Guiding Principles for Running a Successful Book Club

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Here’s a list of principles that have helped our BTB book clubs thrive.

• Let God give you a Vision; Spend time journaling the little whispers that you hear in your heart – the ideas, hopes and dreams that God is generously pouring into your soul.

• Believe God; Have the faith that what He has called you to He will equip you for. If your dream is achievable in your own strength, its not big enough!

• Share your Heart; Once God has provided the sisters for you to journey with, let them know what the purpose (vision and mission), goals, hopes and dreams for the group are.

• Cultivate the atmosphere; Ask God for the ability to create and nurture a beautiful space for your group to meet and be intentional to maintain the ambience. This space does not necessarily need to be atheistically beautiful – more so welcoming, comfortable, relatively clean, quiet and with hot cups of tea or coffee available.

• Don’t Compromise on the Crucial Stuff; Be open with your sisters about the group ‘Rules’ which allow you all to journey in a safe, healthy and life-giving space which the Holy Spirit will inhabit. Its OK to be firm and considerately remind sisters of the importance of lifegiving behaviours, attitudes, and healthy boundaries – do not allow the culture and atmosphere to become something ungodly or unhealthy.

• Be a Prayer Warrior; Pray for your sisters daily and motivate them to also pray for each other.

• Have open Hearts; Create an authentic, open, non-judgemental community where women can share what is truly on their hearts and experience the fellowship of the Lord through joy and sorrow.

• Choose Carefully; Be prayerful and vigilant while selecting study resources and books (always pre-reading the material before using the with group, recommending or referring to).

• Ask for Help; It is OK to seek help when leading challenging and hurting sisters. You may choose to reach out to a personal mentor or trusted friend, someone in church leadership or a health professional (who you can use as a referral)

• Do not become Distracted; It can be easy to become caught up in animated and happy conversations, what we did on the weekend or even caught up by a sister sharing an exceptionally long (maybe not on topic) story. Learn to become comfortable leading the conversation back to its intended purpose. It is OK to stop someone who’s sharing in a long-winded capacity and suggest that it’s discussed during the week in private.

• What’s the Relationship?; It can be helpful to define your relationships with sisters in the group, different relationships function differently and therefore require different boundaries.

• Have fun and embrace your sisters as the precious gifts they are. 

Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the good news about Christ. 

PHILIPPIANS 1: 3-5