Growth Groups, How to lead disciple-making small groups
Growth Groups is for any Christian or group of Christians committed to equipping leaders of God's people. It is designed to train leaders who can teach the Bible and pray with other Christians. It will prepare leaders to gather together fellow-believers in evangelistic enterprise. In short, this book by Colin Marshall will equip leaders to grow Christians and grow the gospel. The course is for anyone who wants to pursue these ends.
This manual can also stand alone as a valuable guide for leaders to work through on their own if they can't join a course with other leaders.
Publisher: Matthias Media
Type: Paperback
ISBN: 9781875245819
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Colin Marshall has spent over 30 years training men and women in the ministry of the gospel, both in university and local church contexts. He is a graduate of Moore Theological College, Sydney, and is a consultant with Vinegrowers. In addition to being a co-author on The Trellis and the Vine, he is the author of Growth Groups, a training course for small group leaders, and Passing the Baton, a handbook for ministry apprenticeship.
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“Although this manual on growth (or small) groups is about 30 years old, it still offers an abundance of guidance on starting and maintaining such groups and especially for training their leaders. It is a “ten-week practical ‘hands-on’ training program to develop effective growth group leaders” (p. 7). Marshall sees growth groups as a means of evangelism as well as protection and nurturing Christians (p. 23). He warns of pitfalls of small groups (pp. 25-30) and states “our primary reason for joining a growth group must not be to get closer to each other, but to grow in Christ” (p. 28).
This manual teaches how to prepare a Bible lesson (pp. 31-42; 172-179), lead a Bible study (pp. 43-52), and guide a discussion (pp. 57-61). It focuses on training leaders (pp. 79-87, 119-124) and identifies the characteristics of a healthy growth group (pp. 97-110).
Growth Groups is highly practical, detailing how to develop a small group program (pp. 125-131) and offering ten training sessions for group leaders (pp. 133-164).
The best use of the manual would be as a guide for training growth group leaders. The groups the author has in mind are far more substantial than many small groups today, which major on fellowship, personal interests, and social involvement. Growth groups, of the type outlined in this book, are focused on Scripture and the developing of disciples as a part of the ministry of the local church." Gary E. Gilley