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Sticky Church
Why closing the back door of your church is even more important than opening the front door wider.
In Sticky Church, author and pastor Larry Osborne offers a time-tested strategy for doing sermon-based small groups that dig deeper into the weekend message and tightly velcro members to the ministry. It's a strategy that enabled Osborne's congregation to grow from a handful of people to one of the larger churches in the nation—without any marketing or special programming. Sticky Church tells the inspiring story of North Coast Church's phenomenal growth and offers practical tips for launching your own sermon-based small group ministry.
Topics
Why stickiness is so importantWhy most of our discipleship models don't work very wellWhy small groups always make a church more honest and transparentWhat makes groups grow deeper and sticker over timeSticky Church is an ideal book for church leaders who want to start or retool their small group ministry—and velcro their congregation to the Bible and each other.
In Sticky Church, author and pastor Larry Osborne offers a time-tested strategy for doing sermon-based small groups that dig deeper into the weekend message and tightly velcro members to the ministry. It's a strategy that enabled Osborne's congregation to grow from a handful of people to one of the larger churches in the nation—without any marketing or special programming. Sticky Church tells the inspiring story of North Coast Church's phenomenal growth and offers practical tips for launching your own sermon-based small group ministry.
Topics
Why stickiness is so importantWhy most of our discipleship models don't work very wellWhy small groups always make a church more honest and transparentWhat makes groups grow deeper and sticker over timeSticky Church is an ideal book for church leaders who want to start or retool their small group ministry—and velcro their congregation to the Bible and each other.
209 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2008
188 people are currently reading
697 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 131 reviews
July 23, 2013
His premise is that you grow a church by having all your small groups be sermon based, and by "closing" them - you enroll at the beginning of each semester and then you basically lock people in with a covenant and no opportunity to switch groups, thus "closing the back door" of the church. meh. it's some good thoughts but i'm not sure i jive with it completely. i don't like the idea of trying to get people to stay in "our church" - the church is God's and not every body is right for every person, we all need to find our niche.
March 7, 2019
My main problem is that I'm not a fan of Larry Osborne. I don't like his writing style, and his personality slightly irritates me. He does a lot of the things I do, so when I see the things that irritate me about me in him, it irritates me. Getting past that is difficult. I wanted to give this book 2 stars for multiple reasons; I think there are alternatives that may have better results; I think that culture-shifts and the next generation may mess with a lot of his specifics, though the general model could be tweaked to adapt; I don't like how he thinks he's always right and his way is the best way (once again because that's the same irritating thing that I do). I also think that Chris Sonksen's church boom has a much better and easily adaptable method without having to make the entire church revolve around a small group idea that not everybody likes. Still, this book got three stars rather than less for multiple reasons: it was well thought out; it was very thorough; there was more than enough examples and clarity. The basic idea is relatively simple: Because most people will only come to 2 things in any given week, make the first thing the Sunday morning service, and the second thing a sermon-based small group. I loved his discussion on how to put people into groups, why Cho's model doesn't work in America, and why you shouldn't split groups. What is a sermon-based small group? The small group uses the Sunday sermon as the launching point for relationship-based discussion. I think his plan limits the possibility of leadership and service, but it works for him and he sees results, so that's great. Unfortunately, it would never work at my church because we are a "turnaround church" with a history of failed small groups and the community would not like this. Maybe in the future, but not yet. Still, if you read the first couple of chapters you'll be able to learn the basic methods and adapt it to your situation - and if you have any questions you can just finish the book. Worth reading if you are not sure which way to move your church forward, but we already transitioned to the church boom method, so we'll have to put a pin in adapting some of the lessons from this book.
April 21, 2021
I enjoyed and appreciated this book for what it is. This book is like sitting down with Larry and him giving practical advice on what he has learned about small group ministry. It is fiercely practical. It is not a theological work and that will definitely rub some the wrong way.
I did not come away from this book convinced that Larry's small group method is the best model. But I learned a lot. His focus on practicality will help give you ideas even if you go a different direction than him.
Don't read this book if you want to hear biblical and theological reasons for small groups or how churches should work.
But if you want to hear a purely relationship focused version of small groups then give this a look.
I did not come away from this book convinced that Larry's small group method is the best model. But I learned a lot. His focus on practicality will help give you ideas even if you go a different direction than him.
