I recently asked some of my small group ministry friends for their recommendations for small group coaching books. The first five are their recommendations, followed by five I regularly recommend. Besides that, these are in no particular order. (Note that I am an Amazon Affiliate, and the links below will take you to Amazon where you can purchase any of these.)
- Becoming Barnabas: A Ministry of Coming Alongside, by Robert E. Logan and Tara Miller (Recommended by Nick Schonlau, groups minister at Third City Christian Church in Grand Island and Broken Bow, Nebraska. Nick noted, “Also, Allen White’s Exponential Groups: Unleashing Your Church’s Potential has some good stuff as well!”)
- Gospel Coach: Shepherding Leaders to Glorify God, by Scott Thomas and Tom Wood (Recommended by Nick Lenzi, community director at Hoboken (New Jersey) Grace Community Church. Nick says, “This gives the framework for quality coaching conversations using the CROSS model: Connect, Review, Object, Struggles, Supplication.)
- Replenish: Leading from a Healthy Soul, by Lance Witt (Recommended by Adam Workman, pastor of discipleship at Sandals Church, a multisite church in the Riverside, California area. Adam says in reference to this book and the following one, “How to coach/lead ministry is obviously really important. These two books focus on the soul of the leader. The toughest, but most important person we lead is ourselves. I love how these two books address the health of a leader’s soul and their love for Jesus.”)
- The Gift of Being Yourself: The Sacred Call to Self-Discovery (The Spiritual Journey), by David G. Benner (Also recommended by Adam Workman.)
- Real-Life Discipleship Training Manual: Equipping Disciples Who Make Disciples, by Jim Putman, Bill Krause, Avery Willis, and Brandon Guidon (Recommended by Kathy Stahlhut, director of discipling and women’s ministries at Greenwood (Indiana) Christian Church. Kathy says, “It is not about coaching small groups, but for me, I needed more than coaching, and this fit the bill. I wanted to know more about disciples who make disciples and an operating system that works in that vein with metrics.)
- How to Be a Great Cell Group Coach: Practical Insight for Supporting and Mentoring Cell Group Leaders, by Joel Comiskey
- Coaching Life-Changing Small Group Leaders: A Comprehensive Guide for Developing Leaders of Groups and Teams (Groups that Grow), by Greg Bowman and Bill Donahue
- A Pocket Guide to Coaching Small Groups: Befriending Leaders and Helping Groups Produce Fruit, by Randall G. Neighbour
- Ordering Your Private World, by Gordon MacDonald (While this is not strictly a coaching resource, as a small group minister, I gave one to each of my coaches. I considered this a big investment in these vital people in our small group ministry. This book was life-changing for me and I knew it could be the same for them. Truth is, if the private worlds of my coaches were disordered, I couldn’t expect much from them in coaching our leaders and groups.)
- Everyone’s a Coach: You Can Inspire Anyone to Be a Winner, by Don Shula and Kenneth H. Blanchard
