This chapter will examine
the phenomenon of cell group multiplication and how
it occurs in the case study churches.
In these churches I noticed two distinct types
of cell multiplication.
I will call the first type "cell planting."
This methodology takes place when a cell leader
starts a new group from scratch (likened to pioneer
church planting).
This was the primary style of group multiplication
at MCI and AGV.
I will call the second
type of cell multiplication the "mother-daughter approach."
This is when an existing cell group oversees
the creation of a daughter group by providing people,
leadership, and a measure of personal care (this is
likened to mother-daughter church planting).
This was the primary style of cell multiplication
at AMV and MCE.
La
Misión Carismática Internacional
I do not believe that
one can understand the cell system at MCI apart from
cell group multiplication (cell planting). One only has to look at two huge banners that hang down the
front part of the church.
In October 1996, when I first visited MCI the
two huge banners said, "10,000 groups by December
31, 1996." Since
they surpassed the 10,000 cell group mark in January,
1997, there are two new banners which now say, "30,000
groups by December 31, 1997."
The vision for cell group multiplication in
this church is contagious.
Everyone
is a Potential Cell Leader
César Castellanos told
me that the goal of the church is to make every member
at MCI a cell leader.
As mentioned previously, the goal of every
cell leader is to find his or her twelve disciples
(to be a disciple one must also lead a cell group).
Because each cell member is supposed to plant
a cell group, there is not a long waiting process
required to raise up new leadership.
Leadership
Rewards for Multiplication
Successful leadership
is clearly measured in this church.
In other words, successful leaders are those
who have planted a number of new groups, have raised
up new leaders to lead other groups, and are now leaders
of leaders.
If one has been successful in doing this, and
is now training leaders, that person receives a promotion
in the church. Most likely he or she will be asked to come on the pastoral
staff. If
that does not happen right away, at least there will
be clear, positive recognition from within the church.
Examples
of Successful Cell Leadership
To illustrate how this
process takes place, I have chosen two examples of
successful cell group multiplication at MCI.
Both of these people have both multiplied their
own groups as well as successfully raised up new leadership.
Luis
(Lucho) Salas
In June, 1994, Luis (Lucho)
Salas started his first cell group.
That cell group grew to thirty persons.
In September 1994 his cell gave birth to a
daughter group.
However, beyond simply multiplying the group,
Salas also made disciples among those thirty and raised
them up to lead their own groups.
By February 1995, less than nine months later,
Salas was overseeing fourteen groups whose leadership
he had discipled and developed.
These groups were all developed under the department
of worship.
Pastor César Castellanos saw his progress and
asked him to become part of the pastoral team.
Therefore in October 1995 he left his groups
under the care of others while he began his ministry
directly under César Castellanos.
In January 1996 Salas
started from scratch once again (since he was no longer
under the ministerial department of worship).
He began a new cell group which, in just one
month, grew from ten to sixty people.
That large group gave birth to several daughter
cells and just three months later there were four
groups with a total of eighty people.
By August 1996, the small groups had increased
to forty-six, an average of more than two per week
over a five-month period!
While these groups were
multiplying, Salas was busy training his twelve.
From among the eighty people and with the help
of his twelve disciples, new potential leadership
begin the required training training course (see Chapter
8). During
my first visit to MCI in October 1996 Salas had 144
leaders in training with firm plans to open dozens
and dozens of new cell groups (as
this point, Luis has some 600 cells under his care).
What is the secret of
his success? I ate dinner in his house, and he showed me list after list
of possible contacts hanging on his bulletin board. He told me that he literally meditates on those lists of names
and dreams of new contacts from both within the church
and without.
He eventually invites the people from his lists
to become cell members and eventual cell leaders.
However, there is a price
for such great success.
In October 1996, Salas personally was leading
two cell groups, teaching his weekly leadership training
school on one night and his discipleship group on
another night, leading the morning prayer service,
practicing with the worship group, and leading worship
on Sunday morning.
He, like many others at MCI, has meetings just
about every night of the week.
