Small Groups with Purpose: How to Create Healthy Communities [Hardcover]

Steve Gladen (Author), Rick Warren (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2011

Over the past fifteen years, small groups have become a vital way to build community in large churches. Nowhere has this been more apparent than at Saddleback Church. Now Steve Gladen, pastor of small groups at Saddleback, shares the secrets of that ministry's incredible success in creating small groups with purpose.

This practical book walks church leaders through the questions they need to answer to develop their own intentional small group strategy. Built around the most commonly asked questions, Small Groups with Purpose outlines the step-by-step process of creating a successful small group ministry. Because it is built upon principles and not methods, this plan can be implemented in any size church. Each chapter ends with a list of questions for readers to answer to help them assess their current situation and their desires for the future. Personal stories, Scripture, and examples ground the discussion and show the system in action.

Pastors and small group leaders will find this book instrumental in making small groups work in their churches.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Make small groups work in your church!

Over the past fifteen years, small groups have become a vital way to build community in large churches. Nowhere has this been more apparent than at Saddleback Church. Steve Gladen, pastor of small groups at Saddleback, shares the secrets of that ministry's incredible success in creating small groups with purpose.

This practical book walks you through the questions you need to answer to develop your own intentional small group strategy. Because it is built on principles and not methods, this step-by-step process can be implemented successfully in any size church. Each chapter ends with a list of questions for you to answer to help you assess your current situation and your desires for the future. Personal stories, Scripture, and examples ground the discussion and show the system in action.

From the Back Cover

Now the pastor behind the phenomenal success of small groups at Saddleback Church shares his secrets with you.

"In this long-awaited book, Saddleback's brilliant pastor of small groups shares the biblical strategy, the secrets, the failures, and the lessons behind the remarkable growth of our small groups. Saddleback may possibly be the only church in America that consistently has thousands more people attend weekly Bible study in groups than attend our weekend services. So much of that is due to the genius of Steve Gladen, a pastor with a passionate heart for Jesus and his body."―Rick Warren, author, The Purpose Driven Life and The Purpose Driven Church

"You absolutely must put a copy of Steve Gladen's book into the hands of your small group leadership. Steve Gladen sees growth happen year in and year out as he marshals support for the leaders of more than 3,500 small groups. This book relates his learnings from over thirteen years of his Saddleback experience. The wisdom he shares here is a gift."--Carl George, founder, Consulting for Growth, Inc.

"Steve Gladen's new book provides us with a pocket GPS to help us find our way to balanced and healthy small groups in the church. Steve's work reflects the wisdom that comes from living out God's emphasis on developing relational community and discipleship among his people. It also conveys an awareness of favorable routes that groups can take, which endorse God's plan for building up the church to become vigorously alive in Christ. The inclusion of illustrative stories and practical, realistic principles of operation make this an enjoyable read and an enthusiastic stimulator of purposeful groups."--Dr. Julie Gorman, author, Community That Is Christian; professor of Christian formation and discipleship, Fuller Theological Seminary

"Jesus and the early church discipled people through small groups. In this book, my friend Steve Gladen mines the Bible and his leadership experience at Saddleback Church for practical advice on how to create healthy small groups at your church."--George O. Wood, general superintendent, Assemblies of God USA

"Whether your church is pioneering a new approach or you've been at it for years, this book has insight for establishing a sound approach to small group ministry, built on Steve's extensive experience. You will find his book practical and encouraging."--Ed Stetzer, coauthor, Transformational Church

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 235 pages
• Publisher: Baker Books (June 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801013798
• ISBN-13: 978-0801013799
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.9 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #535,106 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Steve attended Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri, where he earned a B.A. in Biblical Studies with minors in Greek and Philosophy in 1982. From there he moved to Pasadena, California and received a Masters of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary with a concentration in Pastoral Counseling in 1985.

While completing his Masters, Steve was awarded an internship at a local church in the San Fernando Valley, which started his full-time pastoral career in 1982. Influenced by the small group model taught at Fuller, Steve began to realize the value of small groups in connecting people to the church and in the discipleship process.

