Building Christian Community

Small Group Ministry in Today’s Seventh-Day Adventist

Church

1. Small groups: part of God’s plan

2. Life-changing small groups: some definitions

3. Small group values: the key to growth

4. Small group meetings and small group life

5. The goal of small groups: holiness and harvest

6. Small group leadership

7. Developing a small groups network

8. Maintaining the network

Building Christian Community

SESSION SEVEN: DEVELOPING A

SMALL GROUPS NETWORK

Getting Started…?

Need for

Strategy! Need for

Strategy!

Getting Started…?

2. Pray, and follow as God leads

1. Study and understand small group ministry

Getting Started...

3. Share the vision with others

Focus on values and objectives, not just groups

4. Designate small group co-ordinator

Getting Started...

5. Identify leadership teams, each consisting of:

• Leader

• Apprentice leader

• Host or hostess

and begin training.But remember…

Getting Started...

Grow...

…don’t GO

...into small groups. START SMALL

6. Form a Prototype Group

Getting Started

Co-ordinator/ trainer

Group leaders

Apprentices

Getting Started.

• to train

• to bond

• to develop a reproducible model

• to provide an authentic small group experience.

• to practice the real thing!

Jesus in the centre

The purpose of the prototype:

Other church members

7. Build core groups by adding 3-4 members

Getting Started...

Leadership team

Core Group

8. Build complete groups by adding 5-6 non-members

Getting Started...

Core Group

Complete Small Group

Non-members

Introducing Non-S.D.A. Friends to Your Group

• Pray that God will guide you to the other Christians or non-Christians He wants in the group

• Take other group Take other group members to Bible members to Bible study contactsstudy contacts

• Offer something of shared interest, e.g. parenting, stress

• Introduce friends socially to group members, e.g. anniversary, concert, birth-day, barbecue, etc.

• Use a course to introduce Christian beliefs like “Alpha”

• Just invite them to the group

Getting Started

9. Make sure one or two people don’t wear ALL the hats!

Getting Started

9a. Identify abilities and gifts in the group, and delegate responsibilities

Put the right hats on the right heads

JESUS IN

CENTRE

Getting Started

Task Sub-Group

Support Sub-

Group

Study Sub-Group

Leadership sub-group

Basic Small Group

10. Keep the small group at the level of a basic Christian community, organizing sub-groups as necessary

Getting Started...

11. Keep the vision clear by reading, prayer, observation evaluation, and training for group members

12. Plan ahead: have a strategy for growth

Getting Started

Remember the Jethro leadership principle

Leaders of 10

Supervising pastor

Leaders of 50

Leaders of 100

Leaders of 500

Future Challenge for Small Groups...

““The great outpouring of the Spirit ofGod, which lightens the whole earthwith His glory, will not come until wehave an enlightened people who know by experience what it means to be labourers together with God…but this will not be while the largest portion of the church are not labourers together with God.” Evangelism 699

““The great outpouring of the Spirit ofGod, which lightens the whole earthwith His glory, will not come until wehave an enlightened people who know by experience what it means to be labourers together with God…but this will not be while the largest portion of the church are not labourers together with God.” Evangelism 699

Building Christian Community

Small Group Ministry in Today’s Seventh-Day Adventist

Church

OHP 5.5OHP 5.5

1 6 5 4 3 2

Be convinced of Small Groups yourself & convince your leaders

Plan your teaching & introduce that teaching to your church

Prototype Cells

1st Wave Cells & Train new Cell Leaders

2nd & 3rd Wave

Adjustment of old programme - Transition complete

Six year transition outline

The Pastor’s Changing Role

Traditional Responsibilities

• Year 1 80%• Year 2 60%• Year 3 40%• Year 4 20%• Year 5 ?

Small Group Responsibilities

Year 1 20%Year 2 40%Year 3 60%Year 4 80%Year 5 ?

The Original Cell Model

KOREAKOREA

The “Touch” ModelSingapore,Singapore,Hong Kong,Hong Kong,

South South Africa,Africa,U.S.A., U.S.A., Russia,Russia,

many other many other nationsnations

The Groups of Twelve (Turbo) Model

Bogota, Bogota, ColumbiaColumbia

How It Works

LEADEROF

TWELVE

Each of the Each of the twelve twelve

develops up develops up to three Cell to three Cell Groups. The Groups. The

goal is to find goal is to find twelve twelve

leaders who leaders who will launch will launch

Cells.Cells.

The G12 Structure

Cell leader’s main task is to develop more leaders

The Story• First 7 years,

Castellanos worked with Cho’s system of Cells.

• Grew to 3,000 people…

• 1992-1997, with “Groups of Twelve” Strategy, grew to 10,460 Cell Groups

The ObjectiveThe Objective

To evangelize all of Colombia and see a Cell Church planted in every town in the nation.

How Membership Has Grown

84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 980

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98

Started Started “Groups of “Groups of Twelve” Twelve” StrategyStrategy3000

members

How Cells Have Multiplied!

84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 980

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98

10,45610,456Cells as ofCells as of

January, 1997!January, 1997!

Growth Principles of G12 (Turbo) Model

• Everyone is a potential group leader• Everyone is ministered to then ministers• Everyone can disciple 12 others• A believer can only be part of your 12

when they open a cell• Everyone should win souls and develop

leaders• Homogeneous cells grow more rapidly