Small Group Vital Signs

by Michael C. Mack

Is your small group healthy? Is it thriving, surviving, or declining? Is your group missional or in maintenance mode? Do you want answers to these questions? How about a viable plan of action for the future of you group? This book contains a revealing small group health evaluation and principles that will help you determine and increase your group's level of health in seven vital areas: - Christ-centered Community - Overflowing Leadership - Shared Leadership - Proactive Leadership - Authentic Community - Ministry to Others - Discipling Environment In SMALL GROUP VITAL SIGNS, you'll gain a new appreciation for the way Mike Mack explains why each of the areas above are critical to your group's health. His helpful stories, biblical principles, and practical ideas for health and vitality will help you and your group grow in each area. If you've wondered why some small groups thrive and their leaders seem so energized and happy, you'll discover it in this revealing book-and learn how to become this kind of leader!

210 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

I'll never forget the F I received on an eighth-grade writing project. I had wanted to be a writer since the first time Mom put a crayon in my pudgy hand. When Mrs. Witte assigned our class an essay on the history of the State of Ohio, I filled a spiral-bound notebook with the stories of the state's settlers and other heroes. The big red F on the first page of my notebook was garnished with a note that accused me of plagiarism.

I pleaded with her. I tried to convince her I wrote the paper myself. Finally, I boldly asked her to prove her contention. She couldn't. My grade was revised to an A, plus an apology. I was a writer, and 40 years later I still am.

So far I've written more than 30 nonfiction books and discussion guides, hundreds of magazine and newspaper articles, and I've lost count of how many articles and blog posts on the web.

I recently released a new self-published book, World's Greatest Small Group, available in both print and Kindle versions on Amazon.

I blog regularly at Small Group Leadership and write a monthly "Best Practices" column for The Christian Standard magazine. I have edited books and other materials for major Christian publishing companies both on staff and as a freelance editor.

I am also a writer/editor in other fields as well, especially as related to living with diabetes, marriage and parenting, cycling (especially mountain biking) and other outdoor recreation, and other topics. I blog about life with diabetes, cycling, marriage and family, and other stuff I'm passionate about at Life's Highs and Lows.

Reviews

[Jay Firebaugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I read Mike’s books it unleashes my thoughts! Mike Mack is the perfect combination of insightfulness, practical steps, and challenges to reach for more – both as a small group leader and as someone who oversees other group leaders. SMALL GROUP VITAL SIGNS is a darn good book! I devoured it. EVERY small group leader and small group point person owes it to themselves to read it.

“Countless small groups settle of good,” says Mike. (p. 23) If you’re that kind of leader then don’t bother! BUT, if you’re a small group leader committed to helping your good group be always getting better and better, then don’t pass up this opportunity. Many of these aspects have to do with the actions of the leader and others have to do with the vision that the leader or church keeps putting in front of all the group members to own together as a local body of Christ. This book is LOW on theoretical ramblings and HIGH on practical application.

Take the on-line health assessment (or use the one printed in Appendix D of the book). Measure the current health of your small group. Then take Mike’s advice to increase your group’s health in these 7 areas:
1) Being CHRIST-centered (rather than allowing the leader or the topic or even caring for each other to become the focus and purpose of the group!)
2) Being lead by a leader who’s growing and keeping Christ as the center of his or her life as well.
3) Sharing leadership with a core team (Even Jesus didn't lead alone! - He invested more time with Peter, James & John and He gave more leading aspects to them than the others disciples.)
4) Setting goals & plans so that you’re being proactive rather than re-active.
5) Living in authentic community (You have to become a group first before you can impact the people spiritually!)
6) Serving and ministering together
7) Discipleship is intentional – the people in the group are being continually challenged and pushed to keep growing and going to be a discipler themselves!

From working with groups for the past 17 years I know that really good groups don’t happen accidently. They come NOT from super-gifted leaders, but from the teachable leaders who are striving to make their groups better for the sake of God’s glory! Great groups come from leaders who are continually bringing their people into a KINGDOM vision so that the group co-owns the mission of not just MY own growth and care, but to genuinely be the BODY OF CHRIST to each other and the world around us.

If your small group or small group ministry isn’t better as a result of using Mike’s new book, I’m not sure you’re really trying!

[Tung · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you’ve been involved in church leadership over the last several decades, you’ve had to figure out how to establish a structure for small groups at your church. This book is a resource for those deliberations, focusing on seven qualities to look for in determining whether or not a small group is spiritually healthy. Mack notes that small groups are bad, good (status quo), or great (spiritually mature), and that if good groups don’t aim for greatness, they will eventually become unhealthy AND they are falling short of God’s mission for small groups. Overall, I found this book fairly similar to other small group resources I’ve read over the years, in that it highlights qualities common across most of the small group materials that exist: leaders must be spiritually healthy, groups need to branch out and witness, discipleship is key, etc. In addition to describing these seven qualities, the book includes questions for leaders and groups to process. A good resource for church leadership, but also nothing you haven’t seen described in other small group resources.

[Randy Elster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since I am newly in charge of couples small groups at my church, I am reading as much as I can about small group ministry. This has great insights and thoughts for the small groups pastor, but is also applicable to the leader of any small group. It has a diagnostic to help you assess the health of your group (based on what the author thinks is important of course). Good insights.

[Adam Tomlinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mack does a decent enough job depicting what has come to be his standard for leading small groups. As a fledgling Small Groups Pastor, I can only critique his approach for being derivative, narrow, and overly simple. I'm not denying that it has worked in his settings, but it is incredibly marked by the culture he has grown in, and is chock full of Evangelical platitudes that drive a more liberal theologian bonkers. There are pieces of this book that I think are incredibly useful, and despite it's simplicity, I am considering making this a resource that is available for all of our small group coaches to use with their leaders.

It will not, however, overhaul the way in which I think about small groups, or radically change my approach.

[Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author has some good things to say concerning group dynamics and pastoral care of a group leader, but the entire book is littered with references of "listening to the voice of God" apart from where He promises to speak, His Word. Read this with an open Bible (and not The Message which he likes to quote).

[Michael Mack · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wrote Small Group Vital Signs, so I'll let others review it.

A number of small group ministry leaders, pastors, writers, and speakers have endorsed it here, on my blog.