The Amazing Power of Doubling Groups

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The Amazing Power of Doubling Groups

• Josh Hunt, presenter

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My dream is to plant an ideavirus in your heart
about one word DOUBLE
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What does it take?

• Doubling a class every two years or less
  translates into 40 annual growth, or an average
  class going from 10 to 14 in a year.

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Why doesnt it happen already?
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Doubling teachers. . .

• Are not a lot smarter
• Are not a lot more charismatic
• Are not a lot more spiritual
• Are not a lot more articulate
• Are not a lot better at teaching
• Dont spend a lot more time
• Dont love God more
• Are not a lot different

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Little differences can make a big difference!
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Little differences can make a big difference!
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Little differences can make a big difference!
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Doubling teachers. . .

• Are not a lot smarter
• Are not a lot more charismatic
• Are not a lot more spiritual
• Are not a lot more articulate
• Are not a lot better at teaching
• Dont spend a lot more time
• Dont love God more
• Are not a lot different

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Oh, but what a big difference a small difference
can make!
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Pause and discuss

• What is the difference between doubling teachers
  and non-doubling teachers?

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A youth pastor in Georgia
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• Start 10
• 1.5 years 20
• 3 years 40
• 4.5 years 80
• 6 years 160
• 7.5 years 320
• 9 years 640
• 10 years 1000

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The fastest growing church in the world.
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The Church in China
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Church Planting Movements
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IMB Vision Statement

• International Mission Boards Overseas Leadership
  Team adopted a vision statement We will
  facilitate the lost coming to saving faith in
  Jesus Christ by beginning and nurturing Church
  Planting Movements among all peoples.

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Southeast Asia

• When a strategy coordinator began his assignment
  in 1993, there were only three churches and 85
  believers among a population of more than 7
  million lost souls. Four years later there were
  more than 550 churches and nearly 55,000
  believers through doubling groups.

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North Africa

• In his weekly Friday sermon, an Arab Muslim
  cleric complained that more than 10,000 Muslims
  living in the surrounding mountains had
  apostatized from Islam and become Christians
  through doubling groups.

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City in China

• Over a four-year period (1993-1997), more than
  20,000 people came to faith in Christ, resulting
  in more than 500 new churches through doubling
  groups.

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Latin America

• Two Baptist unions overcame significant
  government persecution to grow from 235 churches
  in 1990 to more than 3,200 in 1998 through
  doubling groups.

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Central Asia

• A strategy coordinator reports Around the end
  of 1996, we called around to the various churches
  in the area and got their count on how many had
  come to faith in that one year. When they were
  all added up, it came to 15,000 in one year. The
  previous year we estimated only 200 believers
  altogether.

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Western Europe

• A missionary in Europe reports Last year
  (1998), my wife and I started 15 new church cell
  groups. As we left for a six-month stateside
  assignment last July, we wondered what wed find
  when we returned. Its wild! We can verify at
  least 30 churches now, but I believe that it
  could be two or even three times that many.

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Ethiopia

• A missionary strategist commented, It took us 30
  years to plant four churches in this country.
  Weve started 65 cell churches in the last nine
  months. through doubling groups

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Abdul came to faith in 1987

• The team found more than 350 evangelists serving
  in 29 districts, nearly 2,300 pastors serving
  among some 4,000 churches, and 89,315 baptized
  membersall direct spiritual descendants of
  Abdul.

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Doubling groups. . .

• Are what all growing churches have in common
  (some 50,000 churches)
• Leads to exponential, unbelievable growth
• Is the dominant strategy of your IMB
• Is happening all around the world.
• Is do-able
• Is sustainable
• Are found in many (most?) churches
• Is prescribed in scripture

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And the things you have heard me say in the
presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable
men who will also be qualified to teach others.
2 Timothy 22 NIV
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Doubling teachers. . .

• Are not a lot smarter
• Are not a lot more charismatic
• Are not a lot more spiritual
• Are not a lot more articulate
• Are not a lot better at teaching
• Dont spend a lot more time
• Dont love God more
• Are not a lot different

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Joyfully, personally,enthusiastically,
sincerelyembrace the vision of growing and
dividing, growing and dividing, growing and
dividing.
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Joyfully, personally,enthusiastically,
sincerelyembrace the vision of growing and
dividing, growing and dividing, growing and
dividing.
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Joyfully, personally,enthusiastically,
sincerelyembrace the vision of growing and
dividing, growing and dividing, growing and
dividing.
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Joyfully, personally,enthusiastically,
sincerelyembrace the vision of growing and
dividing, growing and dividing, growing and
dividing.
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Joyfully, personally,enthusiastically,
sincerelyembrace the vision of growing and
dividing, growing and dividing, growing and
dividing.
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Joyfully, personally,enthusiastically,
sincerelyembrace the vision of growing and
dividing, growing and dividing, growing and
dividing.
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Joyfully, personally,enthusiastically,
sincerelyembrace the vision of growing and
dividing, growing and dividing, growing and
dividing.
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Non-doublers are often verbally, vocally,
enthusiastically opposed to the vision of growing
and dividing.
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Similar
VERY Different

• Talent
• Time
• Ability
• Spirituality

• Joyfully, personally, enthusiastically,
  sincerely, embracing the vision of growing and
  dividing,growing and dividing,growing and
  dividing.

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Joyfully, personally,enthusiastically,
sincerelyembrace the vision of growing and
dividing, growing and dividing, growing and
dividing.
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Eventually growth will kill a small group.
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When people are not missed they miss.
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Who was that couple?
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I doubled twice in the last 3 months.
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Why dont we do this?

• The high price of saying good-bye

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What keeps more missionaries off the mission
field than anything else?
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Doublings dirty little secret

• People are not actually opposed to saying
  good-bye to the group.
• They are opposed to saying good-bye to their best
  friends.
• If we can take our best friends with us, it
  doesnt hurt so badly to say good-bye to everyone
  else.

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Why we must do this

• Love at its best is a little bit selfish.

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Whole day wasted went fishing with my boy.
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For the joy set before him endured the cross,
scorning its shame, and sat down at the right
hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 122
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The issue of willingness.
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I understand. . .

• It is OK to have big groups and smaller groups.
• This may not be the time to divide.
• We may not have the maturity to divide right now.
• Dividing is not THE answer to every situation at
  ever time.

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Do you want me?
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Joyfully, personally,enthusiastically,
sincerelyembrace the vision of growing and
dividing, growing and diving, growing and
dividing.
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Doubling teachers. . .

• Are not a lot smarter
• Are not a lot more charismatic
• Are not a lot more spiritual
• Are not a lot more articulate
• Are not a lot better at teaching
• Dont spend a lot more time
• Dont love God more
• Are not a lot different

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Joyfully, personally,enthusiastically,
sincerelyembrace the vision of growing and
dividing, growing and dividing, growing and
dividing.