Don't read this book if you want to hear biblical and theological reasons for small groups or how churches should work.
But if you want to hear a purely relationship focused version of small groups then give this a look.
July 5, 2024
This book is a great read for any Pastor looking to start small group ministry at their church! It is very informative and while I do not think this is the way you have to do small group ministry, I do think he makes the best case for sermon based groups I have heard!
December 26, 2025
A thorough examination of the whys and hows of small group ministries within churches. I didn’t expect to get much out of this but it surprised me.
August 26, 2020
I cannot say enough good things about this book! I loved Larry’s approach to small groups and I thought each section was well balanced and practical. This is a great read for churches who have small groups or are seeking to implement them! I wish I could have every pastor and church leadership team read this book!
February 24, 2011
Quick read. Osbourne writes with humor and a conversational tone. This is not a biblically-centered work. Scripture was rarely cited and was not the basis for the work. Basically, Osborne pastors a big, California mega-church that used to not be very big. This book is his reasoning as to how they were able to sustain growth, namely through sermon-based small groups.
Osborne's book has some helpful tips and ideas, but it wasn't worth the $18.99 sticker price. It was fun to read this book in juxtaposition to Rainer's High Expectations. Both books discuss the need to "shut the back door" of churches and retain members; both books come to very different conclusions: Rainer's is based on thorough data from many churches; Osborne's is based on his own personal experience. Rainer recommends Sunday School as the primary tool for assimilation and retention - Rainer also suggests weekday small-groups are overrated. Osborne comes to the very opposite conclusion.
Osborne's book has some helpful tips and ideas, but it wasn't worth the $18.99 sticker price. It was fun to read this book in juxtaposition to Rainer's High Expectations. Both books discuss the need to "shut the back door" of churches and retain members; both books come to very different conclusions: Rainer's is based on thorough data from many churches; Osborne's is based on his own personal experience. Rainer recommends Sunday School as the primary tool for assimilation and retention - Rainer also suggests weekday small-groups are overrated. Osborne comes to the very opposite conclusion.
March 1, 2017
the book would need to be adapted for my context, but I think it's an intriguing concept, at the heart...first, the idea about how a church closes the back door of the church is intriguing. we concentrate so much on inviting and welcoming newcomers that we might not pay attention to what keeps people engaging and growing in a congregation. I have learned and tried a variety of small group ministries, but I like the idea of the sermon-based small group as the foundation of small group ministry in a congregation.
May 28, 2019
This is another in a long line of "how to" books on ministry. I find them tedious, including this one. What worked on the North Shore of San Diego may or may not work in Weiser, Idaho. I doubt it. The book is all about sermon-based small groups. I have seen it done before. It usually works for a season, but is rarely if ever a long-term solution to running small groups. I may make myself a promise to not read another "how to" ministry book ever again. We'll see.
November 16, 2008
I love this book. Sticky Church talks about how North Coast Church gets people to stick in their church by developing lasting close relationships through sermon-based small groups. They work hard to close the "back door" by attracting 80% of their church attenders to small groups. I also went to the conference...loved it!
September 26, 2011
Another practical book on pastoral ministry. Larry deals with developing sermon based small groups in this book. The idea here is "keeping the back door closed" so as to not just increase numbers, but to keep those who are a part of the congregation. He desires to see a healthy congregation not simply get mor information, but rather learn to apply the truth they have already received.
November 20, 2015
We are in the process of preparing for small groups in our church. A friend of mine suggested this book to me. I really liked it and I thought it was a very practical book. It is now time to take some of the things shared in this book and prepare for our coming small groups. Excited to see what the Lord will do through them!
July 2, 2019
In Sticky Church Larry Osborne answers the question: what’s the best way to grow the church? Osborne says there are two approaches: either growing through widening the front door or through closing the back door: “Ultimately, the church grows in one of two ways: It gets more people to come through the front door, or it stops losing people out the back door.” Osborne believes the best way to grow the church is to care well for those already at the church, specifically through small groups.
Osborne says this approach is unusual: “[W]e’ve often become so focused on reaching people that we’ve forgotten the importance of keeping people.” And again, “[M]ost churches give the back door scant attention.” Osborne says that at his church North Coast their approach is this: “[W]e’ve simply tried to serve our people so well that they’ll want to bring their friends, without needing to be asked to do so.”
