Life change always involves the heart, mind and will.

If you want the members in your small group to stay committed, enthusiastic and responsive, you've got to do more than simply engage their minds through teaching and study.

A vital small group experience involves transformation: people changing, growing, and influencing one another's lives.  Further, we know that transformation always involves the heart.

Some groups make the mistake of eliminating Bible study altogether so that they have more time for sharing and connecting. In doing so, they lose the power for living that's found in the truth of Scripture.

So, what's the difference between a Bible study that is geared towards the mind vs. focused on the heart?

Small group expert Bill Donahue returns to CCN to give you practical tools for transforming a "studying community" into a "learning community" in Using the Bible Effectively in Groups.

>This month on the Groups That Grow training series, small group leaders will learn how to engage their groups with the truths of Scripture in ways that produce real life-change.

Small group leaders will learn to recognize:

• The importance of interacting with Scripture.
• The difference between "studying" and "learning".
• Questions that get to the heart.
• Opportunities for personal application.

Make sure that your small group is making a difference!

Bill Donahue is the Executive Director of Small Group Ministries for the Willow Creek Association. He is the author of Leading Life-Changing Small Groups, and with Russ Robinson, the coauthor of The 7 Deadly Sins of Small Group Ministry, Building a Church of Small Groups, and Walking the Small Group Tightrope. Bill teaches at several seminaries and has written and edited many small group studies, including the Interactions Series, the New Community Series and the Bible 101 Series.