Andy Stanley - Creating Community: Five Keys to Building a Small Group Culture

CREATING COMMUNITY
published by Multnomah Books

2004 by North Point Ministries, Inc.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from:
The Holy Bible, New International Version 1973, 1984 by International Bible Society, used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Stanley, Andy.
Creating community / Andy Stanley and Bill Willits.
p. cm.
eISBN: 978-0-307-56363-7
1. Group ministryBaptists. 2. Small groupsReligious aspects
Baptists I. Willits, Bill. II. Title.
BV675.S74 2005
253.7dc22

2004019834

v3.1_r1

No book like this is the work of just one person. It involves the collective efforts of many who have passion for the subject matter (and pity for the author). God has allowed me to share this life and this project with some very creative and enjoyable people. Some share my last name. Some I work with. Others are personal friends. But all have been amazingly supportive to me during the writing of this book.

Special thanks go to my fellow North Point leadership team members, Julie Arnold, Rick Holliday, Lane Jones, Reggie Joiner, David McDaniel, and of course, Andy Stanley. Many of the concepts and ideas expressed in these pages are simply applications of principles developed during our numerous discussions. You are the most gifted and fun group of leaders on the planet. Its a blast doing life and ministry with you.

To the North Point Group Life team, especially Steve Giddens, Fran LaMattina, Jason Malec, Mitzi Miller, Stephen Redden, Al Scott, Sean Seay, and John Woodall. You had as much to do with the work contained in these pages as anyone. You are an amazing group of leaders. I am beyond thankful that God has allowed me to work with such talented and Christlike friends.

Our unsung heroes, the people who make these concepts a reality every week, deserve special kudos. They are the numerous volunteer group leaders and assimilators who call North Point their church home. Your passion and commitment to Christ and to your groups inspire and challenge us all. We are learning much from you. Thanks for making community a way of life for so many people in Atlanta.

Much of what it means to live in community we have learned from our current and former community groups. We have laughed a lot, challenged one another, cried together, and seen God at work. We have had good times and hard times, but we have experienced the love of Christ in tangible ways because of your faithfulness to Him and to His church.

There are certain people who have given extra effort toward this project. Thanks to Jan Woodruff, my assistant, for keeping my life and ministry straight during this writing season. I know you have had to carry an extra burden, and I am grateful. Thanks to Dawn Hurley in Andys office, who has been extremely helpful in editing the manuscript. Thanks also to Michael Colwell and John Woodall for your help with the discussion questions. And thanks to Justin Craig for keeping me out of the tall weeds theologically with your helpful research.

Every person is the product of many influences. So is every church. No one has had greater influence on the small-group movement, or the development of our small-group ministry, than Bill Donahue, Russ Robinson, and the team at Willow Creek. Bill mentored us in our early days and has been a great source of encouragement along the way. Thanks, great friends.

To our friends at MultnomahDon Jacobson, Kevin Marks, Doug Gabbert, Brian Flagler, David Webb, and Kristina Coulterthank you for partnering with us and believing in this project. Your lives, ministry, and commitment to excellence bless us. And the community culture you have created at Multnomah inspires us.

Creating Community would never have been written without the support of my favorite small group, my family.

T, I wouldnt have made it without your love and belief in me. I am so thankful to experience life with you. Thanks for filling in the gaps while I was preoccupied, cheering me on when the going got toughest, and for reading and rereading the manuscript. Your insights were extremely helpful, reminding me once again why you are the best author in our home. I am so proud of you and thankful to be your husband.

Bailey, thank you for being so understanding while Daddy was busy writing. I am a blessed man to call you my girl. You have asked me frequently, When are you going to be done with your book? I can finally say, Its done. Ready to go out on another date?

To my mom and dad, I am grateful and proud to call you my parents. You have taught me by example a lifelong commitment to friends and community. My generation can learn a lot from you.

To my in-laws, Bus and Carmen Ryan, thank you for your encouragement and support throughout this entire process, especially by loaning me your summer place to do much of my writing.

Most of all, I want to say thanks to God for connecting me into life-giving community through His Son, Jesus Christ, more than thirty years ago.

Bill Willits

In 1993, Sandra and I joined Bill and Terry Willits, along with three other couples, to form a small group. At the time I was working for my dad at a Baptist church. There was no small-group ministry in the church. Like most Baptist churches, adult education happened within the context of Sunday school, and as a staff member working with high school students, I was not able to attend an adult Sunday school class. Sandra and I felt that something was missing.