Osborne believes this approach is following Christ’s call for our churches: to become places that are characterized by disciple-making. He says, “He told us to make disciples—a task that includes baptizing people and teaching them to obey everything he commanded.”
Osborne says this attitude is swimming upstream from most churches. A front-door church is a trap, he believes, it creates a culture of always trying to find something that is bigger and better: “Front-door churches tend to look for the newest and best ways to be noticed and bring people in.”
Osborne strongly advocates for sermon-based small groups. He suggests that the most important measurement of success for engagement “is the participation of the church’s leaders.”
Osborne believes that sermon based small groups fulfill a number of objectives: 1) they empower the body; 2) they connect people in meaningful relationships; 3) they align the congregation on a single mission.
Osborne believes the “Holy Man myth” is crippling to a church. “If someone in our church needed prayer, advice, or simply a visit in the hospital, I was the only one they wanted. If someone else showed up, apparently their prayers wouldn’t take and their advice wouldn’t work. And if I never made it to the hospital, the patient was sure to complain, ‘No one from the church ever visited me’—even though their friends (who were all from the church) stopped by daily.” In contrast, small groups empowers the body to care for one another.
Groups also create meaningful relationships. Osborne believes that “[T]ransparency is hardly the hallmark of most churches. So much so that for most people, the stereotype of a church is a place with lots of plastic smiles. Small groups can change that, because by their nature and structure, they naturally foster greater honesty and transparency.” For this reason, Osborne believes that dividing groups is a dumb idea because it undermines the trust and intimacy of a group.
Osborne says at North Coast they try relentlessly to simply the demands of those in the church. Over-programming can kill clarity of vision and community. He says, “As a rule of thumb, most people will participate in only two time slots a week.” Meanwhile, “I find that most churches have too many things on the docket.”
Osborne says that sermon-based small groups help propel them forward in each of their vital signs. He shares: “The five areas [vital signs] we monitor are: Word, Worship, Witness, Warmth, Works.” With this in mind, they look for small group leaders who are marked by spiritual warmth and relational warmth.
Osborne concludes that “Sticky churches are ultimately held together by strong webs of relationships.”
I appreciate Osborne’s simple solution to a significant problem shared by all churches today. I am a fan of small groups, even sermon-based small groups and I think Osborne’s approach is sound. That said, I didn’t love what felt like a straw-man approach in the book. I don’t think we need to choose back door over front door. There are lots of insular churches in America who don’t have a back door issue, but have a major front door issue. Just as much as we need to push our people to engage in meaningful community within the church, we need to push our people into evangelism outside the church. It’s the latter issue that I have found to be a more difficult challenge.
For more visit www.thebeehive.live.
Osborne says this approach is unusual: “[W]e’ve often become so focused on reaching people that we’ve forgotten the importance of keeping people.” And again, “[M]ost churches give the back door scant attention.” Osborne says that at his church North Coast their approach is this: “[W]e’ve simply tried to serve our people so well that they’ll want to bring their friends, without needing to be asked to do so.”
Osborne believes this approach is following Christ’s call for our churches: to become places that are characterized by disciple-making. He says, “He told us to make disciples—a task that includes baptizing people and teaching them to obey everything he commanded.”
Osborne says this attitude is swimming upstream from most churches. A front-door church is a trap, he believes, it creates a culture of always trying to find something that is bigger and better: “Front-door churches tend to look for the newest and best ways to be noticed and bring people in.”
Osborne strongly advocates for sermon-based small groups. He suggests that the most important measurement of success for engagement “is the participation of the church’s leaders.”
Osborne believes that sermon based small groups fulfill a number of objectives: 1) they empower the body; 2) they connect people in meaningful relationships; 3) they align the congregation on a single mission.
Osborne believes the “Holy Man myth” is crippling to a church. “If someone in our church needed prayer, advice, or simply a visit in the hospital, I was the only one they wanted. If someone else showed up, apparently their prayers wouldn’t take and their advice wouldn’t work. And if I never made it to the hospital, the patient was sure to complain, ‘No one from the church ever visited me’—even though their friends (who were all from the church) stopped by daily.” In contrast, small groups empowers the body to care for one another.
Groups also create meaningful relationships. Osborne believes that “[T]ransparency is hardly the hallmark of most churches. So much so that for most people, the stereotype of a church is a place with lots of plastic smiles. Small groups can change that, because by their nature and structure, they naturally foster greater honesty and transparency.” For this reason, Osborne believes that dividing groups is a dumb idea because it undermines the trust and intimacy of a group.
