Share faith in small groups

Visit the North American Forum for Small Christian Communities to learn how small communities can renew and strengthen discipleship HERE. 
"The most important reason for gathering in small groups is to place God in a primary spot in their lives, make faith essential to their lives, hear the invitation of Jesus to change themselves, and transform the society around them. In other words to make disciples."
Get a pdf for "10 Guiding Principles of LRSS Small Group Discussion" from Little Rock Scripture Study HERE. 
Find LRSS "Tips for Online Bible Study" HERE.
And "Tips for Praying Lectio Divina on Zoom" HERE.
Find resources for why and how to recruit and facilitate small groups in the parish from Paulist Evangelization Ministries HERE. 

"As communities of faith, Small Groups create a deeper sense of community within a parish and can expand the activity of faith beyond parish walls and into people’s homes. Families who participate will also find renewed connection with one another. Often, in the process of putting on a Small Group program, parishes will find new ministers and leaders."
​                                     - Paulist Evangelization Ministries​

For small groups during Lent

​This weekly Lenten series is designed for individual or small group use, and follows along with Catholic Mobilizing Network's faith formation guide, Harm, Healing, and Human Dignity: A Catholic Encounter with Restorative Justice (Liturgical Press, 2019).  While using the book is strongly recommended, the series may also be completed without it. Each weekly module includes additional web-based resources and reference materials. 
Who Do You Say That I Am? is an experiential resource for faith communities to explore the wide-ranging effects of incarceration and to discern what our faith calls us to in response. This Lenten series has videos, PowerPoint presentations, participant discussion guides that guide a group in your parish, organization, school or small faith community.
Find good guidelines for starting a US Catholic magazine book club  HERE.

Find ideas for starting a Catholic book club and get a long list of potential titles HERE from America magazine. 
What are 4 questions you should ask before forming a small group? CLICK HERE to find out the answers. How can you go about recruiting small group leaders? CLICK HERE for  helpful ideas from our brothers and sisters from the Christian Reformed Church. 

Lectio Divina: part of your small group practice

Scripture resources recommended for small groups:

THESE BOOKS ARE ALL AVAILABLE IN OUR LIBRARY.  
CLICK HERE TO RESERVE LIBRARY MATERIALS 
or call 330 744-8451 ext 297, or email [email protected].
Threshold Bible Study is a thematic Scripture study program, designed for both personal study and group discussion. The characters, places, and images that you will encounter in each of these topical studies will help you explore new dimensions of your faith and discover deeper insights for your spiritual life. Features a new scripture passage for each day of the week, commentary, and discussion questions. 
Explore Threshold Bible Study topics and order here
All Threshold Bible Study books are available in our Library. 
Six Weeks with the Bible series is an inviting starting point for busy adults who want to study the Bible but don't know where to begin. Each guide is divided into six concise, 90-minute segments that introduce one book of the Bible. Edited by Scripture authority Kevin Perrotta, these Bible studies require no prior knowledge of Scripture, and all biblical text is printed in the guides. Features one or two scrpiture passages per week, fun icebreaker and discussion questions, and prayer.
Explore topics and order here
​All Six Weeks with the Bible books are available in our Library. 
Alive in the Word are three-week adult bible studies featuring color photos and maps, scholarly commentary, and short discussion questions. Excellent for groups who don't want to commit to multiple weeks of study but are interested in learning.
Explore topics and order here
​All Alive in the Word booklets are available in our Library.
Little Rock Scripture Study. These four to six week adult Bible Studies feature online video lectures, detailed commentary, and more learning  than faith sharing. Great for those who like to watch a recorded brief lecture along with reading a study guide and commentary.

​​Online lectures are free for groups with the purchase of books!
Explore topics and order here
​All Little Rock Scripture Study books are available in our Library. 

Other resources for small group discussion: 

THESE BOOKS ARE ALL AVAILABLE IN OUR LIBRARY.  
CLICK HERE TO Review Library Materials
then call  330 744-8451 ext 297, or email [email protected].
​SENT TO SERVE
Paulist Evangelization Ministries, 2021
Help Your Parishioners Understand and Live Catholic Discipleship
Sent to Serve draws on Scripture, Church teachings, and parishioners’ own experience of Jesus to create connected small group communities within your parish. Bring your parishioners to deeper understandings of themselves as disciples.
This three-part program uses reflections on Jesus’ followers, the Beatitudes, and the Sacraments to help Catholics explore more deeply dimensions of their faith. Parishes can use these resources in a flexible way to resource small-group sharing. 

