Whether you’re a new or seasoned group leader, or whether your group is well-established or just getting started, this four-session video-based Bible study (DVD/digital video sold separately) will lead you and your group together to a remarkable new closeness and effectiveness. Designed to foster healthy group interaction and facilitate maximum growth, this innovative approach equips both group leaders and members with essential skills and values for creating and sustaining truly life-changing small groups. Designed for use with the Making Your Small Group Work Video Study (sold separately).
In this revolutionary new curriculum, Henry Cloud, Bill Donahue, and John Townsend establish a whole new training paradigm---one that equips leaders and groups simultaneously and gives them everything they need to start and sustain a life-changing group. All it requires is a small group and a DVD player. Four sixty-minute sessions train leaders and group members in the foundational values and practices of becoming a life-changing community. These sixty-minute sessions are the foundations of small groups that include teaching by the authors, creative segments, and activities and discussion time. * The group has the chance to review and learn new group life techniques during the year with Thirteen five-minute coaching segments on topics such as active listening, personal sharing, giving and receiving feedback, prayer, calling out the best in others, and more. Each session includes a mix of three elements: * Teaching by the authors * Creative segments (such as modeling dramas, person-on-the-street interviews, personal stories/testimonies, creative multimedia, etc.) * Small group activities and processing/discussion time The four sessions include: * Session 1 provides a foundational experience that helps group members get excited about the adventure and life-changing power of small group life. Exercises and guided discussions create an initial sense of connection, safety, and most of all, fun! * Session 2 focuses on introducing values, ground rules, and logistical issues. Relationships are deepened through the group's assessment and discussion of the values most important to them, while exercises facilitate group ownership of these issues. * Session 3 unpacks each of the five key values through in-depth teaching and practical examples. Group members learn that all are responsible for implementing the five values in the life of the group, and they practice applying two of the values during the session ('Be real' and 'accept one another'). * Session 4 transitions the group to running on its own. Exercises help the group clarify what their focus will be, and what they want to do in their next meeting (the first meeting without the DVD curriculum). This session also provides an inspiring wrap-up for the course that casts vision for what the group can become if it lives out its values. The Life-Changing Power of Group Life DVD and Participants Guide are available separately.
In Making Your Small Group Work, small group experts Henry Cloud, Bill Donahue, and John Townsend equip leaders and groups simultaneously and give you everything you need to start and sustain a life-changing group. The four video-based sessions will help your small group learn to be safe, healthy, and effective.
Lead small groups through astounding growth with principles from the best-selling books How People Grow and Boundaries.No matter what need brings a group of people together—from marriage enrichment to divorce recovery, from grief recovery to spiritual formation—members are part of a small group because they want to grow. This book by psychologists Henry Cloud and John Townsend provides small-group leaders with valuable guidance and information on how they can help their groups to grow spiritually, emotionally, and relationally. With insights from their best-selling book How People Grow, Cloud and Townsend show how God’s plan for growth is made up of three key elements: grace plus truth plus time. When groups embrace those elements, they find God’s grace and forgiveness and learn how to handle their imperfections without shame as they model God’s love and support to one another.In addition to describing what makes small groups work, Leading Small Groups That Help People Grow explains the roles and responsibilities of both leaders and group members. Employing tenets from the book How People Grow, this book equips leaders to understand the ins and outs of how to promote growth, and using principles from their best-selling book Boundaries, they show how to identify and find solutions for common problems such as boredom, noncompliance, passivity, aggression, narcissism, spiritualization, over-neediness, over-giving, and nonstop talking.
In Making Your Small Group Work, small group experts Henry Cloud, Bill Donahue, and John Townsend equip leaders and groups simultaneously and give you everything you need to start and sustain a life-changing group. The four video-based sessions will help your small group learn to be safe, healthy, and effective. Pack includes one DVD and one guide.
In this six-session study, award-winning author Philip Yancey probes the very heartbeat—the most fundamental, challenging, perplexing, and deeply rewarding aspect—of our relationship with God: prayer. What is prayer? How does it work? And more importantly, does it work? In theory, prayer is the essential human act, a priceless point of contact between us and the God of the universe. In practice, prayer is often frustrating, confusing, and fraught with mystery. Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? is an exploration of the mysterious intersection where God and humans meet and relate. Designed for use with the video.
How is Mormonism different from Christianity? When Jehovah's Witnesses say they believe in Jesus, what do they actually believe about him? What is the difference between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims? What do I say to a friend, neighbor or co-worker of another faith? This study explains the history, background, and beliefs of the largest world religions and cultic groups, including Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, and more. This Study Will Help You: Learn about the most common world religions and cults and how they compare to Christianity Know what you believe and why Learn how to share the Gospel with those of other faiths You don't have to be an expert to lead this six-session study. Perfect for small groups, Bible studies, adult Sunday school, or for individual use. Book jacket.
Introducing a breakthrough small group resource: The Best of Small Groups, Volume 1 brings together twelve of the best small group Bible study curriculums from today's most well-known Christian leaders, all on two DVDs. Sure to become a staple in any small group leaders arsenal for years to come. The curriculum includes a study guide and 2 DVDs with 8 hours of teaching, as well as introductions and transition material by Brett Eastman, founder of Lifetogether Ministries:
With powerful true stories and specific activities for readers to try, this participant's guide to the inspirational book shows how to live out faith in a way that improves people's lives.
