Product Description

The must-have resource for coaches who shepherd and care for small group leaders.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #34578 in Books
• Published on: 2006-04-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

From the Back Cover
Small groups transform churches—and lives. Small group leaders often feel the weight of shepherding their members. But who shepherds the shepherd? And what are the best ways to provide that support and guidance? These are the questions answered in Coaching Life-Changing Small Group Leaders.
When you’re called to coach a small group leader in your church, your mind may be filled with questions: Am I godly enough? What do I have to offer? How do I begin? Although the challenge seems immense, this handbook breaks down the work into reassuring and achievable steps. Originally self-published by Willow Creek Community Church, this expanded and improved edition offers field-tested and biblically supported advice on such topics as
modeling a surrendered life to those you shepherd gaining the tools and wisdom you need for coaching helping leaders grow spiritually nurturing the spiritual development and support of leaders.
For those who want to coach with excellence and truly help small group leaders thrive, this go-to guide offers practical answers and inspiring examples. You’ll find both challenge and promise in these pages as you learn to carry forth your God-given calling with confidence.

“We ask small group leaders to come alongside their group members, but often no one comes alongside them. This is a great tool from two people who have done exactly that for a long time. Small group leaders everywhere will benefit from this kind of coaching.”

About the Author
Dr. Bill Donahue is Executive Director of Small Group Ministries for the Willow Creek Association (WCA) and works with Willow Creek Community Church to train and develop small group leaders. The church has over 2,500 small groups and the WCA has over 12,000 member churches worldwide representing over 95 denominations in 27 countries.

Greg Bowman, a twenty-five-year veteran of small group ministry, serves as associate director of small group ministries for the Willow Creek Association. In this role, he develops resources and training events, and serves as a consultant to churches around the world. Greg lives in Elgin, Illinois with his wife Connie and their two children.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Coaching Life-Changing Small Group Leaders
Copyright © 2006 by Willow Creek Association
Requests for information should be addressed to:
Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Donahue, Bill.
Coaching life-changing small group leaders : a practical guide for those who lead and shepherd small group leaders / Bill Donahue and Greg
Bowman.
p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-0-310-25179-8
ISBN-10: 0-310-25179-6
1. Christian leadership. 2. Small groups. 3. Church group work. 4. Personal coaching. I. Bowman, Greg. II. Title.
BV652.1.D66 2006
253'.7 — dc22 2005031941
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible: Today’s New International Version™. Copyright © 2001 by International
Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible
Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers,
Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189 USA. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from The Message. Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by
permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic,
mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other — except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
The website addresses recommended throughout this book are offered as a resource to you. These websites are not intended in any way to be or imply an
endorsement on the part of Zondervan, nor do we vouch for their content for the life of this book.
Interior design by Mark Sheeres
Printed in the United States of America
06 07 08 09 10 11 12 • 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Part One
A Vision for
Coaching
What is coaching? Why is it so essential to have people
in the church who are willing to
guide and encourage leaders? What does it look like when someone takes on this role and
invests in the life of a leader?
In order to become and build effective coaches in the church, first we need to embrace
a vision for the practice of coaching. It is often a misunderstood role, mistaken by some
to mean “boss” or “fault-finder.” But that’s not coaching, at least not when the spiritual
growth of leaders and church members is at stake. It is different from mere oversight or
supervision. Coaching is personal, developmental, and supportive. Coaches bring out the
best in leaders. So let’s take a few moments to get a clearer picture of what is means to
coach leaders in the church.
John Donahue, Bill’s dad, was in his forties when he became the head swimming
coach of George Washington High School in Philadelphia. For fifteen years, the
teams he coached remained undefeated in league competition. Think about that
for a moment — fifteen undefeated seasons in a row. Obviously he had everything
needed to establish such a winning tradition: years of swimming experience
on a nationally ranked college team, the fastest swimmers in the league, and the
greatest training facilities in the city of Philadelphia. With all of that, one would
expect him to win. Except he didn’t have all of these advantages — actually, he
had none of them.
John was an unlikely swimming coach, and Washington High was an unlikely
place for a swimming dynasty to take root. The team practiced only three days
a week at a rented facility, because that was all the school budget allowed.
The swim team also had the same challenge every scholastic sports program
faced — constant turnover. A successful tradition was hard to establish as experienced
swimmers graduated and were replaced by a cohort of skinny, wideeyed
freshmen who thought the “backstroke” was a massage technique and the
“butterfly” a transformed caterpillar.
New challengers also threatened the tradition of winning. The teams Washington
defeated one year often hired new coaches the next, who were eager to
make their mark. These former college swimmers came to coaching armed with
the latest training techniques and filled with the energy Donahue had twenty
years earlier. The competition had studied his poolside techniques and practice
regimen for one purpose only — to be the first team to defeat Washington High
School in a dual meet. But for fifteen years, no one ever did.
Standing 6' 2" and weighing 265 pounds, Donahue was hardly the prototype
for a championship swimming coach. He was a heavyweight wrestler
in college, and prior to that, he was in the US Navy, where he re-fitted airplane
engines on the USS Hornet. Throughout his entire life, he never swam
competitively. What generated this success in swimming and in other sports
he coached? I believe there were several likely factors — factors that apply to
sports, business, ministry, or any endeavor that requires the development and
support of people.
Consistency: I believe that consistent coaching ensured the same discipline,
values, winning attitude, and solid work ethic throughout those fifteen
years. Donahue developed a rapport with swimmers and an enduring reputation
of almost legendary stature. Students called him John “the Duke”
Donahue, after screen actor John “the Duke” Wayne. New swimmers on the
team gazed at him with awe and respect (as one might do to Penn State football
icon Joe Paterno, or former Indiana basketball legend Bobby Knight).
Love: Though he could be hard on swimmers in practice, demanding their
best and pushing them to their limits, Donahue also had a tender side. The
team knew from the stories that circulated around school that he would do
anything for swimmers or their families in times of need.
There were the cold, rainy winter nights that the Duke took stranded
swimmers home from practice. Or the times when a few dollars for lunch
money helped a struggling student make it through the week. He balanced
a tough, courageous personality with a tender, loving heart. I think that is
why his swimmers were willing to work so hard for him. He loved them,
and they knew it.
Courage: Years before working at Washington, Donahue coached at a troubled
inner-city school in Philadelphia. A large, brawny student — known
fondly as the “Caveman” — jumped the Duke one day in the lunchroom,
knocking him to the ground. Unfortunately, this colossal tyrant had no idea
that the guy he just attacked had recently completed four years in the navy
during World War II, followed by three years of wrestling in the heavyweight
class at Temple University. In a few moments, the Caveman was tied
up in knots, a pain-filled pile of twisted limbs in the arms of the Duke.
Students would later speak of the incident with awe. When word of the
event traveled to Donahue’

