LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
The Big Book on Small Groups Book Review
Submitted to Dr. Dempsey
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
DSMN 630-001
Small Group Ministries
by
Kaitlyn Burrell
April 21, 2022
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The author of “The Big Book on Small Groups” is Jefferey Arnold. Jeffery Arnold is the
senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Beaver, Pennsylvania. He is an adjunct faculty
member at Biblica Theological Seminary and Lancaster Bible College. He has several other
books that he has written including “Seven Tools for Effective Groups’, “Seven Traits of Healthy
Leaders”, “Starting Small Groups in your Church”, and “Small Group Outreach”.
There are twelve chapters in this book that delve deeply into small groups, their workings
and their priorities. In his first chapter, Arnold talks of the power of small groups. He discussed
how Jesus created disciples who dwelled with him, learned his ways, and began to proclaim the
good news to others. He also touches on the early church movement and how they prioritized
disciple making. Pointing to the church today, Arnold argues that we have fallen short in disciple
making. He gives an overview of what small groups should be. He writes, “A small group is
intent on participating with Christ in building his ever-expanding kingdom in the hearts of
individuals, in the life of the group, and, through believers, into the world.”1 Disciples are made
intentionally, in relationship of a community of faith, and are made to be like Christ.
In his second chapter, Arnold talks of building the church through small groups. He talks
about groups reaching inward through discovering their spiritual gifts, developing lay leadership,
and practicing effective congregational care. He then talks about groups reaching upward
through nurturing a relationship with Christ, and thanksgiving and praise. Lastly, he talked of
groups reaching outward though evangelism, spiritual and numerical growth, service, and
multiplication.
In his next chapter, Arnold discusses becoming a leader and the responsibility of fulfilling
that role. He writes that a good leader is growing in maturity and has many personalities and
gifts. A skillful group leader establishes a covenant, understands group dynamics, creates a
1 Arnold, Jeffrey. The Big Book on Small Groups. InterVarsity Press, 2004, 23.
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holistic meeting schedule, plans logistics well, asks good questions, shares group care, and
prepares to grow.
Now Arnold moves into actually starting a small group and gives tips for how to begin.
He argues that the place to start is on your knees in prayer. The next important thing to do is
establish a group covenant. He goes into details of what this covenant entails. He writes that this
covenant stipulates the mutual expectations and responsibilities involved. When related to a
small group, this involves attendance expectations, what type of small group it will be, who can
be in it, and various group logistics. Once all members are in agreement. this covenant should be
signed and updated as needed.
In his next chapter, Arnold discusses the building blocks of community. He lists various
ice brakers to make people relaxed and conversing, and he talks about creating an environment
of sharing. He says to teach members to listen sensitively during times of sharing, encourage
members to respond to what people share, take time for fellowship during meetings, and plan
events to have fun together. Group leaders are there to guide and encourage the individuals.
In the next few chapters, Arnold discusses several different types of community that a
small group should be. The first is a caring community. He writes that a healthy small group
community is centered around accountability, humility, honesty, support, inclusion, and
empowerment.
The next community is a dynamic community. He starts off by explaining the different
stages of community. The first stage is exploration, and in this stage there is unity at the expense
of diversity. The next stage is transition, and in this stage there is diversity at the expense of
unity. In the third stage, action, there is unity alongside diversity. The last stage is either
multiplication or termination, affirming unity and bringing the group to an end. He then
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discusses the different roles or personalities that people within the group often fill such as the
group clown or the group expert.
In his next chapter, Arnold dives into what a studying community looks like. He lists four
approaches to studying Scripture. The first is that Scripture is God’s complete written Word. The
second is Scripture is authoritative in every area of faith and life that it addresses. The third is
that Scripture interprets Scripture. And the fourth is that Scripture unfolds the redemption story.