Sent to Serve Part One: ENCOUNTERS: Meeting Jesus Through His Followers
Sent to Serve Part Two: BEATITUDES: Cultivating the Attitudes of Jesus
Sent to Serve Part Three: SACRAMENTS: Signs That Call Us Forth
Prayer: Biblical Wisdom for Seeking God
by Michelle Francl-Donnay
Little Rock Scripture Study, 2021
​In prayer not only do we call out to God, but God endlessly calls out to us, enfolding us in mercy, drawing us close in love. Yet prayer can be daunting. We may not be sure where to begin or how to continue. In Prayer, Biblical Wisdom for Seeking God, Michelle Francl-Donnay explores what Scripture teaches us about prayer with insightful commentary on three key passages. The voices of the psalmist, St. Paul, and Jesus are our guides in this rich volume on one of the most essential topics of the spiritual life.

​Reflection questions and ideas for prayer are included in this 45-page book. 
Jesus and the Barbecued Fish Breakfast – A Gospel Story Sampler Inspired by the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius
by Dan Daly, S.J. and Thane Benson
Twenty-Third Publications, 2021
​In this exploration of the gospels, Fr. Dan Daly offers a fresh take on both the remarkable episodes from Jesus’ life as well as the delightful parables that he shared with the crowds. The stories are knit together in a simple chronology that provides movement and direction to the narrative as well as reflection questions for personal or group discussion

Click here to see a sample of this 128-page book.
​Freedom: Finding Peace In Anxious Times
from the series Henri Nouwen And The Art Of Living
by Marjorie Thompson
Creative Communication for the Parish, 2021
Amid anxious times, find freedom in Christ.
No stranger to anxiety, spiritual master Henri Nouwen wrote genuinely about the search for peace and the quest for freedom from our troubled hearts. Nouwen expresses how our sense of security is often found in temporal things, when it should be grounded in the everlasting. Author Marjorie Thomas follows the lessons Nouwen learned on finding freedom from anxiety helps us to integrate those lessons into a life of deep meaning.

Equally suited individual reading or group study, each chapterof this 30-page booklet  includes action prompts and questions for reflection and/or discussion.
Delve Deeper: Exploring the Sunday Gospels in the Year of Luke
by Triona Doherty and Jane Mellett
Twenty-Third Publications, 2021
Awaken new possibilities for living the Sunday gospels each week with these unique and inspiring reflections for liturgical year C. Tríona Doherty and Jane Mellett offer readers a way to see Luke’s gospel with fresh eyes that are open to the challenges of our own times. These brief and accessible Lectio Divina reflections invite us to “to hear God’s voice within, and to find our way as followers of Jesus of Nazareth, cultivating inclusiveness, compassion, and a love that can turn the world upside down.”

Reflection questions for personal or group discussion are included in this 144-page book. 
​
Click here to see a sample of this book.
Baptism: Alive in Christ
​by Justin Huyck (Diocese of Youngstown Coordinator of Media Relations)
Little Rock Scripture Study, 2019
​Baptism is not just an event that happened in the past-but the identity we are immersed in as followers of Jesus. This volume helps us reflect on this identity in the midst of our contemporary church and world. Explore three New Testament passages to contemplate what it means to be alive in God's love, alive in Christian community, and alive in Christ's death and resurrection.

Reflection questions and ideas for prayer are included in this 40-page book. 
Catholic and Confident: Simple Steps to Share Your Faith
by Henry Libersat
Franciscan Media, 2012
Designed to help Catholics embrace their call to spread the message of salvation to everyone in their lives. Providing references from various popes and the Second Vatican Council, this book shows the need for laypeople to evangelize and affirms their unique place in the world to do so. Real-life examples of Catholics who are living their call combined with practical suggestions make this a valuable resource. Readers will find a new vitality of faith, a greater understanding of God’s presence in their lives, and the peace that comes from living and sharing confidently as God calls them to do. 

​Prayer and reflection questions are included in this 89-page book. 
Quantum Grace: The Sunday ReadingsLenten Reflections on Creation and Connectedness
by Judy Cannato
​Ave Maria Press, 2003
​All life is connected, and when we fall into disconnection we can experience alienation and the sense that we are separate and apart. Quantum Grace: The Sunday Readings expands on author Judy Cannato's theme of observing Lent through the lens of “new physics.” It complements and completes the reflections on the scriptures of the Lenten season begun in Quantum Grace: Lenten Reflections on Creation and Connectedness. Like the first volume, it seeks to stir the reader to look at scripture through a slightly different lens—one that reconciles our Christian tradition with modern scientific discoveries.

Reflection questions are included in this 128-page book.