Freddy
Rodríguez
Freddy Rodriguez is another
example of someone who has captured the vision for
cell multiplication.
In 1987, he became a convert and disciple of
César Fajardo, the head youth pastor at MCI.
Within three years he had found his twelve
disciples. Those
twelve sought and found twelve more and the process
continued. As
of March 1997, he was responsible for more than nine
hundred cell groups (Rodriguez
currently has some 1500 cells under his care).
He continues to meet with his original twelve
every week, as well as with about five hundred of
his leaders on a weekly basis.
Successful
Leaders are Able to Teach
For the most part, the
seventy leaders under the direct care of Pastor César
Castellanos teach the cell training classes.
However, cell leaders who have been very successful
in leading their own groups and raising up new cell
leadership are often given opportunities to teach
the leadership training classes.
With over one hundred of these classes taking
place during the week, new trainers are always needed.
The
Key to Cell Multiplication: Leadership
At MCI, if a cell group
does not multiply, the responsibility is placed on
the leader.
Pastor César Fajardo told me that if the group
does not multiply rapidly, they often change the leadership.
They believe that the key to successful cell
multiplication is leadership.
I was told that the leadership at MCI do everything
possible to keep the groups open.
Only under unusual circumstances will they
close a group.
Again, it seemed clear to me that cell proliferation
was more a result of raising up new leaders to lead
brand new groups than a result of one cell giving
birth to another cell.
Encouragement
to Lead Several Groups
There is plenty of room
at MCI for zealous leaders to serve.
Leaders are encouraged to take on as many groups
as possible.
Ricardo, a youth cell leader, leads four cell
groups and oversees five more.
While working towards making his twelve disciples,
he still has to lead most of the groups. However, his goal is to eventually delegate leadership of those
cells to others.
Christian
Community Agua Viva
AGV serves as an example
of a church that has been frustrated with their present
system and has thus readily accepted another system
which seems to offer more success.
Because the church has only recently restructured
their system, only time will tell whether or not this
new methodology is the right choice.
Struggles
with Multiplication
Pastor Capuro confessed
to me that it has been difficult to give birth to
new groups.
He found that the Latin people like to stay
together. Although
they were obviously successful in using the mother-daughter
approach (from eleven to 450), Pastor Capuro feels
that the new methodology will be less painful and
more fruitful.
Emphasis
on Planting New Cells
The new emphasis is on
planting brand new cells rather than practicing mother-daughter
cell multiplication. From now on the majority of new cells will be pioneered.
However, the one who plants the new cell group
will remain under the care of his original cell leader.
The process is supposed to continue on down
the line. Pastor
Capuro is convinced that this will take away unneeded
layers of administration and will speed up the proliferation
of new groups.
Emphasis
on Lower Level Supervision
Juan Capuro now meets
weekly with his key zone leaders in order to disciple
them. These
leaders do the same thing with those cell leaders
who are under their charge.
Eventually, the goal is that the cell leaders
will encourage those in the group to plant new cell
groups while at the same time remaining within the
mother cell group. Those who plant new cell groups will continue the same process.
La
Misión Cristiana Elim
MCE is the premier example
of cell growth through multiplication.
In just ten years, they have grown to over
5,400 cell groups (average of twenty-one people in
each cell group) with a cell group attendance of over
115,000 people.
The key to cell growth and multiplication at
Elim seems to be a combination of clear goal setting,
team planning, and excellent leadership follow-up
(both through statistical control and the Jethro System).
Mother-Daughter
Multiplication and New Plants
The goal of this church
is to penetrate the entire city with the gospel.
MCE does this through a combination of mother-daughter
cell multiplication as well as cell plants to penetrate
new areas.
Pastor Jorge Galindo told me that out of the
5,400 cell groups probably about 1,000 were cell plants,
while the other 4,400 were the result of mother-daughter
cell group multiplication.
MCE is willing to start new cell groups by
any means possible.
In fact, when Elim first started their cell
ministry, they opened new groups extremely rapidly,
without as much concern for the qualitative aspects
of the cells.