Osborne says at North Coast they try relentlessly to simply the demands of those in the church. Over-programming can kill clarity of vision and community. He says, “As a rule of thumb, most people will participate in only two time slots a week.” Meanwhile, “I find that most churches have too many things on the docket.”
Osborne says that sermon-based small groups help propel them forward in each of their vital signs. He shares: “The five areas [vital signs] we monitor are: Word, Worship, Witness, Warmth, Works.” With this in mind, they look for small group leaders who are marked by spiritual warmth and relational warmth.
Osborne concludes that “Sticky churches are ultimately held together by strong webs of relationships.”
I appreciate Osborne’s simple solution to a significant problem shared by all churches today. I am a fan of small groups, even sermon-based small groups and I think Osborne’s approach is sound. That said, I didn’t love what felt like a straw-man approach in the book. I don’t think we need to choose back door over front door. There are lots of insular churches in America who don’t have a back door issue, but have a major front door issue. Just as much as we need to push our people to engage in meaningful community within the church, we need to push our people into evangelism outside the church. It’s the latter issue that I have found to be a more difficult challenge.
For more visit www.thebeehive.live.
March 18, 2022
This book is really hard to understand what to do with. On one hand I have no doubt his ideas would work. Getting 80% of your congregation to small groups would be a revelation and the church would experience massive growth and people would stick around. I also think his ideas would work, his small group formation and leadership training is solid and is flexible enough to be used anywhere, but is laid out enough that it wouldn't leave anyone without a starting point. I think these are solid ideas that a lot of pastors would be wise to look into and see how they could . . . manipulate for their purposes.
And this is where I struggle. I think some of his ideas are based on the wrong foundation, and some of his conclusions are flawed because of it.
First, his church experienced huge growth from 1980 to about 2008. That is awesome! and he credits small-groups as the reason for that. Well, San Diego also exploded in population at that time. The growth chart is almost a straight line going up, San Diego doubled from 1.7 million people to 3.5 million people. I'd imagine any church would have been successful with that kind of population explosion, at the same time, my small town went from about 2,000 to 3,000 people. No amount of small groups is going to make that a mega-church.
I also struggle with what kind of success he has had. Our goal is NOT to get people into a church building. It is certainly a measure for success, but it is not the ultimate goal, and since his small groups revolve around his sermons and not really the Bible . . . I'm just not sure how eternally successful they are.
Which is my biggest complaint with the idea as a whole. This man is clearly a solid leader (he's allowed this huge amount of change, and been open to more change which is amazing), he's clearly got a solid personality (it comes out well in his writing), he's intelligent, and he is probably a solid speaker (his chapter on sermons is the hardest one to mesh with what a church should be.) Anyone who has been at a single church for 30 years is going to have a level of success . . . but what happens when a less experienced pastor gives terrible sermons, or wrong sermons? Now, because our focus is on the speaker/leader, we've set the Bible aside and are leading people astray. You've gone from a great good, to the greatest of evils.
I didn't think it would bother me as much as it did, but he never really mentioned prayer, or Bible reading, or expository preaching (when he did mention expository preaching it was more about being remembered than being grounded in the Word). These groups became about social connections and friend groups as opposed to studying the living Word of God.
So, I'm not sure what to do with this . . . small groups grounded and built upon the Bible are a great idea and every church should use them. But . . . this is a lot of Pop Psychology, set in one of the most liberal states in the union, set at a time with huge social growth unrelated to this man's purpose, and built on a very charismatic and lovable leader.
His ideas are flawed . . . and should be read with a discerning eye. I'd rather have a small church with people grounded in the Bible, then a mega-church with people grounded in each other.
And this is where I struggle. I think some of his ideas are based on the wrong foundation, and some of his conclusions are flawed because of it.
First, his church experienced huge growth from 1980 to about 2008. That is awesome! and he credits small-groups as the reason for that. Well, San Diego also exploded in population at that time. The growth chart is almost a straight line going up, San Diego doubled from 1.7 million people to 3.5 million people. I'd imagine any church would have been successful with that kind of population explosion, at the same time, my small town went from about 2,000 to 3,000 people. No amount of small groups is going to make that a mega-church.
