I’ve been in full-time ministry for 35 years. During that time I’ve served in a number of different roles such as a missionary, senior pastor, associate pastor and missions pastor. No matter what role I have been in, I am almost always leading a small group—sometimes more than one group. There are four reasons why […]
Author Archive | Jim Egli
Moving from Multisite Campus to Church Plant
In 2010 Jim & DeDe Wood launched a new campus of our church in Paxton, Illinois, a rural county seat town 30-miles north of our original church here in Urbana. On Easter of this year (2015) this vibrant campus moved out from under our larger church to become a church plant or independent church, Hope Vineyard […]
The 10 Best Icebreaker Questions
When people come to your small group their hearts and minds are all over the place. Maybe they are afraid of losing their job, maybe they just had an argument with their spouse, perhaps they are concerned about a wayward teenage child, or they are just excited about their favorite sports team winning a crucial […]
4 Powerful Questions to Engage Your Small Group in Any Bible Passage
Helping your small group respond to God as you dig into the Bible together is largely a matter of asking the right questions. The most common mistake that group leaders make is to ask too many questions. If you ask too many questions, you don’t delve deeply into any of them and the same two […]
7 Great Icebreaker Questions to Use When Launching a New Group
Last month I started two new groups—a men’s discipleship group and an advanced leadership training group. When I launch a new small group, class, or training group, I like to ask several icebreaker questions the first meeting as well as casting vision and outlining expectations for the group. Asking a few icebreaker questions builds community, opening […]
A Curriculum for Christlikeness?
By Jim Egli on October 19, 2014 in Curriculum, Discipleship, Small Group Leader Resources, Small Group Meetings, Small Groups
My favorite curriculum for small groups and smaller discipleship groups are the three books by James Bryan Smith entitled The Good & Beautiful God, The Good & Beautiful Life, and The Good & Beautiful Community. I have gone through the first book with five small groups and the entire series of all three books with […]
4 Reasons Why Praying Leaders Have Faster Growing Groups
One of the most significant findings from my research involving over 4000 small group leaders is that praying leaders have faster growing groups. I’ve always been intrigued by this. Why does something that no one sees—the leader’s personal time with God and their prayer for their group—impact a small group’s growth so significantly? I think […]
3 Keys to Being a Great Small Group Pastor
So you’re the small group pastor or groups ministry director of your church? How can you do a fantastic job? How can you establish a thriving group ministry? I got new insight into that last week when I went to the Group 100 conference hosted by LifeWay at their Nashville offices. It featured a super line […]
4 Great Vineyard Small Group Worship DVD’s
By Jim Egli on June 14, 2014 in Small Group Leader Resources, Small Group Meetings, Small Group Worship, Small Groups
You don’t need a guitar player to have great small group worship, all you need is a DVD (or CD) player! I’m writing this post to alert you to a new Vineyard small group worship DVD, which joins several great ones that are already available. The new DVD, the first of its kind from the UK Vineyard […]
Why I Quit Doing 1-on-1 Discipleship
For years I was a strong proponent and practitioner of one-on-one discipleship. I loved working with new believers and emerging leaders in this way, watching their lives change in this powerful context. I was not only a practitioner of one-on-one discipleship, I also taught others how to do it and I co-authored a best-selling and […]