Leading Life-Changing Small Groups, by Bill Donahue

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In the introduction, this book sets the tone by teaching what God’s idea of community is and how that looked from the time of Eden through the Old and New Testament periods and into modern times. With that in mind, viewing your small group as one of the ways God uses to build and maintain a community amongst His followers is the basis of the book.

After clarifying the purpose and mission of your small group through discussion questions and examples, leadership styles and dynamics are discussed in great detail. This serves as the foundation, followed by practical explanations of how to form, operate, and maintain the small group. This book is not only a great reference tool, but also a workbook full of space to reflect and questions to think through. An accompanying DVD is sold separately for those who want to dig a little deeper.

While you could get much benefit out of working through this book alone, the material is perfect for leadership classes and applies to all types of small groups. I would definitely recommend it to church staff, those starting a new ministry, or anyone who wants to learn more about effective leadership.

I received a review copy of this book from netGalley.com.