James Galvin (see interview), creator and senior editor, and a team of contributors, selected one hundred relevant and interesting topics people would want to study in a group, topics such as stress, goal-setting, marriage, money, occult, faith, and salvation. Then they came up with three or four Bible passages for each topic and wrote "Discussion Starters" for them. Each of the 380 discussion starters includes a Scripture reading, key verse, short essay, and five or six discussion questions.

The Small Group Study Bible also includes a discussion-starter index, Bible concordance, and an interest inventory.

Jim Galvin, creator and senior editor of The Small Group Study Bible says it is another arrow in the small group leader's quiver. "If a need emerges and you don't have time to order study guides, you can deal with the need right away. If you've ordered study guides but it's going to be two more weeks before you get them, you can easily pick two lessons from anywhere in this Bible. If people are down and you want to do a quick study on depression, you don't have to buy a 13-week guide or do a full study on the book of Ezekiel, you can just turn to depression in the index and find three or four studies on the topic. It's very flexible and easy to use."

Leaders can use the interest inventory to lead an objective needs assessment with the group. This helps plan what to study based on members' needs and interests. This feature is just one example of why I like The Small Group Study Bible--it is easy to use in planning and leading a Bible study. I've set it on my shelf right next to my Serendipity Bible and LessonMaker. With it in my library, I can design a study that will meet people's needs and won't take long to prepare for.

Have you used this resource? Any comments to add to this review? E-mail them to The Small Group Network. Please enter "SG Bible Review" as the subject.