Throughout his ministry, and in churches of varying denominations and sizes, he has successfully implemented the small group strategy in youth ministry, singles ministry and overall church structures.

Steve joined the staff of Saddleback Church (www.saddleback.com) in February of 1998 as Pastor of Small Groups, where he oversees the strategic launch and development of the small group community. Steve also founded the Small Group Network, a network for leaders of small group ministry in 2006 (www.smallgroupnetwork.com). Using the Great Commission and Great Commandment as inspiration, Steve encourages every group member to balance the five Biblical purposes in their heart and groups.

Steve does consulting and seminars throughout the United States and internationally, championing small groups and teaching what it means to have small groups with purpose. Learn more about Steve at www.smallgroups.net.

Steve and his wife Lisa reside in Southern California, have been married since 1989, and have two children, Erika and Ethan.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fabulous Resource! May 26, 2011

By Mark C. Howell

Format:Hardcover

I've said this a number of times, but I want to be sure and say this again. Steve Gladen is a couple of things. First, he's one of the smartest GroupLife guys on the planet. He's also one of the most helpful small group experts on the planet.

Steve's new book, Small Groups with Purpose: How to Create Healthy Communities is a perfect example of his brilliance and his extreme helpfulness. Even better? It is a great book, absolutely packed with wisdom and insight. You'll have trouble finding a chapter that doesn't get extremely marked up, underlined, starred, and dogeared for future reference.

There are several things I really love about the book. First, this is a first person, insider account of the inner workings of the largest small group ministry in North America. That is worth noting. Size isn't everything, but to build something like this takes time, wisdom, patience, and leadership. If you read with eyes to see...you'll have some aha moments about how to build a pervasive small group culture.

Second, you don't have to be a purpose-driven church to really benefit from an understanding of how the model works in grouplife. Important concepts like "healthy groups balance the purposes" are fleshed out in ways that you'll find yourself applying in your context. With a chapter on how groups can develop each of the five purposes, Small Groups with Purpose will become a road map for implementation. It will also provide some insight into the kinds of grouplife attributes and activities that can be measured to determine system health....

Third, Part III, Step-by-Step, How Can I Do This is as sweet and complete a blueprint as you're ever going to come across. Seriously...there aren't many small group practitioners who know as much as I do about how it works at Saddleback, but there were so many no-brainer ideas that I came away with a long list of easy fixes and smart adjustments.

Fourth, each chapter includes a great set of questions that can be used for personal reflection or in the development process of a team. Since this is a book that could easily provide a leadership team exercise for both churches that are considering launching small group ministry as well as churches with groups already that dream of being more effective, this feature will be really helpful.

Finally, the things that stands out the clearest, throughout Small Groups with Purpose, are the author's unassuming brilliance and authentic servant mindset.

This is a great book! It will make a difference in your ministry, whether you're already in the midst of the small group adventure or just trying to chart an effective course.

Carl George said, "You absolutely must put a copy of Steve Gladen's book into the hands of your small group leadership." My one addition? You'd have to be crazy to not take advantage of Small Groups with Purpose, a fabulous resource! Read more ›

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Secret to Saddleback's Groups and Yours August 22, 2011

By Allen White

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

By Allen White, allenwhite.org

When you look at the success of groups at Saddleback Church, it would be easy, though cynical, to assume that you can only achieve that number of groups if they are an inch deep and a mile wide. After observing and participating in the ministry of Saddleback for the last 18 years, I have discovered that Saddleback is both deep and wide.

They cast a broad net to recruit small group H.O.S.T.s and to connect their members into groups. Today, Saddleback has over 3,500 small groups with more folks in groups than in their weekend services. This is due in large part to their small group champion, Rick Warren, the founding pastor of Saddleback Church. A God-given idea and Pastor Rick's influence produced 2,000 new group hosts in their first 40 Days of Purpose campaign. His influence is huge in connecting people into groups. But, connecting and sustaining are two different animals.