I also struggle with what kind of success he has had. Our goal is NOT to get people into a church building. It is certainly a measure for success, but it is not the ultimate goal, and since his small groups revolve around his sermons and not really the Bible . . . I'm just not sure how eternally successful they are.
Which is my biggest complaint with the idea as a whole. This man is clearly a solid leader (he's allowed this huge amount of change, and been open to more change which is amazing), he's clearly got a solid personality (it comes out well in his writing), he's intelligent, and he is probably a solid speaker (his chapter on sermons is the hardest one to mesh with what a church should be.) Anyone who has been at a single church for 30 years is going to have a level of success . . . but what happens when a less experienced pastor gives terrible sermons, or wrong sermons? Now, because our focus is on the speaker/leader, we've set the Bible aside and are leading people astray. You've gone from a great good, to the greatest of evils.
I didn't think it would bother me as much as it did, but he never really mentioned prayer, or Bible reading, or expository preaching (when he did mention expository preaching it was more about being remembered than being grounded in the Word). These groups became about social connections and friend groups as opposed to studying the living Word of God.
So, I'm not sure what to do with this . . . small groups grounded and built upon the Bible are a great idea and every church should use them. But . . . this is a lot of Pop Psychology, set in one of the most liberal states in the union, set at a time with huge social growth unrelated to this man's purpose, and built on a very charismatic and lovable leader.
His ideas are flawed . . . and should be read with a discerning eye. I'd rather have a small church with people grounded in the Bible, then a mega-church with people grounded in each other.
September 13, 2021
This was the last book I had remaining from the Leadership Network series, and like all of the books in this series, I felt the author missed some vert important points about the purpose of the church and its mission. The first two sections of this book continued on that track. The third section of the book was a present surprise. I felt the other made many good points about how to develop small groups in a church and how to make sure they stay effective and aren’t just a passing fad.
In the first two section of the book, Osborne discusses things like the importance of bringing people through the doors of a church, members not being prepared for evangelism, Christians not needing to be prepared for hard times in life, and the importance forming relationships with each other. I think many of these things, especially the way they are discussed, show that Osborne misses what I believe to be the purpose of the local church. To train up believers to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
The last section of the book that goes into how to develop small groups in your church I think had a lot of good points I had never considered before as well as reinforced ideas I have heard before and seen work. I agree it is important for a group to gel together and be able to trust each other. I liked how he discussed people not having time for more than two time slots a week to dedicate to the church. I have seen this as a very real hang up for people joining another activity, making their already busy schedule even busier. I liked the idea of adding easy “exit ramps” for people to leave if they feel a small group is not for them, as well as easy “entrance ramps” for new people to join groups. I also liked how he talked about the dangers of splitting established small groups in order to adjust for growth in the church. This does seem like an easy way to adjust for growth, but it can be very harmful to the group and cuts people off from relationships they have formed. Osborne also discusses ways to find leaders and weed out bad ones. I liked the idea of having apprentice leaders in small groups in order to be forming the next round of leaders. This allows mentorship as well as weeding of people in the church who see themselves as leaders or are being called as leaders.
At the beginning of this book, I didn’t think I would end up recommending it to anyone, but by the end, there was a lot I had learned from Osborne and I’m glad I kept an open mind and ultimately finished this book.
In the first two section of the book, Osborne discusses things like the importance of bringing people through the doors of a church, members not being prepared for evangelism, Christians not needing to be prepared for hard times in life, and the importance forming relationships with each other. I think many of these things, especially the way they are discussed, show that Osborne misses what I believe to be the purpose of the local church. To train up believers to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
The last section of the book that goes into how to develop small groups in your church I think had a lot of good points I had never considered before as well as reinforced ideas I have heard before and seen work. I agree it is important for a group to gel together and be able to trust each other. I liked how he discussed people not having time for more than two time slots a week to dedicate to the church. I have seen this as a very real hang up for people joining another activity, making their already busy schedule even busier. I liked the idea of adding easy “exit ramps” for people to leave if they feel a small group is not for them, as well as easy “entrance ramps” for new people to join groups. I also liked how he talked about the dangers of splitting established small groups in order to adjust for growth in the church. This does seem like an easy way to adjust for growth, but it can be very harmful to the group and cuts people off from relationships they have formed. Osborne also discusses ways to find leaders and weed out bad ones. I liked the idea of having apprentice leaders in small groups in order to be forming the next round of leaders. This allows mentorship as well as weeding of people in the church who see themselves as leaders or are being called as leaders.
