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50 Small Group Worship Ideas

Author:	Stuart Townend with Morgan Lewis
Published By:	Kingsway (Eastbourne)
Pages:	272
Price:	£8.99
ISBN:	1 84291 279 8

Reviewed by David Small.

In his introduction to this book the author suggests rightly that worship in small groups can be dire. It is often the part of the evening that has been forgotten or prepared quickly after the hours of preparation required for “a really effective Bible study”!  Stuart Townend has provided in this book a whole range of short cuts to help any struggling small group leader to make the worship effective and relevant. He correctly analyses what is worship and looks at the strengths of the small group. The strengths are contained in the relaxed informal atmosphere in which all can participate honestly and help each other to focus on worship. Worship is “something that infuses the whole of our daily lives and everything we are engaged in.”

I did find the introductory pages much more challenging than some of the specific ideas he suggested, especially his comment that “this book is the touch paper, not the firework.” However, I am sure that many will find his ideas helpful and challenging. His final paragraph says: “Above all, have fun. Being in God’s presence is the most wonderful place anyone could ever be and the small group is a uniquely powerful, intimate context in which to experience him”.