Building community life in the church isn't a new strategy — it's integral to how God intended us to live!

In fact, for the first 300 years, the church didn't have small groups — it was small groups!

"Life in community is the heartbeat of the church, and remains the catalyst for missional impact worldwide," says Bill Donahue.

Now CCN invites pastors and small group leaders to join the Willow Creek Group Life Conference to explore just how the early Church both inspires and directs the future of small group ministries.

And CCN offers you the rare opportunity to attend this premiere small group training event from the comfort of your own church. No one on your team needs to be left out because of travel or expense!

Featuring specially selected live and pre-recorded sessions, this conference offers an ideal training experience for everyone who is involved in building and growing community life – from senior staff to volunteer group leaders.

You'll hear:

• Re-Imagining Community – Bill Donahue and guests
  The foundations of biblical community were built for the future, allowing for great innovation! In this session, Bill Donahue interviews church leaders about emerging trends in community life that portend both chaotic change and unprecedented opportunity.

• Recovering Community – Scot McKnight
  Known for his deep insights on the kind of community that Jesus taught and lived, Scott describes the life-giving foundations that have steadied God’s people at every age and phase of His Church.

• Ageless Influence – Mike Breaux
  The results of building authentic community aren’t always immediately apparent. Mike Breaux discusses the ageless influence of relational ministry and the legacy of life change.

Set the stage for the future of your small group ministries. Don't miss a remarkable training experience, via satellite on CCN!

Bill Donahue is the Executive Director of Small Group Ministries for the Willow Creek Association. He is the author of Leading Life-Changing Small Groups, and with Russ Robinson, the coauthor of The 7 Deadly Sins of Small Group Ministry, Building a Church of Small Groups, and Walking the Small Group Tightrope. Bill teaches at several seminaries and has written and edited many small group studies, including the Interactions Series, the New Community Series and the Bible 101 Series.

Scot McKnight is a widely-recognized authority on the New Testament, early Christianity, and the historical Jesus. He is the Karl A. Olsson Professor in Religious Studies at North Park University in Chicago, Illinois and is also the Department Chair and the Director of the College of Christian Life and Thought. He is the author of more than 20 books, including the award-winning The Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others, which won the Christianity Today book of the year for Christian Living in 2004. His most recent books include Embracing Grace: A Gospel for All of Us,The Story of the Christ; and Praying with the Church. Scot’s blog, Jesus Creed, has been rated by Technorati.com as the #1 site for the Emerging Church.

Mike Breaux has served as a teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church since 2003. He also serves as a teaching pastor for Heartland Community Church, an innovative ministry in Rockford, Ill. Before moving to the Chicagoland area, Mike spent eight years as the senior pastor at Southland Christian Church in his hometown of Lexington, Ky. Prior to that, he led a team to start Canyon Ridge Christian Church in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is the author of Making Ripples and the soon to be released, Identity Theft.