They now are also interested in assuring that
the groups are strong in quality.
Unique
Aspects of Cell Multiplication
The remarkable cell growth
at MCE has a lot to do with the rapid spread of the
cell groups.
There were at least two aspects of this system
that are worth noting.
First, there are no closures at MCE.
They do everything possible to keep groups
alive.
Second, MCE waits until there are twenty adults
attending a given cell group before multiplying.
They strictly follow this rule unless the house
is too small or the new daughter team is at a particularly
high state of high readiness.
Third, MCE multiplies the nucleus before multiplying
the cell. Expansion
of the leadership team is one of the major goals of
the Thursday night planning meeting.
Great care is given to prepare the new nucleus
that will guide the daughter cell group.
Reasons
for Success
Throughout Latin Ameica
MCE is known for is success of multiplying strong
cell groups.
From my observations, there are at least four
reasons for the multiplication success at MCE.
Goal
Setting
Cell multiplication goals
are made each year for each zone.
The goals are simple.
Each zone should double the number of groups,
the number of attendance, and the number of conversions
and baptisms.
These goals are then divided by four to arrive
at a trimester goal.
Due to the "healthy competition" that exists
between the pastors with regard to reaching those
goals, there is a high degree of motivation to grow.
Team
Planning
The Thursday night planning
meeting for the team leadership seems to be a key
factor behind the growth of the cell groups and the
eventual multiplication.
On Thursday night, strategies are developed
to reach new people, visitation is planned, and the
multiplication of the cell group is envisioned. It is during this planning session that the new team begins
to take shape.
Organization
The statistical follow-up
of every meeting provides the pastors and supervisors
the opportunity to analyze the progress of each cell
group. It
also motivates the leaders to continue to reach out.
Beyond the statistical data is the smooth functioning
Jethro system which provides help and training for
the cell leaders.
These two aspects of the cell system help the
cells maintain a growth rhythm.
Evangelism
The most effective form
of cell outreach at MCE is through friendship evangelism.
Leaders instruct their groups to make friends.
After winning their confidence, they invite
the person to the meeting.
The goal is for the person to receive Christ
and eventually become a member of the church.
Other forms of cell evangelism are also practiced
(e.g., door-to-door visitation, movies, dinners),
but MCE has discovered that the most effective form
of cell group evangelism takes place among family,
neighbors, and friends.
El
Centro Cristiano de Guayaquil
CCG should be commended
for their rapid growth.
In 1992 to 1996 CCG grew from sixteen cells
to the present 1,600, an average of 396 new groups
per year! (CCG currently has
2000 cell groups).
Starting
New Groups Versus Multiplication
The cell groups at CCG
are supposed to give birth within six months (Smith
1995:24). This
is the goal of every cell leader.
However, in reality, the vast majority of new
groups are formed from scratch rather than from multiplying
existing groups.
Lack
of Cell Leaders
On an average, every
leader directs two groups at CCG (approximately 1,600
cell groups and 800 leaders). CCG does not always wait for the leadership to naturally emerge
from the mother-daughter cell multiplication.
Rather, if someone is willing to open his or
her home for a cell group, frequently, the zone pastor
will ask one of the existing cell leaders to direct
the new group or will seek leadership from an existing
cell group.
Reasons
for Rapid Spread of Cell Groups
The spread of these small
groups is truly amazing.
There are several important reasons for the
extension of these small groups.
Goal
Setting
Each zone leader makes
specific goals concerning the number of new cells,
attendance in the cells, conversions, and baptisms.
Each year new goals are made in conjunction
with district pastors and are submitted to Pastor
Smith for final approval.
Every trimester there is a statistical analysis
made (based on percentages) to demonstrate to the
leader how close he is to reaching the goal.
Evangelism
through the Cell Group
More decisions are made
for Christ in the cell groups than in the church services.
I was told that those who receive Christ in
the church service normally have already been prepared
by the cell groups.
Before starting the cell ministry, CCG administered
a complete Evangelism Explosion program.