He also lists several characteristics for a good group Scripture study. The first is that the nature
of the study has been agreed on by the group. The next is that they study has been broken down
into legitimate units of study. The third is that the study has definite application in the life of each
group member. Next, that the group studies Scripture in its historical context. And lastly that the
leader understands his or her role in the process. Arnold also provides guidelines for leaders to
use while leading a group in discussion and study. The first guideline is to use study recourses to
allow the discussion to delve deeper. Next, Arnold stresses that the leader needs to do his or her
homework before the small group study. The leader should also direct the group discussion is
such a way that people feel free to express themselves within certain bounds. Another guideline
is to ask open-ended questions. And lastly, affirm each person who speaks so that everyone’s
answers will be given value by others.
Arnold then moves on to describing a healthy worshiping community. He first lists
several reasons why worship is important. Those include: God is worthy of our praise, we
experience joy in worship, worship is essential to life, we are practicing for Heaven, we sin when
we don’t worship, and the Devil hates when he worship God. Worship doesn’t have to just be
singing. It can include things like reading the Psalms or memorizing praise portions of scripture.
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Part of the group time could be spent expressing praises to God. Some prayer time could be set
aside for the sole purpose of worshiping God.
The next type of community that Arnold describes is a praying community. Prayer is our
attempt to communicate with God through worship, confession, and petition.2 Arnold dives into
confession and petition in this chapter. Worship leads to penitence which leads to confession. We
confess our sins to God not for redemptive (sins forgiven) means but for restorative (relationship
made whole) means.3 Arnold stresses the importance of creating space for confession within the
group. Petition is simply requests to God in the form of prayer. We can pray for ourselves, others,
and special needs.
In his next chapter, Arnold discusses what it looks like to be a multiplying community.
Just as the early church was blessed so that they could carry God’s blessing to others, small
groups are a significant means through which people can be brought to Christ.4 Arnold dives into
the importance of evangelism in this chapter. He lists five principles of small group evangelism.
The first is to remember that the goal of small group ministry, and of evangelism, it to make
disciples. The second is that the leader can have a grand vision for evangelism, yet until the small
group is ready, they will not respond. The next is that a healthy group is necessary for effective
small group evangelism to occur. Evangelism needs to be intentional. And lastly, a growing,
evangelistic small group ministry will soon begin to burst at the seams.
The last community that Arnold focuses on is a mission-oriented community. Mission is
engaging in God’s plan to redeem the world by extending his kingdom into every race, language,
and nation.5 Missions is incorporated into small groups by praying, learning, supporting others,
2 Ibid., 185.
3 Ibid., 186.
4 Ibid. 202
5 Ibid., 221.
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going into the community, getting involved in short term and long-term missions. Another thing
to do is chose a mission project and identifying what needs the group can address whether in
foreign missions or local missions.
Arnold ended his book with several recourses. The first is a small group starter kit that
gives tips on preparing to lead the meeting and leading the meeting. It also gives a sample of
what the first 4 meetings of a small group could look like including the community builder, the
discussion, the closing time of prayer, and a sample covenant. The next recourse provided is a
training resource designed to train small group leaders. There are several questions to answer
about laying the groundwork for small groups. These include: what is the vision for small
groups, what kind of groups will we utilize and what characters will they possess, how will we
fill these groups with people, who will lead these groups, how will we ensure the growth of this
ministry, and what kind of accountability will we require of its leaders? The last resource he
provides is one for building strong small groups. This includes developing a handbook for your
program, identifying character qualities for a small group leader, an apprentice leader, and a
coach/coordinator.
Overall, this book was very practical and very applicable. While I was reading, I was able
to identify so many things that I would want to adopt into a small group ministry of my own in
the future. I think this book would be helpful for anyone looking to start a singular small group
or a ministry at a church. I loved how at the end of each chapter there was questions to ponder
and different readings for reflection and further study. I envisioned going through those with a
team and practically discussing the implementation of the ideas covered in each chapter.
Bibliography
Arnold, Jeffrey. The Big Book on Small Groups. InterVarsity Press, 2004.
