A searchable, downloadable PDF of the original article appears below. The Rev. Chuck Congram is pastor of St. Andrew’s Church in Belle River, Ontario.
Cultivating Religious Growth Groups. Charles M. Olsen, Burlington, Ontario: Trinity Press, 1984.
Having had extensive training in small group dynamics, I seriously questioned whether Olsen’s book would make any significant new contributions to my understanding in this area of ministry within the church. Clearly this is a book written for pastors with the expressed desire that they may “Catch a glimpse of an exciting and creative pastoral role – as manager of ministry through groups.”
Throughout, the critical, central role of the pastor as an active manager in group ministry is emphasized, for, as Olsen discovered, the most dominant factor in congregations with small group ministry was the ongoing involvement of pastors.
Two important contributions are made by this volume. The first is to outline the variety of managerial roles played by the pastor in areas related to small group ministry. The second and even more important is the extensive coverage of the life cycles of groups which range from the initiating stage on through the information, functioning and terminating stages. The latter was of vital importance and one that is frequently ignored. That groups have a natural tendency to die having fulfilled their initial purposes is one of the realities rarely acknowledged in congregational life. Clearly, this was the most significant contribution of Olsen’s writing.
Though at times, I personally found the reading difficult, I would still consider it vital reading for anyone seeking to develop or strengthen group ministry within a congregation.