Although CCG still hosts an Evangelism Explosion
clinic each year, the church has now adapted Evangelism
Explosion to its present cell ministry.
All of the cell leaders are encouraged to take
Evangelism Explosion and the Evangelism Explosion
visits are delegated according to the zones in each
district.
It is important, I think,
to note that leading someone to Christ is not the
ultimate goal of the cell leader.
Rather, the goal is to lead that person to
baptism. In
fact, no one in the church can be baptized unless
he or she is part of a cell group. Baptismal applications are brought to the church by the cell
leader and not by the applicant.
Visitation
Zone pastors make approximately
forty visits each week.
This amounts to about 920 weekly visits by
the zone leaders to cell members, new converts, and
visitors. The
zone pastor is always alert to the possibility of
opening a new home for a cell plant, multiplying an
existing cell group, or recognizing emerging leaders.
Many of the new groups start as a result of
the diligent visits by zone pastors.
Elevation
in Ministry
Elevation in ministry
at CCG is largely based on success at starting and
leading cell groups.
Most of the zone pastors and district pastors
at CCG have their present position due to past success.
Thus, the hope of many present superintendents
and cell leaders is to one day reach the position
of zone pastor or district pastor.
El
Amor Viviente
AMV is an exciting example
of the effectiveness of cell group multiplication.
In September 1996 they opened 200 new groups
simultaneously.
The new goal is to reach the 1,000 cell groups
by 1997.
Unique
Aspects of Cell Multiplication
Among the case study
churches, AMV is an example of creativity and effectiveness
with regard to mother-daughter cell multiplication.
There are several aspects of their cell multiplication
methodology that are unique to this church.
Simultaneous
Multiplication
Cell groups at AMV multiply
at the same time and normally on a pre-determined
date each year.
There are various reasons for focusing on one
date to multiply.
First, the top leadership is able to think
and plan together more concretely concerning future
goals. Second,
the training of new leadership teams can take place
at the same time in the church.
Third, leaders of sectors, zones, and districts
are able to consolidate their time and energy by focusing
on one particular time period of multiplication.
Fourth, there is great support for the new
cell groups when they open together, so that weaker
groups will not fall through the cracks.
Fifth, the church can better focus its attention
on prayer and support when there is simultaneous multiplication.
Multiplication
at Ten People
For a long time, AMV
waited until the group had fifteen people before multiplication.
However, experience has taught them that it
is difficult for a group to maintain an average of
fifteen people over a long period of time. Therefore, a few years ago the leadership decided to change
the number to ten.
If the group only has seven to nine people
attending regularly, the supervisor will often ask
the leader to make specific evangelistic goals to
reach new people.
Team
Concept
It is not sufficient
simply to have ten people attending regularly.
In order to multiply, the mother cell group
must have a new team in place that is ready to form
the nucleus of the new group.
This team consists of at least three people:
the leader, assistant leader, and treasurer.
Without these three people in place, it is
not possible to give birth at AMV. Another requirement is that a new home is found where the new
cell can meet--within the particular zone and area.
Relationship
with Mother Church for Two Months
The mother-daughter concept
of cell group multiplication is prioritized at AMV.
The director of the cell ministry, Dixie Rosales,
said that the mother-daughter concept of cell multiplication
is the reason why the cell groups have maintained
such high quality.
He believes that one group must take responsibility
for the health of the new group if the new group is
going to succeed.
At AMV, when a massive
multiplication takes place, the newly formed cells
meet on Tuesday night for the first three months.
For these three months, the leadership team
in the mother cell group which meets on Wednesday
night also attend the meeting of the new cell group
in order to offer support and encouragement.
After three months, the new cell groups switch their
regular meeting time from Tuesday to Wednesday night
and thus become official cell groups.
Counseling
and Assessment for Two Months
When there is a massive
multiplication, continual counseling and assessment
takes place for the first two months. Every other Thursday night, the entire team (leader, assistant,
and treasurer) meets with its immediate supervisor
to receive edification from the Scripture, prayer,
and counseling.
