08 Aug The New Math | ‘Small Group Growth’ Part One

Learn multiplication and addition so you can avoid division and subtraction. 

By Dan Lentz

In school, we typically learn our math subjects in the following order: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and then division. Unfortunately, most churches attempt to teach small-group math in a similar way. We teach small-group addition first, and then much later we try to teach multiplication. But in my experience, such an approach usually leads to division and subtraction!

Defining the Terms
Let me explain what I mean by defining some terms. For this discussion, I’ll define small-group “multiplication” as the process of reproducing biblical values, knowledge, experiences, and skills through a relational and experiential process. But not only are the values, knowledge, and skills to be reproduced in another—the process of reproduction is also to be passed on repeatedly from one small-group leader to another emerging small-group leader, and from one small group to a new small group. In essence, the root goal of multiplication is seeing growth through a complete replication of the existing leader and group.
On the other hand, I’ll define “addition” as the process of assimilating new members and selecting new leaders through any process that doesn’t have a primary expectation that biblical values, knowledge, and skills will be reproduced repeatedly in another leader and group through modeling and relationship. In other words, the root goal of addition is seeing growth through adding another leader or group to the existing system without disturbing pre-existing small groups.
Obviously, addition and multiplication are both biblical values (see below). Both need to be happening in ministry. But how we teach people to do them is very important.

The Present Reality
In the laboratory of small-group ministry, here’s how I’ve seen this fleshed out. When new small-group leaders and their groups sign on to enter an experience of biblical community—an experience that for the most part revolves around the group members themselves—the hoped-for result is bonding, care, encouragement, support, purpose, and growth. And those are certainly good things. Most of these groups are open to adding new members from time to time. They might say to a prospective group member: “We’ve got a good thing going—would you like to join us?”
Such groups can be very good at addition for a time. But they will eventually reach size and growth constraints. In these situations, some key decisions need to be made. Do you leave that group alone and praise it as a model of Christian Community, then seek to add another leader and small group to begin the process over again (addition)? Or, do you encourage the existing leader and group to replicate a leader and core members of a new small group from people in the existing group (multiplication)?
If the addition process has been the default mode of operation in your church for some time, then your coaches or group overseers will encounter a lot of resistance if they approach an existing group or group leader with a vision for multiplication. In fact, casting that type of vision will sometimes lead to division within a group, or division between the group and church leadership.
The problem is not that existing groups and group leaders are against the value of seeing more people grow in their relationship with Christ. In fact, most can even understand how having two or more groups available would dramatically increase the capacity to add more people into biblical community. It’s just that they only learned to do that through addition—a new leader and core group members, but not from “their” group. When they are faced with the prospect of the new group having “body donors” from their own group (multiplication), they feel like it’s more about “dividing” and “subtracting” people from their existing group.

But what if, instead of starting with addition, they had learned how to multiply first? What if in the very early stages of a healthy community experience they learned that one of the highest goals of a life lived for Christ was being able to reproduce their experience of growth and relationships into other people who could, in turn, reproduce it in others? (2 Timothy 2:2)
In my experience, if leaders and groups learn how to multiply themselves first, then when they learn how to “add” more people to their group, the eventual multiplication of leaders and groups comes much easier. Granted, just like in school, multiplication is a harder concept to master than addition. But in small-group life, learning multiplication before addition makes it so much easier for a small group to grow exponentially.
With all that said, how do you help small-group leaders learn to do multiplication, particularly if they have never gone through a leader/group multiplication process themselves? Here are a few lessons I’ve found helpful when teaching, training, and coaching small-group leaders on the value of multiplication.

Lesson 1—Multiplication Reflects a Biblical Pattern
When you consider church growth in the New Testament, how did it start? Basically, with Jesus and a handful of followers. By pouring his life into just a few people, Jesus was able to reproduce much of his ministry into the first disciples—they relationally and experientially learned from Jesus how to multiply disciples.
Then, as the Book of Acts begins to unfold, we see church growth described as an “addition” process at first. In Acts 2:41, about 3,000 were “added” to the number of Christ-followers on the day of Pentecost. Then in Acts 2:47 and 5:14, the Lord “added” those who were being saved.
But starting in Acts 6:1 there is a shift in terminology again. As an author, Luke is noted for his attention to detail, including numerical information. In Acts 6:1 he states, “In those days when the number of disciples was multiplying….” So, there is a shift from disciples being “added” to disciples being “multiplied.” Once again, as addition had produced the need for more leaders and groups, the early disciples who were with Jesus had already learned how to multiply and could accomplish it to facilitate the rapid growth of the early church. (Read the rest of Acts 6 to get the details.)

Lesson 2—Group Multiplication Is Typical in Healthy Churches
In a landmark study called “Natural Church Development,” Christian Schwartz surveyed over 1,000 churches in 32 countries. The survey yielded 4.2 million different answers, which were processed and calculated to uncover trends. And of the 170 different variables present in the study, one had a greater correlation to church growth than any other.
Here’s what Schwartz said: “It is probably no coincidence that our computer survey selected the variable of ‘holistic small groups: Our church consciously promotes the multiplication of small groups through cell division.’ If we were to identify any one principle as the most important—even though our research shows that the interplay of all basic elements is important—then without a doubt it would be the multiplication of small groups.”

Lesson 3—Group Multiplication Fulfills the Great Commission
The late Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, said it well:
Imagine for a moment that you are an extremely zealous witness for Christ. You are sharing the message of God’s great love and forgiveness wherever you go. You are able to actually lead ten people a day to our Savior. Using “spiritual addition,” that would be 3,650 people per year! That is an amazing number. Yet, at that rate it would take you thousands of years to reach the world!
But thankfully, God has given to us a miraculous method, “spiritual multiplication,” through which we can reach the world in our generation. Using this technique, instead of leading 3,650 people a year to Christ, you lead only ten people, then disciple them to witness to and disciple ten others. Each of the new believers, now 100, can in turn do the same for ten more, which would then be 1,000, and on and on. By this multiplication strategy, you could theoretically reach the entire world of more than 6 billion people in less than ten years!

Such spiritual pyramids of multiplication tend to break down somewhere along the way, and you obviously will not personally see 6 billion people won to Christ by your efforts. But what if thousands of Christian small-group leaders learned this multiplication lesson first? And what if those leaders held this as one of their highest values? Even if they just put this value into motion for one other person a year in their group, maybe an apprentice, the potential would be staggering.