Small Group Leaders' Handbook

What do we mean when we talk about small groups?

And more importantly: what do we expect to happen when people gather in this way? The small group that wrote this book—made up of current and former campus ministry professionals with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship—sees a small group as: a community that studies the Bible, prays and participates in God's mission together for the purposes of God's transforming work.

Small groups are about transformation, and in this book transformation is given flesh and blood in the faces and names of the people you lead.



Tina Teng-Henson is an InterVarsity staffworker with Harvard-Radcliffe Christian Fellowship, and a Harvard chaplain.



Jay Anderson is a senior campus staff worker for InterVarsity at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. He lives with his wife and kids in Eau Claire.



Myron Crockett was an InterVarsity staffworker for nine years at University of New Orleans and Tulane University. The former director of the Katrina Relief Urban Plunge, he is now a graduate student at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He lives in the Chicago area with his wife and daughter.



Seven people with backgrounds in InterVarsity Christian Fellowship met and corresponded over the course of a year to mine each other's diverse stories and expertise. They arrived at the principles and methods described in Small Group Leaders' Handbook. Alex Kirk led the small group, which includes Jay Anderson, Myron Crockett, Úna Lucey-Lee, Janice McWilliams, Tina Teng and Sandra Van Opstal. All seven survived.



Úna Lucey-Lee is associate divisional director at InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in Southern California.



Janice McWiliams provides staff training and spiritual formation for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in the Mid-Atlantic region.



Sandra Maria Van Opstal is a second-generation Latina pastor, an activist, an author, and a powerful leading voice on the intersection of faith and justice. She is executive director of Chasing Justice, a movement that mobilizes Christians to live justly. Sandra's distinctiveness comes from working in both local and global contexts as a practitioner and an academic. She has reached audiences around the world on topics of reconciliation, global justice, and worship.

A Note from the Publisher


About the Authors


1. 1106: The Story of a Transformational Community


2. Gathering a Small Group


3. Small Groups as Community


4. Dynamics of Community


5. Not Just Bible Study: The Power of God's Word in Small Groups


6. Prayer and Worship in Small Groups


7. Shepherding the Flock: Caring for Each Sheep


8. Small Group Evangelism


9. Small Group Mission


10. Passing the Baton: Identifying and Developing Leaders


11. Anyone Can Lead


Appendix :Further Resources for Small Group Leaders