Along with the section supervisor, the district
pastor and the zone pastor must also attend these
assessment meetings.
The
Multiplication Process
At AMV there is an entire
process for starting new groups, and it is not taken
lightly. Normally,
the process of cell multiplication begins at least
five months in advance.
Thus, the cell leader must work hard to raise
up new leadership from within his or her group. He must encourage them to be baptized, take classes of discipleship,
and participate in the life of the cell group.
The following points illustrate the step-by-step
process of multiplication.
Step
One: Goals for Multiplication
The process of planning
for new groups begins with the cell leader.
First, he or she communicates the goal for
multiplication with the area supervisor. Second, the area supervisor reports to the zone pastor who
in turn reports to the district pastor.
Third, the district pastor meets with the director
of cell ministry to assess the number of groups that
can multiply.
The head pastor ultimately gives the final
approval concerning how many cell groups will open.
Step
Two: Finding the House and New Leadership Team
One of the main goals
for the leader is to find a house in the same area
which will provide an acceptable environment.
However, the cell leader is not alone in this
process. First,
his leadership team, which consists of at least three
to five members, all work together in the multiplication
process. Second,
the supervisor meets personally with each leadership
team on a monthly basis.
One of the main objectives for these meetings
is to discover, stimulate, and prepare the cell team
to give birth to a new group.
Step
Three: Selection of the Leadership Team
It is important to remember
that a new group cannot start unless there is a leadership
team consisting of leader, assistant leader, and treasurer.
Therefore, it is the constant goal of every group
to form a new leadership team that will in effect
serve as missionaries to open up a new growth group.
Step
Four: Interviews
About the third month
before the mass multiplication, each new leader is
interviewed by the district pastor.
A series of questions are asked about the person's
devotional life, marriage, available time for the
church, and personal attitudes.
The reason for the interview is to assure that
the leader will remain strong under pressure and that
the cell group has a good chance of surviving.
Step
Five: Training and Presentation
During the fourth month,
there is a special training session for the new leadership
team. This
training session is specifically designed to meet
the needs of the new leadership.
The training covers such topics as: how to
lead the lesson,
how to evangelize, how to develop the worship, and
how to confront problems in the group.
Before the cell groups multiply, the leadership
teams are presented before the church.
The whole church prays and fasts for the success
of the new cell groups.
Step
Six: Cell Group Evangelism
In the fifth and final
month, there is an intense effort to evangelize in
the area in which the new growth group will open.
The new leadership team, members from the mother
group, and oftentimes the area supervisor evangelize
the neighborhood together.
Finally, the day comes
for the groups to open.
The stage has been set and great care has been
taken to assure the success of the new group.
Step
Seven: Assessment
For the first three months
after the birth of the new cell groups, the new cell
teams meet with their new supervisors and zone pastors
for prayer, encouragement, and counseling.
This is an essential time for the leadership
to receive vision and help.
Elevation
in Ministry
Elevation up the leadership
ladder in cell group ministry depends on several factors.
However, one factor that is clearly distinguishable
is that personal success leads to greater responsibility.
Every person with whom I talked who now occupies
a position of top leadership in the cell ministry
is there because of past success in multiplication
and leadership.
Summary
of the Five Churches
The cell-based case study
churches manifested various patterns concerning cell
group multiplication.
It is important to remember that unless all
five churches manifested the same characteristic,
I did not include it in my own analysis.
Similar
Cell Multiplication Patterns
There are several similarities
that are helpful in understanding how cell-based churches
proliferate their cell groups:
1.
Rapid reproduction of cell groups
2.
Emphasis on quantity
3.
Non-closure of all groups
Emphasis
on Rapid Reproduction of Cell Groups
Although different in
their method of multiplication, all of these churches
were primarily concerned about cell group evangelism.
This was the clear focus of the cell ministry
in each church.
The cell vision was outward focused.
Group fellowship was always present, but it
was more of a by-product than the major goal.
Evangelism that resulted in conversion and
group membership was always the primary goal.
Static, non-growing cell groups were simply
unacceptable (at MCI, rapid multiplication of cell
groups was a leadership requirement).
