Dr. James R. Hicks has taught small groups for 40+ years. He has a D. Min. in Practical Theology from Christian Theological Seminary with his 252-page dissertation entitled “Discipleship Through Small Groups”. He holds a M.Div. from Nazarene Theological Seminary and a B.A. from Trevecca Nazarene University. Dr. Hicks graduated from the School of Large Church Management, received training in the Alpha program, and training in small groups through Willow Creek. He has used variations of the Dynamics of Discipleship program along with other curriculum. Serving on the Nazarene Discipleship International District Council of Southwest Indiana for thirty-two years, he served as President for ten of those years.
Before retiring, Dr. Hicks pastored in his last church for thirty-two years and the church was in a large university setting. In his ministry, he discipled various age groups, those with both church and nonchurch backgrounds, and those in a traditional and non-traditional church context. His greatest joy is to mentor and equip those with no church background and lead them to greater spiritual maturity. The churches he has pastored have emphasized being sending churches for future pastors and Christian lay workers.
Since 2018, Dr. Hicks has served as the Educational Field Coordinator for Nazarene Discipleship International within the USA/Canada Region. He has overseen the Central USA (Olivet Nazarene University) Region since 2018 and presently lives in Bloomington, Indiana