At the beginning of this book, I didn’t think I would end up recommending it to anyone, but by the end, there was a lot I had learned from Osborne and I’m glad I kept an open mind and ultimately finished this book.
October 4, 2019
Too many times we see Church like a revolving door, we see just as many come in as we see leave!! In "Sticky Faith" Larry Osborne shares how he has seen God not just add people to the church but also how they have remained there and are growing. Through Bible principles, personal stories, and strategic processes - Larry writes and encourages the reader on how to make your church more likely to see less people leave.
Of course as a Pastor this idea and concept quickly grabs my attention as does his personal testimonies and procedures they have at his church. People are relational and they want a place to belong and want to be with people with whom they feel connected to. Churches have lost their vision and have tried to be so event driven that it is exhausting trying to play the "Big and Better Game!" There is a good amount that I personal agree with as well as have challenged me. however, there is also some that do not agree with. There is no secret formula to have church growth or keep members/ leaving. Church growth (numerically) doesn't mean church health!
Overall a good book. Some great ideas (love the sermon based small group idea) but remember God is the one who brings the increase. You can't go wrong following God. Just because it works for one church doesn't mean we should try it or that it will work for another!
Of course as a Pastor this idea and concept quickly grabs my attention as does his personal testimonies and procedures they have at his church. People are relational and they want a place to belong and want to be with people with whom they feel connected to. Churches have lost their vision and have tried to be so event driven that it is exhausting trying to play the "Big and Better Game!" There is a good amount that I personal agree with as well as have challenged me. however, there is also some that do not agree with. There is no secret formula to have church growth or keep members/ leaving. Church growth (numerically) doesn't mean church health!
Overall a good book. Some great ideas (love the sermon based small group idea) but remember God is the one who brings the increase. You can't go wrong following God. Just because it works for one church doesn't mean we should try it or that it will work for another!
July 15, 2024
I picked up this book on a hunch passing a Christian bookstore on the way home from a pickleball game. It was right next to the other book, "Sticky Teams" which I also picked up. I really enjoyed Larry Osborn's book, "10 Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe," and was really surprised that I never heard of these books. I was intrigued by the cover, and what really caught my eye was the main sentence on the back cover, "Does it matter how many people are coming through the front door if the back door is wide open?"
This struck a chord with me. Why are we so focused on the people coming in if we are not feeding the sheep that are already in the barn? That's why so many "seeker-friendly" churches fail. Inside the book, it gives a fantastic way to feed the sheep in the barn using sermon-based small group ministry.
But this book doesn't just tell you what to do and does not show you how. This book gives you everything you need to accomplish this. An impressive book, with an impressive appendix with so many resources, it is worth every penny, and more. I really love everything Larry Osborne does, and this book doesn't disappoint.
This struck a chord with me. Why are we so focused on the people coming in if we are not feeding the sheep that are already in the barn? That's why so many "seeker-friendly" churches fail. Inside the book, it gives a fantastic way to feed the sheep in the barn using sermon-based small group ministry.
But this book doesn't just tell you what to do and does not show you how. This book gives you everything you need to accomplish this. An impressive book, with an impressive appendix with so many resources, it is worth every penny, and more. I really love everything Larry Osborne does, and this book doesn't disappoint.
October 25, 2018
I enjoyed the overall concept of the book ie. "closing the back door of the church." I believe this to be a crucial component in making disciples. Many churches focus efforts on reaching new people, but never truly take time to keep the ones they have.
The method proposed for "sticking" people to your church is Sermon Based Small Groups. Osborn takes you through how these groups effectively made North Coast a "sticky church."
Our church is currently transitioning to a similar system. As the one who is in charge of this transition, this book has been an invaluable resource. My only complaint is that there is not more! I wish he would dive deeper into their sermon based system. He claims he doesn't do this because each church must adapt the sermon based model to their needs. However, in doing this, he leaves readers hanging on a couple of key concepts such as developing curriculum and training leaders.
Overall, it is a book I will refer to again and is a good resource for anyone thinking about implementing a sermon based group model.
The method proposed for "sticking" people to your church is Sermon Based Small Groups. Osborn takes you through how these groups effectively made North Coast a "sticky church."
