If you have time for only one book... Sticky Church, by Larry Osborne (2008).
For training group leaders -- Buddy Bell's video series on Small Group leadership. Contact Buddy at Landmark Church of Christ in Montgomery, Alabama. (334) 277-5800. (Not available in stores.)
If that's not enough, here's a longer list...
Coleman, Lyman. Serendipity Presents: Lyman Coleman on Video -- Training for Leaders of Small Groups. Littleton, CO: Serendipity House, 1993. 180 minutes of video from one of the early pioneers in the resurgence of small group ministry that began in America in the 1970's. This may be out of print, but it's worth watching if you can find it.
Comiskey, Joel. How to be a Great Cell Group Coach. Houston: Touch Outreach Ministries, 2003. Good perspective on helping leaders succeed.
Corrigan, Thom. Community Through Small Groups. Littleton, CO: Pilgrimage/NavPress. 1998.
Davis, Deena, ed. Discipleship Journal’s 101 Best Small-Group Ideas. Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1996.
Donahue, Bill. Leading Life-changing Small Groups. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996. Donahue describes the Willow Creek model, and gives a total perspective on building a small group ministry.
Frazee, Randy. The Connecting Church. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2001. A model for how small groups and adult Bible classes can work together. Especially good for a large city or a congregation that covers a large geographical area.
George, Carl F. Nine Keys to Effective Small Group Leadership. Mansfield, PA: Kingdom, 1997.
George, Carl F. Prepare Your Church for the Future. Grand Rapids, MI: Fleming H. Revell, 1992.
Gladen, Steve and Lance Witt. 250 Big Ideas. Purpose Driven Publishing, 2004. Creative ideas for studies & service projects.
Gorman, Julie. Community that is Christian: A handbook on small groups. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1993.
Johnson, Abigail. Reflecting With God: Connecting Faith and Daily Life in Small Groups, 2004. A model for forming a group of 8-10 who help one another discern the call of God in their lives. Group life cycle of about 10 weeks, then you start over with a different group.
McBride, Neal F. How to Lead Small Groups. Navpress, 1990.
McBride, Neal F. How to Have Great Small-Group Meetings. Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1997.
McBride, Neal F. Real Small Groups Don’t Just Happen. Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1998.
McBride, Neal F. How to Build a Small Groups Ministry. 1994.
Myers, Joseph R. The Search to Belong, 2003. Intriguing book. Says that humans desire to feel a sense of belonging at four levels – public, social, personal, and intimate. Suggests limits for what small groups can accomplish.
Osborne, Larry. Sticky Church. Zondervan, 2008. If you have time for only one book, this is it. Describes the approach to SGM being developed at College Hills.
Smith, James Bryan. A Spiritual Formation Workbook. San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1991. A guide for an accountability group that helps participants reflect on their spiritual maturity in five different categories. Part of the Renovare’ Movement (http://renovare.org/) associated with Richard Foster.
Links
www.churchteams.com/ct/ offers a good online database for managing small groups.
www.smallgroups.com articles and humor (including Top 10 lists) about small groups. For $40 a year, you can become a member and get access to even more info.
www.touchusa.org provides articles, training materials, and curriculum.
College Hills posts guides for each group meeting. Our Equipping Minister, John Grant, has written over 400 Bible study guides that he is willing to share at no cost. Contact John Grant.
Some of the best-known publishers are WillowCreek.com, Navpress.com and Serendipity House. Quality varies with the author, and not every study fits with every group.
The Serendipity Bible, by Zondervan, is a classic. Valuable tool for small group leaders because it offers questions on nearly every page of the Bible.
New Testament Lesson Maker, by NavPress. Questions on every chapter of the NT. Similar to the Serendipity Study Bible, but with more questions.
201 Great Questions, by Jerry Jones. Good ice-breaker questions.
Training
Purpose-Driven Small Group network, developed by Steve Gladen at Saddleback Church. Hosts training conferences each year at multiple sites, sends out a monthlye-newsletter, and sponsors a network of small group ministry leaders. Sign up at http://pdsgn.wordpress.com/
Willow Creek’s Group Life conference. The oldest and best-known SG conference, meeting in Chicago in October. Also available at satellite locations around the world. Offers free monthly online seminars. http://www.ccnonline.net/programming/GLTN.php