The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. (1 Timothy 3:1)

Are our modern day Bible study leaders ‘overseers’ in the biblical sense? I suspect a reasonable case could be made. But regardless of whether or not you think they are, I would venture to suggest that anyone leading a Bible study group is certainly undertaking a ‘noble task’. So, if that’s you … good on you! Praise God for the willingness he has given you to serve in this important way.

However, while it might be a noble task, I would also suggest it’s a hard task. And if you’re a conscientious Bible study leader, I suspect I don’t need to convince you of that; you know from personal experience how challenging it can be.

As we get into the swing of another year of leading our small groups, I want to suggest that one of the keys to perseverance in that task is for us to keep equipping ourselves for it. And one of the best ways to do that is to be a reader.

In Richard Sweatman’s excellent little book Being a Small Group Leader, he lists five key areas we need to keep growing in:

• knowledge of God
• character
• teaching abilities
• encouragement of others
• team leadership.

So I want to suggest some Matthias Media books that will help you better equip yourself in each of these key areas. (Including the book I just mentioned, which is probably the first one to read!)

I am not for a moment suggesting that you should aim to read all of the listed books this year. But let me encourage you to set yourself a realistic reading goal and prioritize the books relating to the areas you think you most need to work on. If, like me, you’re not a great reader, let me also encourage you that making an investment in reading is almost always much more beneficial and encouraging than it feels like it’s going to be.

Knowledge of God

There are many books that I could recommend here,* but there is one newish Matthias Media title that is ideal: The Life of Faith, by Peter Jensen. As books on theology go, this one is remarkably concise and accessible, covering all the core theology the average Bible study leader should be on top of. And it lends itself to reading and reflection in bite-sized, manageable chunks.

An honourable mention also goes to The Tony Payne Collection, which covers a huge range of topics, showcasing the excellent writing abilities Tony has exhibited over several decades.

Character

Again, there are lots of options on the Matthias Media shelves, but the one I’m suggesting might surprise you: Christian Essentials, by Ken Noakes. A quick look at the nine topics that Ken covers in this book–Bible study will reveal why I think it’s a good choice to help us reflect on our own character as Christians: saved by grace; grounded in the word; faithful in prayer; bold in witness; resilient in suffering; committed in membership; loving in relationships; godly in giving; and fruitful in service. And Ken covers these topics in a really interesting and engaging way.

The topic of prayer is especially worth singling out, because so many of us struggle with this particular part of our Christian life and leadership. So I want to also flag the imminent arrival of a very helpful new book by Peter Adam on this topic: Prayerfulness: Cultivating a Bible-enriched prayer life. (It’s due out in the first half of 2025.)

Teaching abilities

We certainly want to grow in our ability to rightly handle the word of truth (2 Tim 2:15). And Craig Hamilton’s new book, Mastered by the Word, will really sharpen your skills in biblical exegesis (i.e. reading out the meaning there in the text). He’s purposefully written it at an accessible level very suited to the average Bible study leader.

Remember too that a good grasp of ‘systematic theology’ (provided by the Peter Jensen book I mentioned earlier) also helps us be better teachers and Bible readers.

One of the other core teaching skills is the ability to write your own Bible studies. Richard Sweatman’s other short book is a very useful guide for this: Writing a Small Group Study.

There are a number of other teaching skills that relate to the specific context of the small group. For more on those, I recommend the Matthias Media ‘classic’, Growth Groups, by Colin Marshall.

Encouragement of others

The first step in getting better at encouraging others is to understand what Christian encouragement actually is and how it happens. Gordon Cheng’s excellent little book Encouragement gets right to the heart of this, giving some very practical tips as well.

One of the times our group members most need encouragement is when they, or people they are close to, are going through tough times. Sally Sims brings a wealth of training and experience to her terrific guidebook Together Through the Storm. People in our groups will go through tough times, and it’s best if we are pre-prepared to help and encourage them through those times. Sally’s book provides that preparation.

Given the prevalence of significant anxiety in our community, it’s probably also worth a small group leader taking the time to understand this issue from a Christian perspective. Paul Grimmond’s book, When the Noise Won't Stop, is just what you need to understand and help group members struggling with anxiety.

Team leadership

When Richard Sweatman covers this topic in Being a Small Group Leader, he refers his readers to Wisdom in Leadership, by Craig Hamilton, for more comprehensive help. I can only agree with Richard’s recommendation. Craig’s book covers a huge range of principles and practicalities of Christian leadership. There are 78 (short!) chapters. I was going to mention the chapters I thought would be particularly helpful for small group leaders, but when I looked at the table of contents there were too many of them to list!

Let me round off this list of recommendations with the book that many of you perhaps thought I’d start with. It’s been an influential book in giving many people clarity about the nature of Christian ministry and therefore what we’re trying to do as leaders. That book is called The Trellis and the Vine.

As Craig Hamilton says (in Wisdom in Leadership), we can’t make (small group) leadership easy; but we can hopefully make it easier. And I hope and pray that some of these book recommendations might just do that for you in the year ahead.

Ian

* Yes, yes, I know—the best book for the ‘knowledge of God’ category is the Bible—as indeed it is for the other four categories too. So let’s all keep reading our Bibles and view these other books as really helpful supplements that very often stimulate more Bible reading rather than less.