Resources to Help you Grow as a Leader!
Tips for leading during a pandemic:
Gathering Guidelines: For guidelines for gathering as a small group in these times, click here.
Virtual Meeting Guide: As we shelter in place, small groups are now gathering around their various screens to stay connected with each other and deepen their faith together. Group Life has created a new resource that will help online groups looking for new ideas and a looser structure during this time. Click here for your Small Group Virtual Meeting Guide Ebook.
Facebook Group: Click here to join a Facebook Group exclusive to Small Group Leaders! Use this as a place where you can find support, ask questions, share best practices with one another, and keep up on all the resources available to you.
The Group Life Podcast
Learn about the 4 C’s (Connect, Commit, Confess, and Challenge) from pastors and teachers who offer unique perspectives around leading small groups:
April 7, 2020 | An in-depth discussion on the second “C” of small group leadership: COMMIT with Ari Grubner, a Young Adults Leader at Willow Creek. Listen now through iTunes or Google Play.
March 5, 2020 | An in-depth discussion of the first “C” of small group leadership: CONNECT with Jared Wilkins, former Group Life Pastor at Willow Creek and currently Lead Pastor at Parkcrest Christian Church in Long Beach CA. . Listen now through iTunes or Google Play
February 5, 2020 | An overview of the 4 C’s of Small Group Leadership; CONNECT, COMMIT, CONFESS, and CHALLENGE with hosts, AnnaMaria Mattey and Dave Liefeld, Group Life Pastors at Willow Creek. iTunes or Google Play.
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Workshop Recordings
Gain Clarity on your Spiritual Gifts
Learn what Scripture teaches about spiritual gifts, grow in your understanding of spiritual gifts, and take an assessment to help you discern the gifts God has given you. Click here to get started!
Click here for a Library of past Small Group Leader E3 Workshop Recordings.
Helpful Books
Leading Small Groups | We have been commissioned to make disciples who make disciples, and Jesus showed us that the best way to carry that out is through small groups of believers. Just like the first-century church, small groups form the foundation to take the gospel to the ends of the earth.
Emergency Response Handbook for Small Group Leaders | You want to help — a church member faces a terminal illness, good friends of yours just lost their child, a member of your group is struggling with an addiction, the death of a child, divorce, addiction, terminal illness–but you feel unsure how to help. This rapid-response handbook gives you and your small group the confidence to share God’s love and comfort with hurting friends.
Community is Mess by Heather Zempel | Heather assesses the perils and possibilities inherent in small groups and helps leaders begin to see the inherent “mess” of such gatherings as raw material for arriving at something beautiful. Heather oversees the community life at a multisite church in Washington, D.C
Difficult Conversations by Bruce Patton and Sheila Heen | We attempt or avoid difficult conversations every day-whether dealing with an underperforming employee, disagreeing with a spouse, or negotiating with a client. This book provides a step-by-step approach to having those tough conversations with less stress and more success.
Leading Life-Changing Small Groups by Dr. Bill Donahue | This book is a must-have resource for every small group leader. Donahue is truly a practitioner. The practices and principles included in this book aren’t theoretical, but practical and proven.
How to Ask Great Questions by Karen Lee-Thorp | Great answers start with great questions. People remember what they discover for themselves far more than what others tell them. A great question can mean the difference between exchanging information and discovering deeper meaning. Learn when and how to ask effective questions and how to promote follow-up discussions that will lead from thoughtful conversations to life application.
What’s Your Story? by Cheryl Shireman | We each have a story and it is filled with both factual details and personal details. I believe the amount we are willing to reveal to another is in direct proportion to the amount they are able to love us. You cannot love what you do not know. When a group of people gets together, one of the quickest and easiest ways to get to know one another is through the use of questions that prompt us to tell our story. That is the purpose of this book.
Can’t Find What You’re Looking For?
Reach out to your Coach or Community Leader and they’ll help equip you for the journey ahead!