Stephen Barkley
Leadership books are a dime a dozen. The pattern is as follows: someone experiences success int heir field, then they package their story along with lessons learned. Some of these offerings are stronger than others, but most lack the sort of academic rigor that adds legitimate weight to their opinions. At first glance of the title, Leading Small Groups that Thrive sounds like one of these books: Leading! Thrive! Five Shifts! Next Level! Fortunately, there’s depth between the covers (despite Zondervan’s marketing).
This book is cowritten by three people. Dr. Ryan T. Hartwig teaches communication at Colorado Christian University, Dr. Courtney W. Davis teaches organizational, small group, and professional communication at Azusa Pacific University, and Jason A. Sniff is a pastor of small groups. Together, they’re a formidable team. They developed a large-scale research project that examined the state of small groups in America. This book draws on this empirical research to explore the traits of effective small groups.
The mark of a good research project is its ability to surprise researchers with the data. Accordingly, this book presents some counter-intuitive information. For example, telling people the purpose of the small group is to build community actually undermines community (62). Or, did you know that most thriving small groups met for two hours and fifteen minutes per week (84)? Here’s a shocking one: “the more time the group spends in prayer, the less the group contributes to its members’ spiritual growth” (87).
Hartwig, Davis, and Sniff present five ‘shifts’ required in healthy small groups:
- From Confused to Compelling: Articulating your purpose
- From Disengaged to Dedicated: Keeping attendance up
- From Mine to Ours: Developing Shared ownership
- From Trivial to Transformative: Meaningful discussions
- From Avoidance to Embrace: Facing difficult conversations
In addition to this, the authors bookend the five shifts with advice for beginning small group ministry as well as ensuring long-term health and vitality.
I’ve just made Leading Small Groups that Thrive required reading for students taking my course, “Discipleship in the Local Church.” I would consider this required reading for any ministry leader tasked with launching and leading small groups.
Hartwig, Ryan T., et al. Leading Small Groups that Thrive: Five Shifts to Take Your Group to the Next Level. Zondervan, 2020.
