- Book club members get to share what they liked--and what they didn't enjoy--about a book. This is the main function. Members discuss the objectives of the book. They answer such questions as: What spiritual lessons can be learned from this book? How can I put what I learned in to practice? Were there scripture verses to support the author's points? Book club members will also discuss whether they like the writing style of the author, and whether the author had provided the readers with information that hadn't heard before.
- Religious-book clubs consist of 5 to 20 people who meet in the home of a member or at a library. The books they read may be religious- or family-oriented. Other book clubs are formed online, and members meet in chat rooms such as Yahoo Chat and discuss the designated book. Other religious-book clubs sell books but don't actually meet in person. A mailing of all new religious books is sent to the subscribers of the book club, who then buy the new books and read them at home.
- Book club meetings are usually held once per month. The host usually brings a list of three to five book titles for the group to choose from. The group votes on the book they want to read and review for their next meeting. The title with the most votes wins. Members then have one month to purchase and read the book before discussing it with the group. Meetings last between an hour and an hour and a half. When the meeting is adjourned, the group sets up a date for their next meeting.
- One of the biggest Christian groups is Crossings Book Club, whose members receive discounted books. New members can choose five books for 99 cents each. They are then updated on all of the new releases. Book clubs.com (see resources) is also a great place to find a list of religious and special-interest clubs. If you prefer to chat or send messages, you can try Yahoo Groups. Yahoo Groups also lists plenty of Christian book clubs--the best feature is that you can remain anonymous.
- Be prepared to keep everyone in the group on track, or members will start discussing unrelated subjects. If you set up your meeting for an hour and a half, and the group gets off track, you may have only spent half an hour talking about the book. This defeats the whole purpose of the book club. You need to set up one person as the host or moderator. If the meeting finishes early, you can then encourage members to stick around, eat a sticky bun, and have fun mingling with each other.
