What about helps for small groups for youth? My friend Syler Thomas has a new book and today’s post is about training lay leaders.

SMcK’s question: What are you doing in your church to train small group leaders of youth groups?

By Syler Thomas

My co-author Steven Tighe and I have released a new book , The Small Group Leader’s Quick guide to (Almost) Everything, that is targeted at volunteer small group leaders in a youth ministry. In Wednesday’s post, I’ll talk more about the thrust of the book.

When Steven and I set out to write our book, we realized that the world probably didn’t need one more book for youth pastors. But we considered the countless volunteer leaders around youth ministry who may or may not receive any practical training for the task ahead of them. These people are the lifeblood, the backbone of any church. We professional pastors are (hopefully) well-equipped by our seminary training, and by the pile of books (many of them beside my bed waiting their turn) written to further our readiness for ministry.

But what about many of you who put in hundreds of volunteer hours each year to lead at your church?
How many of you feel equipped for the task?

So the questions are:

Are you a volunteer small group leader (whether for young people or adults) at your church?
Do you feel equipped by your church for this?
How have they done a good job at this?
What are ways they’ve fallen short?
Is there a book or training course that has been particularly meaningful for you?