Steve Gladen in Small Groups with Purpose outlines a success story not just for retaining numbers, but for life transformation and leadership development. Having run many successful church-wide campaigns myself, I know that it's easy to create a spike in groups during a campaign, but helping those groups to continue is another animal. In this book, Steve Gladen outlines a powerful strategy for gaining and maintaining momentum.

Coaching and training are Saddleback's keys to effective group leaders. Steve presents a unique coaching strategy. Community Leaders, rather than coaches, serve 20-25 groups leaders. This system works due to a key insight: not every group leader needs the same level of coaching. By determining whether the group is new, growing, mature or stubborn, community leaders offer an appropriate level of care.... This is good news for churches who have yet to develop a healthy coaching structure, in that, existing groups have learned how to get along good enough without a coach. New coaches can focus on new leaders, and essentially serve existing leaders by benign neglect.

In the book, Steve Gladen articulates a proven strategy for starting and sustaining new leaders. At Saddleback, H.O.S.T.s start with the experience of leading a group for six weeks, then they are introduced to training. After leading for a few weeks, the training is more meaningful to the new leaders and can be directly applied to their group. Churches often make the mistake of over-training before a leader even starts to lead. If the prospective leader can survive the training, then they can lead a group. In my opinion, over-training actually reflects more of the small group pastor's insecurity and need for control rather than adequately preparing members to lead. Community Leaders provide the help that new leaders need at Saddleback. Having someone in the new leader's life is far more significant than endless hours of training up front.

Another outstanding strength of Saddleback's training system is the intentional, on-going training pathway. Once leaders have completed Leadership Training 1, they receive care from their Community Leader and are offered on-going training that is appropriate to their skills and experience. The genius of this system is that all of the leaders start Leadership Training 2 with the third module, Health, then proceed to future modules based on their needs and experience as a leader. Custom, just-in-time training is key to serving new leaders and keeping their interest and participation in training. Cookie cutter, "one size fits all" training is a relic of the past. No small group pastor should blame their leaders for not attending training. If you're not scratching where they itch, it's on you.

Balancing the five biblical purposes produces healthy group members. While many churches develop groups that specialize in fellowship or Bible study, these types of groups focus on meeting the needs of the group members, but don't necessarily produce well-rounded disciples. Then, you wonder why groups are unwilling to help in starting new groups or won't reach out to others. It's all about them. Why do they need to create any discomfort for themselves?

The Health Assessment helps both groups and individuals to identify their strengths and growth areas. More importantly, the Health Plan helps them create appropriate next steps for their growth. Whether the members are ready to crawl, walk or run, growth is determined at their own place and pace. No one expects a baby to get up and start running. No one should expect a mature adult to revert to crawling either.

Balancing the five biblical purposes is key. While most groups and group members will be strong in fellowship and discipleship, they will more than likely be weak in worship, ministry and evangelism. Rather than creating a group of comfortable, Bible eggheads, balancing the purposes challenges the group to think beyond itself and to get everyone's gifts in the game of reaching out and serving others. Groups that grow inward will cease to grow both numerically and spiritually. The mere accumulation of knowledge is actually a waste of everyone's time if they don't seek to apply God's Word in practical ways and to support each other in the transition.

The best part of Small Groups with Purpose is that the model Steve Gladen presents is scalable. The system that helps Saddleback effectively care for thousands of groups and tens of thousands of group members will also help a church with a handful of groups and a few dozen members. In my work at Lifetogether and Purpose-Driven coaching hundreds of pastors across the country, I have seen these principles work in churches of all sizes, in all regions of North America, and in practically every Christian denomination. Whether your church has 40 members or 40,000, the principles offered in this book will help your church grow both numerically and spiritually.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author and Baker Books. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." Read more ›

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive and Insightful Resource for Small Groups July 13, 2011

By Laurence T. Baxter VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Small Groups with Purpose is an extremely practical and well grounded resource for those interested in launching or strengthening a small group ministry. To say Gladen is experienced would be a huge understatement - he's the Small Groups Pastor at Saddleback Church, which has 120% of its weekend attendance engaged in more than 3500 small groups. He shares not a specific model but a number of tips on design and implementation of a small group ministry. It's clear that Gladen has a tremendous heart to help churches develop healthy small groups - whether the churches are large or small. He leads a national small group network (which is free) that is a great way to connect together in a huddle with other small group ministry leaders.

