentation of Black family life and the disconnect between generations on one hand, yet, on the other hand, the profound yearning of Black people for a common family history. The goal of Dr. Wimberly's model is to enliven the values associated with the image of "village" in order to empower and equip African Americans today.
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Vital: Churches Changing Communities and the World
Vital: Churches Changing Communities and the World
What behaviors do highly vital congregations have in common? How can all congregations move toward greater vitality? In Vital, Jorge Acevedo passionately and effectively reveals how Grace Church in Cape Coral, Florida, has developed behaviors that result in vital and fruitful ministry. Focusing on spiritual pastoral leadership, lay leadership development, worship, small groups, and service and mission, Acevedo both inspires and coaches. He helps leaders of congregations act in their own contexts to develop behaviors essential to vitality, as identified by the recent study of 32,000 United Methodist congregations. The book includes brief summaries of learnings from the research written by Amy Valdez Barker, project manager for the Vital Congregations Initiative, as well as stories from other congregations illustrating vital behaviors in different settings.
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The Class Meeting: Reclaiming a Forgotten and Essential Small Group Experience.
The Class Meeting: Reclaiming a Forgotten and Essential Small Group Experience.
Dr. Kevin Watson has written a fresh new guide to the theory and practice of the Wesley class meeting, an essential element of truly Wesleyan spirituality. This book is for clergy and congregations who are looking for ways to develop deeper discipleship. The class meeting is made workable without losing its essential dynamic as a gospel-based accountable community. Watson has resurrected the class meeting and given it new meaning, showing its relevance for the church today and how it may be a perfect means for church renewal.
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Small Groups: Big Impact.
Small Groups: Big Impact.
Why do some small groups thrive and grow while others struggle and falter? The authors have surveyed over 3000 group leaders in more than 200 churches. Their findings will place practical, applicable principles into the hands of small group leaders and pastors. This book also includes access to additional resources from the author's website.
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Creating Community: 5 Keys to Building a Small Group Culture.
Creating Community: 5 Keys to Building a Small Group Culture.
Small groups are the key to impacting lives in your church. But a healthy small-group environment—one that fosters meaningful, lasting connections—doesn’t just happen.
Bill Willits and bestselling author Andy Stanley share their successful approach, which has resulted in nearly eight thousand adults becoming involved in small groups at North Point Community Church in Atlanta . Simply put, the five principles clearly described here have passed the test.
This is not just another book about community; this is a book about strategy—strategy that builds a small group culture. Creating Community shares clear and simple principles to help people connect into meaningful relationships. The kind God desires for each of us. The kind He uses to change our lives.
Put this proven method to work in your ministry and enjoy the tangible results—God’s people doing life TOGETHER.
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Activate: An Entirely New Approach to Small Groups.
Activate: An Entirely New Approach to Small Groups.
Church leaders want to know how to make small groups work for their church communities, yet a quick look around shows that while small groups are popular, much of the time they create more problems than they solve. Nelson Searcy and Kerrick Thomas, founding pastors of The Journey Church in the heart of New York City, suggest that this failure is due to widely held beliefs about small groups that just aren't true--and they aim to debunk the myths and set the record straight! Drawing from the startling success of small groups at The Journey Church, Searcy and Thomas show how church leaders can implement a life-changing small group ministry that gets the maximum number of people involved and solves many of the important problems facing churches of all sizes.
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Guide for Covenant Discipleship Groups.
Guide for Covenant Discipleship Groups.
Guide for Covenant Discipleship Groups by Gayle Turner Watson is the latest of the new generation of Accountable Discipleship books to be published by Discipleship Resources. This book is the new basic resource that every pastor and all members of covenant discipleship groups needs to read. It is well written, clearly organized, concise, and user-friendly. Gayle Watson has given a valuable gift to the church in this book.
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