Life Groups

Sunday Mornings: 9am

Young Couples & Families (25+)
Leaders: Joe & Janet Whitmore
Location: Old Kitchen

Scriptural Explorers (55+)
Leader: Bob Slay
Location: For the City

Delivered (60+)
Leader: Lamar Pettit
Location: Glass Room in the Café

Neisler Group (55+)
Leader: David Neisler
Location: Prayer Room

Borders Group (45-60)
Leader: Jason Borders
Location: Basement

Young Couples (30+)
Leader: Jason Dudchock
Location: Youth Room in Basement

Sunday Mornings: 10:30am

Preteen (Grades 4-6)
Leaders: Corey & Anna Anderson
Location: Kids Room

Youth (Grades 7-12)
Trent Findley
Location: Youth Room in the Basement

Pastor’s Group (Adults)
Derek Staples, Todd Borders
Location: For The City

Young Adult Ladies (18-30)
Elizabeth Martin
Location: Tunnel Room in Basement

Young Adult Men (18-30)
Josh Martin
Location: New Room in Old Kitchen

Youth Parents (35+)
Leader: Andy Green
Location: Front Building

Disciples (70+)
Leader: Keith Thomas
Location: Glass Room in the Café

Brotherhood Fellowship (Men 80+)
Leader: Jim Wilson
Location: Tree Room upstairs

John Norman (Men 60+)
Leader: Steve Harrison
Location: Old Kitchen

Grace / Circle of Faith (Women 55+)
Leader: Carol Wilson, Amanda Reaves, Gena Christopher, and Mary Stanford
Location: Prayer Room

Ladies Morning Blend (60+)
Leader: Anjeanette Boozer, Genia Harrison, Celeste Carrol
Location: Save-A-Life Area

Sunday Evenings: 5pm

Yocum Small Group
(WILL RELAUNCH IN THE FALL)
Leader: Michael Yocum
Location: Café

Tuesday Mornings: 6am

Men’s Bible Study
Leader: Mike Nelson
Location: Prayer Room

Tuesday Mornings: 7am

Men’s Bible Study
Leader: Rick Casey
Location: Café

Wednesday Evenings: 6pm

Women’s Group
Leaders: Tammy Borders, Kara Shaw
Location: Prayer Room

Men’s Group
Leaders: Derek Staples
Location: Old Kitchen

New Beginnings (35+)
Leader: Rick Casey
Location: For the City

Preschool & Children’s Ministry
Leaders: Angie Casey, Preschool & Tracy Wills, Children
Location: Children’s Wing

ENGAGE (College) Small Groups

Our ENGAGE Small Groups take place during the college semesters.
Contact John Pendleton, our College Pastor for info: jpendleton@fbcjville.org

Fellowship // Jesus called His disciples to come and have intimate fellowship with Him.

Life Groups meet weekly for fellowship.  In the New Testament, Christian fellowship signifies having a share in something, or sharing with someone in something.  According to John Piper, “Fellowship is a mutual bond that Christians have with Christ that puts us in a deep, eternal relationship with one another.”  The faithful Christian life was never meant to be a solo journey.  We need the fellowship of other believers.  When the church was formed we see the early Christians doing life together as they devoted themselves to fellowship (Acts 2:42).  Life-Groups can meet anytime and anywhere including coffee shops, restaurants, homes, places of business, or on our church campus, for fellowship in the Word.  Life-Groups should also plan times throughout the year to get together outside of the weekly Bible study meetings to have fun and build relationships.  People aren’t looking for a friendly church, they are looking for friends. 

Prayer // Jesus prayed with His disciples and taught them how to pray.

Life-Groups pray together and practice the discipline of prayer in their daily lives.  As we pray together we follow the example of the early church which “continued steadfastly in…prayers” (Acts 2:42).  Each week Life-Groups will share prayer requests and pray for one another and for church and for spiritual awakening in our community.

Accountability // Jesus held His disciples accountable.

Life-Groups provide accountability.  It is through our Life-Groups that we miss people when they aren’t here.  It is the responsibility of Life-Group Leaders to recognize when a member is becoming unfaithful and to reach out to him/her in love.  In his wisdom, Solomon writes, “Two are better than one…if either of them falls down, one can help the other up.  But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up” (Ecclesiastes 4:9 – 10).  If anyone in our church family falls, we need to make certain someone is there to help them up.

Ministry // Jesus did ministry with His disciples and sent them out to do ministry.

Life-Groups share in ministry to one another.  The early church “sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need” (Acts 2:45).  An essential function of our Life-Groups is to love, minister, and care for each person in the group as anyone has need.  The primary way in which we minister to the needs of our church family is through our Life-Groups.  When a member of your Life-Group experiences a crisis (sickness, surgery, death in the family, loss of job, etc) your Life-Group should surround them with love and support.  Life-Group members should visit the hospital, go to the funeral home, visit their home, send cards and letters, provide meals and do whatever is necessary to provide the love and support they need during their time of difficulty.  As soon as you learn of a ministry need within your group, please notify the pastoral staff so that we can help minister to them during their time of need.

Multiplication // Jesus trained His disciples and commissioned them to go and make disciples.

The goal of Life-Groups is multiplication.  It is not the goal of Life-Groups to remain together.  The goal is to grow and to create more groups so that we can disciple more people.  The early church was outward focused and “the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved (Acts 2:47).  Our groups must become outward focused.  Group leaders and members must be intentional about inviting new people into our groups.  Growth will necessitate multiplication.  Each Life-Group should have a leader and a co-leader.  The co-leader should be ready and willing to start another group when the need arises.  Groups should multiply within one to two years.  We need a Life-Group for every person the Lord sends to our church.  We need groups for youth, college students, young adults, young married, middle-aged, men, women, older adults, and senior adults.  In order to have more groups to reach more people we need leaders. 

Teaching // Jesus taught His disciples using stories and interactive group discussions.

Life-Groups meet weekly for Bible study.  The early church “continued steadfastly in the apostle’s doctrine” (Acts 2:42).  We grow in our love for Jesus as we grow in our love for and devotion to His Word.  Life-Groups grow together through weekly Bible study.  We need the spiritual nourishment of the Word of God so that we might grow up in our salvation (1 Peter 2:2).  The central purpose of our Life-Groups is to grow together through the study of God’s Word.  This means that our weekly Life-Group gatherings are just as important as our Sunday morning worship gatherings.  Life-Groups are free to use whatever curriculum they choose as long as it is approved by the pastoral staff.