A new adventure in Llanelli!

Posted by Gaz on March 8, 2011

Praise God that Aline and I have started working with the Elim Pentecostal Church in Llanelli, Wales (UK) to oversee and implement a shift from traditional ‘care groups’ over to ‘small-groups’ that will have a more intentional “outward, inward, upward and forward” focus.

Please pray for us as we start on this new adventure to head up the training and coaching of small-group leaders in the church.

The Elim Church in Llanelli is part of an Elim network of around 550 churches in the UK, so if there is church growth here then others will be take notice and be interested!

Gary & Aline

There’s LIFE in Canada!

Posted by Bill on July 1, 2010

Bill (left) & Larry (right) at MCC in Cairo

My dear friend Larry Boss pastors a growing church, Kamloops Alliance Church (KAC) in British Columbia, Canada. Larry and I served together at Maadi Community Church and shared the wonderful experience of seeing the small groups ministry transform the church. read on →

Joel Comiskey

Posted by Bill on April 9, 2010

I stayed for one week in Bill and Beryl’s apartment in Cairo, Egypt and Bill has visited my home in Moreno Valley, CA. We’ve ministered together in the heat of the battle.

I can say through experience that Bill is not only friendly and funny, but he’s also a true disciple of Jesus Christ. And he’s passionate for the small group movement. He lives and breathes small group ministry. And he’s been very successful at it.

The Maadi Community Church in Cairo exploded from 0 to more than 400 cell groups (with over 4,000 cell group members) and nearly 1,200 cell pastors were trained – all under Bill’s capable leadership. Bill created the Small Group Church Plan at MCC and patiently guided and nurtured it to abundant fruit. While staying in his apartment, I watched him staying up late at night to make sure his supervisors were properly coached, people fully trained, and lessons correctly prepared.

I’m excited about Bill’s small groups ministry because he’s not only an expert in his field but he’s a true practitioner. I wholeheartedly recommend him.

Joel Comiskey

Joel is a Pastor, best selling author and publisher – and he is internationally recognised as a Small Groups ‘Guru’

Hercules Panayiotides

Posted by Bill on August 1, 2009

The Lord calls his church in community to love God and others, to share the good news in word and in deed and to equip people to do these. We at the Greek Evangelical church in Nicosia, with the strategic help and support of Pastor Bill Joukhadar at Maadi Community Church, have found that by structuring the church into a small group based body we have a structure which greatly facilitates this calling. This is not just something that makes theoretical sense. Implementing the small groups church plan in the Greek Evangelical Church in Nicosia resulted in a number of very encouraging results:

People from the fringe of the church have been led into the mainstream, from being visitors/spectators they have become active players. A testimony from a busy woman: “Both the cell group and the training I have received have really helped me in my spiritual life to move ahead.”
Reticent and hesitant church members have been allowed to see that they are able to be active and to serve. It has moved people from the sidelines to see that they have the ability to give and to do things that otherwise they thought was not possible for them; and they have found fulfilment! “Now we have the means and training. We have been motivated by this training and really felt as a family, one body with one purpose.”
Those who want to use their gifts to serve have a ready structure to serve within. This at the same time relieves the leadership from the stress of having to be ready to consider how to provide avenues for service for members.
Unbelievers are being exposed to the church in a place that is non-threatening to which a believer can easily invite an unbeliever and to which that person can without much fear attend.

As a pastor, I find that the small groups church plan provides an excellent framework for the mission of the church. It calls for improved leadership which poses challenges but at the same time because it provides an organized and coherent structure for us to move ahead and keep moving ahead, because it covers the important things that we need to be doing as churches and keeps us pointed in the right direction, it is well worth pursuing and I unreservedly and wholeheartedly recommend it.