Our church is currently transitioning to a similar system. As the one who is in charge of this transition, this book has been an invaluable resource. My only complaint is that there is not more! I wish he would dive deeper into their sermon based system. He claims he doesn't do this because each church must adapt the sermon based model to their needs. However, in doing this, he leaves readers hanging on a couple of key concepts such as developing curriculum and training leaders.
Overall, it is a book I will refer to again and is a good resource for anyone thinking about implementing a sermon based group model.
October 21, 2022
You need to take this book for what it is. It is the reason for and the how to of doing sermon-based small groups. And I think it's brilliant.
His basic premise is this. If we want to see more people reached with the gospel, it will happen primarily through tight-knit relationships centered around people learning and applying the truths of the Bible. And the best vehicle to achieve these goals is the sermon-based small group.
And I think for the most part he's right. The small group does build those relationships and I think it builds it better than most models. Now, I might quibble with a few of how he carries out some of his groups (e.g. I wouldn't set such a low bar for leaders and I'm still on the fence about the wisdom of capping small groups) but overall, this is what is needed for most churches: a very practical how-to guide on building a small group ministry.
Very accessible, very well written, and very helpful. "Sticky Church" is a great starting point for any church trying to build a small group ministry.
His basic premise is this. If we want to see more people reached with the gospel, it will happen primarily through tight-knit relationships centered around people learning and applying the truths of the Bible. And the best vehicle to achieve these goals is the sermon-based small group.
And I think for the most part he's right. The small group does build those relationships and I think it builds it better than most models. Now, I might quibble with a few of how he carries out some of his groups (e.g. I wouldn't set such a low bar for leaders and I'm still on the fence about the wisdom of capping small groups) but overall, this is what is needed for most churches: a very practical how-to guide on building a small group ministry.
Very accessible, very well written, and very helpful. "Sticky Church" is a great starting point for any church trying to build a small group ministry.
April 3, 2020
What's the secret to a sticky church? According to Larry Osborne it's small groups! Osborne looks at ways to make church "sticky." In short - how to get people to stay. Most churches are focused on bringing in new people, but forget to close the backdoor. So while new members and visitors may climb, church numbers stay stagnant as other members and visitors leave. His philosophy to the sticky church is to have strong, sermon-based small groups. I thought the concept was very interesting and enlightening as a leader, but sometimes the practical steps seemed contradictory. At times, Osborne challenged me to renew my perspective on small groups and how to keep from staying stagnant as a leader. Also included as guides and templates to use in your own church or small group.
August 23, 2021
Such a good reversal of what is so often attempted. Instead of doing everything possible to attract new people and "open the front door wide," work hard to "close the back door" and work to create a place where people want to stay.
The key was in getting clear about what the core purpose of the church was to be in their community. They realised they wanted to be a church where people grew closer together in deep, Christ centred relationships. That meant that everything they did as a church was put through the lens of "will this help our core purpose?"
They landed on small groups, but not just any old small groups.
I love the practical steps outlined in the book and the fact that this book comes after many years of fruit, not a flash in the pan thing.
The key was in getting clear about what the core purpose of the church was to be in their community. They realised they wanted to be a church where people grew closer together in deep, Christ centred relationships. That meant that everything they did as a church was put through the lens of "will this help our core purpose?"
They landed on small groups, but not just any old small groups.
I love the practical steps outlined in the book and the fact that this book comes after many years of fruit, not a flash in the pan thing.
June 3, 2025
Context: I'm new to reading about church organization and programming.
I enjoyed reading these insights from Larry Osborne. He makes it clear that his tactics for helping people "stick" in the church are flexible and will change depending on the culture the church is located in.
There are some things he mentioned that seem pretty offensive to those desiring to grow deeper in their walk with Jesus, I'm going to need to mull that over a bit. I think culture has a huge impact here - a topical sermon church vs. an expositional sermon church will have different desires as well.
Overall, it was an interesting read and gave me a few points to discuss. I love how he writes his table of contents so I can review the material with someone else without them having to read it.
I enjoyed reading these insights from Larry Osborne. He makes it clear that his tactics for helping people "stick" in the church are flexible and will change depending on the culture the church is located in.
There are some things he mentioned that seem pretty offensive to those desiring to grow deeper in their walk with Jesus, I'm going to need to mull that over a bit. I think culture has a huge impact here - a topical sermon church vs. an expositional sermon church will have different desires as well.
