Seven Deadly Sins of Small Group Ministry, The (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Russ Robinson (Author) "Leaders don't agree on the purpose for small groups..." (more)
Key Phrases: clear ministry objectives, small groups champion, turbo group, Willow Creek, Bill Hybels, Holy Spirit (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A troubleshooting guide for Church leaders. Assessment and solution for seven common obstacles to building small groups.

From the Back Cover

It’s one thing to start a small group ministry. It’s another to keep the groups in your church healthy and headed in the same direction. Whatever your church’s approach may be—whether it is a church with groups or of groups—sooner or later, as a leader, you’ll need to do some troubleshooting. That’s when the expert, to-the-point guidance in this book will prove its worth.

In The Seven Deadly Sins of Small Group Ministry, what would take you years to learn through trial and error is distilled into some of the most useful information you can find. Drawing on the knowledge they’ve gleaned from working inside Willow Creek Community Church, from consulting with hundreds of churches, and from conducting conferences and seminars worldwide, small group experts Bill Donahue and Russ Robinson furnish you with proven, real-life solutions to the knottiest problems in your small group ministry. This is no theory—it’s hands-on stuff you can read and apply today.

The beauty of this book lies in its unique diagnostic process. It allows you to assess, diagnose, and correct seven common "deadly sins" that can drain the life from your church’s small group ministry. Here are the strategies and tools you need to deal with 1. Unclear Ministry Objectives 2. Lack of Point Leadership 3. Poor Coaching Structures 4. Neglect of Ongoing Leadership Development 5. Closed Group Mind-set 6. Narrow Definition of a Small Group 7. Neglect of Assimilation Process

The Seven Deadly Sins of Small Group Ministry is indispensable for every small group director, church staff, ministry leader, and senior pastor. It’s strong medicine for the ailments that threaten the small groups in your church.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (October 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310247063
• ISBN-13: 978-0310247067
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #484,352 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A useful tool for small group directors..., December 14, 2006

By	Chad Oberholtzer (Boalsburg, PA, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Seven Deadly Sins of Small Group Ministry: A Troubleshooting Guide for Church Leaders (Paperback)

I have read other books from Donahue and Robinson and heard them speak at several small groups conference, so the information in this book was relatively familiar to me. Nonetheless, "The Seven Deadly Sins of Small Group Ministry" is a valuable resources in which these small group gurus share their experiences and failures in the hopes that others involved in small group ministry within the local church can avoid those same missteps.

One thing that I appreciate about this book is its straightforward format. The seven deadly sins of small group ministry, as assessed by the authors, each occupy two chapters. The first chapter on each sin describes the problem, and the second chapter provides some solutions. This allows the reader to pick and choose a particular issue and read about it in some detail without having to read the entire book. I appreciated the experience of reading it straight through but look forward to referring to it in the future on one or more specific topics, and the simple format makes that notion feasible.

The second thing that I appreciated most about this book was the author's experience and wisdom. It is clear that they have gathered insight from years of small group ministry, and they are honest in stating that they have actually committed almost all of the sins at one point or another. That humility (and the almost playful writing style throughout the book) makes the information very accessible. The suggestions are not coming from some perfect small group geniuses, but instead come from real people who have made real mistakes and can offer real solutions.

My primary criticism of the book is that a somewhat limited perspective is provided. It only makes sense that they would write from the framework of Willow Creek, where they both spent much of their ministry lives. However, they seem unable to extract themselves from the Willow way of doing things. Quite frankly, the assimilation structure that they suggest is nothing if not overwhelming. In fact, the entire book is rather formidable. Again, it is formidable because they have so much important information to share, but it might be more useful if they had eliminated some of the painstaking detail and emphasized the main ideas.

I am glad that I read this book, and I know that it will shape how I proceed in my role in leadership over the small groups at our church. We are actually committing several of these deadly sins right now, and I now have the ammunition to make some necessary adjustments. If you are willing to dive into the thick of Willow Creek's learning from groups, this is a great book. I highly recommend it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Seven Sins of Small Group Ministry, October 4, 2007

By	Harold E. Covert (Hurricane, west Virginia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Seven Deadly Sins of Small Group Ministry: A Troubleshooting Guide for Church Leaders (Paperback)

Our church is on it's second try when it comes to Smalll Groups. The first try was about ten years ago and in about 18 months they came apart. After reading The Seven Sins of Small Group Ministry, I realized that we had commited all seven of the sins or mistakes. This is an excellent book which is straight to the point and very easy to read.

thanks, Ed Covert

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Where are the potholes in this road?, March 8, 2007

By	A. Follower "Director, Small Groups Ministry" (Sonoma, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Seven Deadly Sins of Small Group Ministry: A Troubleshooting Guide for Church Leaders (Paperback)

Why waste a year or two in your congregation's spiritual journey? Why drive blind into dangerous, program-breaking potholes if they are, in fact, already identified? This book is a great resource reflecting some gifted teachers who have looked back and debriefed about what could have been done better "if only they'd known". Well, now they do and their feedback is available here. It has been referred to actively by our leadership group frequently in our 18 months of planning pre-launch. Now we use it to check our status relative to potholes. Our eyes are open to the Deceiver's obstacles and there are many. Plus, ol' Mischief Maker wants us to think good things aren't and so makes good decisions seem dangerous, like: embracing Holy Spirit-driven movement when a group comes together in an unexpected way. Sometimes there is fear of the unplanned. Sometimes there is confidence in something which generally hasn't worked elsewhere. So when is an idea constructive? When might it be destructive? This book addresses the 7 'sins' Willow uncovered; the flip side is knowing how to avoid them or fix them right out of the chute. Thank you, Willow.