The first part of the book gives a bit of back-story on the small group movement, the ten foundational principles of small group ministry at Saddleback, and the origin of small group community found in the book of Acts. The second part asks "What does this look like?" It covers the need for clarity about the win, a biblical understanding of community and spiritual formation, mobilizing your groups for service and outreach, and the role of worship in groups. Part three looks at some of the nuts and bolts of developing healthy small groups: a spiritual health assessment tool, barriers to the discipleship pathway, a process for leadership development, and a supporting infrastructure for the ministry. The final section considers some church strategy questions related to Sunday School, connection events/processes, and campaigns.

What is new here?
- If you haven't followed any kind of purpose-driven training on small groups before, you will find a wealth of principles and practices that have been tested and refined.... Saddleback's approach to connecting people in groups, the use of campaigns, a lower initial bar for leaders as H.O.S.T.'s, and of course the five purposes behind a healthy and balanced group
- If you're already familiar with the purpose driven framework and perhaps launched a 40 Days campaign, there is still a lot of unique and very helpful information here: details on their unique approach to supporting small group leaders with community leaders, how to manage a strong connection event, and some great insights on how they allow people to get involved in small group leadership without a ton of training - but don't leave them there.
- A few other distinctives: they favor balanced as opposed to special-purpose groups; focus on leadership potential instead of proven leaders, growth by campaigns rather than dividing existing groups, and the use of master teacher curriculum rather than expecting leaders to be experts.
- Read through the book carefully! Gladen's advice is so densely packed with practical suggestions and insights learned from many years of experience that it's easy to think "Ah yes, I know that" and skip ahead to the next section. Read with a highlighter in hand. This book will be of highest interest to the point person for small groups in a church, but is also valuable for small group leaders and coaches.

Who may not like it as much?
- If you think anything remotely connected to 'purpose driven' is antithetical to the Bible, you can safely skip this book.
- Fans of cell churches, house churches, missional communities may find the approach here too structured for their tastes. Mind you, Gladen's approach to small groups is in fact highly relational, externally focused, and consistent with missional living, but there are other books where the language and practices are simply more explicitly organic. (For example check out books by Ralph Neighbour, Neil Cole, Scott Boren, or Joseph Myer).

What is unique? My favorite section - their approach to coaching.

One of the most common experiences of churches with small group ministries is how challenging it is to effectively support, train and care for small group leaders. Leaving it all to the small group pastor is typically a horrible idea (violates span of care principle). Yet in many churches a small group coaching system that looks good on paper simply flops in practice. Why is that? In a nutshell, they tend to treat all groups and leaders as equivalent, and they are not. Here's the approach Gladen recommends.

Priority care is needed by new groups
Personal care is needed for seasoned groups
Phone care is needed for veteran groups
Persistent care is appropriate for stubborn groups :)

It's great that Steve recognizes the existence of the latter group, but these are the guys that burn out coaches like wild fire in many traditional approaches to coaching. They're not going to change, so let 'em be. Put your effort and heart into those leaders who are both most receptive and who need the most guidance. (If you are familiar with Ken Blanchard's Situational Leadership concepts, you should see some strong similarities here.) Likewise each group will be at a different stage, probably doing better or worse in the different purposes. Rather than being frustrated over immature groups, help them to take a first baby step by crawling, then later walk, and be patient waiting for them to learn how to run. Clarity of the role, for both coach and leader, is essential.

Whether you are new to small groups ministry or have been at it a while, a small group leader or a point person, Small Groups with Purpose is worth checking out. Read more ›