Customer Reviews

Practical Handbook
The essential relationship of small group coaches as those who embrace, develop and nurture church leaders "over time" rings true in "Coaching Life Changing Small Group Leaders". With relationship building as the foremost attribute of coaches and small group leaders, authors Donahue and Bowman accentuate authentic interaction as the first step to intentionally shepherd leaders.
The authors attest that leaders want to be "fed" by their coaches, to be cared for, loved, to establish a mutual trust and open communication . Coaches are advised to listen deeply to their small group leaders, actively engage in their story, ask for clarification, keep the focus on the leaders and fight the temptation to move too quickly to solutions. In fact, Donahue and Bowman also indicate that coaches should not intervene with small group leaders, or sit in on their meetings, until a meaningful relationship is established with each leader. "As trust develops, coaches are enabled to help leaders gain an accurate picture of their gifts and abilities."
In an easy to follow workbook format, the authors take the reader through the various coaching elements; to be visionary, to guide and encourage, to be personal, developmental and supportive, and to effectively bring out the best in the leaders. In essence, coaches have a heart for leaders, with an avid responsibility to equip them in key skills to become effective in meeting the needs of group members. Donahue and Bowman also advocate that the coach and small group leader "dream together" about the effect on group members, the church as a whole and the community.
Specific key equipping skills include modeling and envisioning. Through modeling, coaches and leaders share what God is doing in their lives. They learn together how to live and lead by the Spirit. Healthy spiritual fitness entails prayer, worship, solitude and reading and listening to the Word. Envisioning involves space for the leaders to think or dream about their group. Donahue and Bowman advise coaches to work with their leaders to create a clear and compelling vision that captures their heart and motivates them to action. The authors assess that when the small group vision is clear and compelling, the "best thinking and energy come into play."
The authors also caution that churches can interfere in the relationship, modeling and envisioning stages of coaches and small group leaders when they insist that coaches serve as a "conduit" for the overall church vision. "If that happens, the vision will not capture their (the group's) heart, and there will be little connection to the day-to-day activities of small group leaders." Instead, Bowman and Donahue suggest that coaches assist leaders in keeping their vision alive, to empower and to eventually enthusiastically "own the dream".
Overall, the church vision must have broad enough tenets to allow small groups to function earnestly and effectively within the church and its surrounding community.
Life changes in small group leaders often occur when the interaction with their coaches has become deeper, yet retains a delicate balance of continued shepherding and equipping by the coach on behalf of the leader.
I would recommend this practical handbook for those who lead and guide small group leaders.

Good but potentially Overwhelming
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The insights are great and helpful to anyone who may be coaching or thinking about coaching small group leaders. There are specific guidelines and tips that will help coaches be more effective in their ministry.

The one negative that I see to what Donahue and Bowman have written is that there is too much here. The average coach working a full-time job will not be able to fulfill all of the expectations in this book, even at the 1:5 ratio that the authors recommend.

With that said, every small group coach that is looking for help in understanding what their job is and how to do it should read this book. Just don't expect to do everything that the book recommends

small groups coaching - crucial piece in sustainability
One could choose to 'learn by doing'. Very tiring and stressful. Coaching small group leaders is, not surprisingly, as essential to success as coaching any athletic team. No coach? Enjoy the chaos. There will be blood on the field very soon. It's self-destructive to avoid this resource if a church is hoping to employ small groups. It is as good as the 'Leading Small Groups' book reviewed close by. Forms to use, goals toward which to strive, step-by-step pathways to follow, meeting agendas to fill in... what will you address with your leaders? What are the goals specific to each leader? How does the leader monitor the life of his or her group? What are the personal goals of the leader for 5G development (Growth, Gifts, Good stewardship...)? What are your goals as Coach? Where do you even find a list of possible goals? This is organized, educationally sound, Biblical, realistic. Thank you, Willow.