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A Short Guide to Groups: The Art of Leading Community
We are made for community. Deep within the heart of people is a longing to both know others and be known by them, and groups ministry has the opportunity to meet these needs in every church.
Groups are an art, not a science. There's no one-size-fits-all formula for designing transformational groups that God uses to mold people into the image of Christ together. There are dozens of variables and unknowns in the work of groups, but we believe the following is
Groups, at their core, embody the call to love one another found sixty times throughout the New Testament. This book is for people who love the possibilities of groups. And for those who want to.
Groups are an art, not a science. There's no one-size-fits-all formula for designing transformational groups that God uses to mold people into the image of Christ together. There are dozens of variables and unknowns in the work of groups, but we believe the following is
Groups, at their core, embody the call to love one another found sixty times throughout the New Testament. This book is for people who love the possibilities of groups. And for those who want to.
- GenresChristianDiscipleship
192 pages, Hardcover
Published May 23, 2023
12 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 29, 2023
Groups is a book that does what it sets out to do - a deep dive into small groups ministry in the local church. The authors bring a wealth of ministry experience to the book. Ministry books like this are not my favorite to read, but for churches that have small groups ministry (which would be most churches) it should be a valuable resource and I would recommend it.
Why only three stars? Well, three stars in Goodreads represents "I liked it." Aside from my earlier note about ministry books not being my favorite category to read, some of the book's claims were overstated. Here are two examples: "So goes groups, so goes the church. So goes the church, so goes groups." This couplet is repeated throughout the book as axiomatic. But is it really true? If so, then developing a healthy community groups ministry would have to be the first priority of a local church, before or along side of things like faithful preaching, worship, ordinances, biblical leadership, etc. (all those things are explicitly commanded). I think small groups ministries could be very important depending on the size of the church. But the Bible no where commands small groups. Small groups COULD be a wise vehicle to do some of the other things Christians are supposed to do (like all the "one anothers" and exercise of spiritual gifts). So I would put small groups in the category of useful strategy to do some of the things that the Bible requires rather than the thing that the Bible requires itself. Second, (and this is a lesser example) the biblical justification for using homes for small group ministry felt a bit forced. Jesus did some of his ministry in homes, but not all. The early church met in homes (when they were not meeting in the other places). But where else were such things to take place in that early context? Again, I think meeting in homes is wise and effective for a myriad of reasons (many of which are helpfully given in the book). Claiming scriptural warrant for meeting in homes felt more like prooftexting.
Why only three stars? Well, three stars in Goodreads represents "I liked it." Aside from my earlier note about ministry books not being my favorite category to read, some of the book's claims were overstated. Here are two examples: "So goes groups, so goes the church. So goes the church, so goes groups." This couplet is repeated throughout the book as axiomatic. But is it really true? If so, then developing a healthy community groups ministry would have to be the first priority of a local church, before or along side of things like faithful preaching, worship, ordinances, biblical leadership, etc. (all those things are explicitly commanded). I think small groups ministries could be very important depending on the size of the church. But the Bible no where commands small groups. Small groups COULD be a wise vehicle to do some of the other things Christians are supposed to do (like all the "one anothers" and exercise of spiritual gifts). So I would put small groups in the category of useful strategy to do some of the things that the Bible requires rather than the thing that the Bible requires itself. Second, (and this is a lesser example) the biblical justification for using homes for small group ministry felt a bit forced. Jesus did some of his ministry in homes, but not all. The early church met in homes (when they were not meeting in the other places). But where else were such things to take place in that early context? Again, I think meeting in homes is wise and effective for a myriad of reasons (many of which are helpfully given in the book). Claiming scriptural warrant for meeting in homes felt more like prooftexting.
August 24, 2024
3.5 A brief, useful manual for church small groups. Plenty of practical wisdom for new leaders.
Overstates the importance of small groups to the health of a church, in my opinion: “So goes small groups, so goes the church.”
Overstates the importance of small groups to the health of a church, in my opinion: “So goes small groups, so goes the church.”
April 5, 2025
This books is overall pretty good. It covers the positive reasons for having a small group ministry. A few things I don’t like about this book. I feel that it makes groups more important than they are. Maybe in a large church but smaller more average attendance would not make groups as big of a deal. Also I feel that they do not like sermon based groups at all which is sad because I have seen the benefits of it. Overall though it is a good little guide on groups
January 4, 2025
Overall this book was ok. It had good content overall but I was not convinced as a must read book for small group leaders. I fully believe in small groups which is a main point this book is trying to drive home, the main idea being groups is where transformation happens and where we can live out the "one another" commands in Scripture. It had some helpful sections specifically on prayer and how to make that more of a focal point in your groups, but again it was overall just ok. Maybe it would be more helpful for someone feeling discouraged as a small group leader or who has not lead a group before.
April 2, 2024
Good, will probably revisit throughout my life
December 30, 2024
Jared Musgrove and Justin Elafros have written an incredibly helpful and insightful book about small groups within a church context. I appreciated that Musgrove and Elafros shared the why behind the how to lead groups. That it wasn't just a how to book, but really shared the heart behind why groups work the way they do and how to build strong relationships and build context for how the group should begin, grow, develop, and even end! It was such a thoughtful approach and introduced some ideas I hadn't considered before! Highly Recommend!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews