Making Small Groups Work : What Every Small Group Leader Needs to Know

Lead small groups through astounding growth with principles from the best-selling books How People Grow and Boundaries. No matter what need brings a group of people together-from marriage enrichment to divorce recovery, from grief recovery to spiritual formation-members are part of a small group because they want to grow. This book by psychologists Henry Cloud and John Townsend provides small-group leaders with valuable guidance and information on how they can help their groups to grow spiritually, emotionally, and relationally. With insights from their best-selling book How People Grow, Cloud and Townsend show how God's plan for growth is made up of three key elements: grace plus truth plus time. When groups embrace those elements, they find God's grace and forgiveness and learn how to handle their imperfections without shame as they model God's love and support to one another. In addition to describing what makes small groups work, Leading Small Groups That Help People Grow explains the roles and responsibilities of both leaders and group members. Employing tenets from the book How People Grow, this book equips leaders to understand the ins and outs of how to promote growth, and using principles from their best-selling book Boundaries, they show how to identify and find solutions for common problems such as boredom, noncompliance, passivity, aggression, narcissism, spiritualization, over-neediness, over-giving, and nonstop talking Title Page Copyright Page Acknowledgments Tapping into the Power of Small Groups PART 1 HOW SMALL GROUPS HELP PEOPLE GROW 1. God’s Surprising Plan for Growth 2. What Are We Trying to Do as Small Group Leaders? 3. The Ingredients of Grace, Truth, and Time 4. Benefits of Groups That Grow PART 2 WHAT HAPPENS IN A GOOD GROUP Introduction 5. A Second Family 6. Connection 7. Discipline and Structure 8. Prayer 9. Accountability 10. Forgiveness 11. Support and Strengthening 12. Mentoring 13. Grieving 14. Healing 15. Confrontation 16. Modeling 17. Acceptance of Weakness 18. Discipleship PART 3 STARTING A SMALL GROUP 19. Decide on the Purpose and Type of Group 20. Choose Study Materials 21. Design the Frame 22. Select Members 23. Establish the Ground Rules PART 4 THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF GROUP FACILITATORS 24. Balance Grace, Truth, and Time 25. Facilitate Process 26. Listen 27. Provide Safety 28. Clarify and Ask Questions 29. Confront 30. Set Limits 31. Be an Authority 32. Require Integration 33. Allow Silent Moments 34. Interpret Themes, Symbols, and Meanings 35. Help Contain Strong Emotions PART 5 THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF GROUP MEMBERS 36. Expect the Unexpected 37. Be Known 38. Really Listen to Each Other 39. Give and Receive Feedback 40. Learn to Love 41. Practice Obedience 42. Make Positive Changes 43. Learn New Skills 44. Discover and Develop Gifts 45. Discern Harmful Patterns 46. Confess and Repent 47. Take Risks 48. Grieve PART 6 HOW TO DEAL WITH PROBLEMS IN GROUPS 49. Neediness 50. Noncompliance 51. Passivity 52. Shut Up 53. Aggression 54. Narcissism 55. Spiritualization Go and Grow Appendix: Getting More Out of This Book About the Publisher Share Your Thoughts

This unabridged audio download edition provides small-group leaders with everything they need to know to help their small group of any kind. It's an operating system for small groups. You'll get the most out of your group no matter your topic, from divorce recovery to marriage enrichment, from grief recovery to spiritual formation---grow spiritually, emotionally, and relationally.

This book provides small-group leaders with everything they need to know to help their small group of any kind. It's an operating system for small groups. You'll get the most out of your group, no matter your topic, from divorce recovery to marriage enrichment, from grief recovery to spiritual formation---grow spiritually, emotionally, and relationally.