Overall, it was an interesting read and gave me a few points to discuss. I love how he writes his table of contents so I can review the material with someone else without them having to read it.
May 3, 2018
Thought provoking, somewhat step by step description of starting or revamping small groups in local churches. I personally found this book to be very helpful as a key resource for thinking through the idea of small group ministry!
I did like that the author mentioned often that the concept of small groups, while effective in his ministry, may NOT work everywhere and for everyone! He states that the concept of "Sticky Church" is all about relationships and the small group ministry is just one way to make relationships priority in the local church.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for ideas on church continuity, cohesiveness and growth.
I did like that the author mentioned often that the concept of small groups, while effective in his ministry, may NOT work everywhere and for everyone! He states that the concept of "Sticky Church" is all about relationships and the small group ministry is just one way to make relationships priority in the local church.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for ideas on church continuity, cohesiveness and growth.
October 19, 2020
I want to start sermon-based small groups at the church I pastor, so I read this book to learn how to do it. There was a lot of information about why to do it, how to choose leaders, and the logistics of how the groups should be organized and run. What was lacking was how to develop the content. Other than one set of examples for one sermon that was provided in an appendix, there was nothing about how to create the notes sheet to be used during the sermon or how to write the homework questions. This is crucial information and should not be left out. After having read this book, I feel like I ought to be fully equipped to get started and I am disappointed that I'm not.
July 6, 2017
This book contains one of the best principles of church growth I have heard in a long time.It also presents a model for small group ministry that is very different from the prevailing Cell based model. If you are like me, and find cell ministry to be culturally irrelevant, then you may find Osborne's sermon-based small groups and focus on significant relationship building better suited to your cultural feels. Even if you are a strong adherant to cell based small group ministry, the principle of closing the "back door" of your church will make this a valuable read.
March 28, 2020
I think Osborne’s book has aged a lot in the last 10 years. I can see why this book was so popular back when it came out. And frankly, it has some good stuff in there. I agree we need to close the back door of our churches and disciple the people we have to reach the people we want to reach. But his model is one-dimensional. I think people can experience growth, relationship and discipleship in more than just a sermon-based group meant just church people. Definitely a must read for pastors involved in small groups, a good book to think through.
September 4, 2022
Our pastor encouraged us, as a church board, to read this book. Larry Osborne has taken years to come to a conclusion as to what makes a church "sticky." I found it to be really insightful, and the ideas he sets forth are scalable to churches of any size. You may not come to the same conclusions as Osborne (e.g. He says groups in his church are based on discussing the weekly sermons), but you will understand the logic of his decision. This book was an easy read and well worth it for any pastor or church leader.
August 22, 2017
So many churches have issues with members sticking with them. The back door needs to be closed. The ideas in this book offer practical help in how this can be done. It is an easy read. The lessons are drawn from the experiences of Osborne and his North Coast Church. I wonder how it works in a different setting, community and church culture. The preparation of the questions and resources for the small groups seems a daunting task. More help there would be a good revision for this book.
August 22, 2018
A lot of good, practical advice, but I found the tone unpalatable.
It was very utilitarian, what works and what doesn't, which I found off-putting, as well as a lot of the churchianity-institutional-buzz-word-talk. I don't doubt the sincerity of the author, however.
I also appreciated that he wasn't saying that he had stumbled on the best possible Church structure ever, but instead framed it as something that works well here in our fiercely Independent American culture.
It was very utilitarian, what works and what doesn't, which I found off-putting, as well as a lot of the churchianity-institutional-buzz-word-talk. I don't doubt the sincerity of the author, however.
I also appreciated that he wasn't saying that he had stumbled on the best possible Church structure ever, but instead framed it as something that works well here in our fiercely Independent American culture.
October 11, 2017
4.5 stars
I certainly don't agree with everything. It was probably 75% Great and 25% of it I thought, in my own philosophy, was iffy.
It gives many great insights and is helpful in many areas.
Osborne has much wisdom to share, even if I don't always agree.
I would recommend the book to Christians in leadership positions.
I certainly don't agree with everything. It was probably 75% Great and 25% of it I thought, in my own philosophy, was iffy.
It gives many great insights and is helpful in many areas.
Osborne has much wisdom to share, even if I don't always agree.
I would recommend the book to Christians in leadership positions.
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