Learn as Much as You Can

Whenever a brand new small group pastor asks me where to begin in establishing a small group program at their church, I encourage them to first learn as much as they can from the people they will serve. And then I tell them to read as much as they can from others who have been leading groups for a long time.

Here are the books I'm currently recommending for those starting out or re-thinking what they are doing:

Making Small Groups Work (Cloud and Townsend)
Building a Church of Small Groups (Donahue and Robinson)
Seven Deadly Sins of Small Group Ministry (Donahue and Robinson)
Simple Small Groups (Bill Search)
Growing True Disciples (George Barna)

It's also helpful to look at specific models:

Creating Community (Stanley- closed group model)
Activate (Searcy- semester-based model)
The Connecting Church (Frazee- neighborhood model)
Dog Training, Fly Fishing, and Sharing Christ in the 21st Century (Haggard- free market model)
Sticky Church (Larry Osborne- sermon-based model)