In each church, the new cell leader immediately
knew his mission--cell reproduction.
Emphasis
on Quantity
All of these churches
were unashamed to promote numerical church growth
and the numerical cell growth.
There was no hidden agenda or attempt to mince
words. These
churches proclaimed their growth goals before the
congregation.
Both CCG and MCI used highly visible banners
or signs on the inside front wall of the church.
All of these churches
made clear goals at the church level and at the cell
level. They
were unashamed about setting bold goals for growth
and keeping their members informed about those goals.
Non-Closure
of all Groups
None of the churches
intentionally closed their cell groups.
Although I had read about cell churches around
the world which close groups that fail to multiply,
this certainly was not true of these five Latin American
cell churches. Rather, these churches went to great lengths to keep all of
the cells functioning.
Differences
in the Cell Multiplication Process
While all of the churches
were highly committed to the proliferation of their
cell groups, their methodology varied.
The three major differences involved:
1.
Cell planting verses cell multiplication
2.
Mass multiplication verses spontaneous multiplication
3.
Degree of Emphasis on cell health before multiplication
Cell
Planting Verses Cell Multiplication
Perhaps, it is in this
area that multiplication philosophy differed the most
among the case study churches. MCI was almost entirely committed to planting new cells from
scratch. Although
there still is some mother-daughter cell multiplication,
it is not a major emphasis at this time.
AGV is now following the pattern at MCI, partly
due to the struggles with mother-daughter multiplication
in a Latin context.
On the other hand, AMV
exclusively multiplied their cell groups through the
mother-daughter method.
They have discovered that cell groups fare
much better when there is a responsible mother present.
Although MCE plants new cells and practices
mother-daughter birthing, the vast majority are brought
about by the latter method.
Mass
Multiplication Verses Spontaneous Multiplication
Four of the cell churches
multiplied their cell groups at any time and on any
day of the week.
Interestingly, AMV set a particular multiplication
date (usually once a year), and then would perform
a mass mother-daughter multiplication.
Degree
of Emphasis on Cell Health Before Multiplication
Some of the churches
were far more concerned about creating strong, healthy
cell groups, while other churches seemed to focus
primarily on rapid multiplication.
CCG and MCI fell into the latter category.
The cell groups were produced rapidly, without
a lot of thought concerning how many were in the cell,
whether or not there was a cell team, or whether the
cell was properly mothered.
In these two churches, the goal of rapid proliferation
seemed to outstrip quality care.
On the other hand, MCE
and AMV multiplied cells rapidly, but did a better
job at maintaining excellent quality.
This is partly due to their high degree of
team emphasis.
At AMV a cell group cannot multiply unless there is
a new leadership team.
It was also the only church that set a distinct
time period for the groups to solidify before multiplying.
Questionnaire:
Cell Multiplication Factors
The primary motivation
for this questionnaire was to discover key variables
associated with cell group multiplication. Because the questionnaire was administered specifically to
cell leaders, most of the findings relate to leadership
patterns (Chapter 8).
However, the questionnaire also revealed other
associations such as homogeneity, social status, and
gender issues as they relate to cell multiplication.
For this reason, the questionnaire in its entirety
will be covered in this chapter.
Administration
of the Questionnaire
Before administering
the questionnaires, I obtained permission from those
in authority.
Normally, the cell leaders would fill out the
questionnaires while I was present (e.g., in a cell
leadership training meeting).
I tried to make the anonymity issue very clear
to the respondents, telling them that there was no
place for them to write their name.
I urged them to answer the questions as honestly
as possible.
I tried to make the questionnaire clear and
easy to follow, knowing the educational level of some
of my respondents.
While they were filling out the questionnaires,
I made myself available to answer their questions.
Limitations
of the Questionnaire
I purposely tried to
disguise the dependent variables (cell multiplication
questions) by placing them at the end of the questionnaire
and by not announcing the importance of these questions. However, this proved to be a limitation for two reasons.
First, those respondents who took more time
felt pressured at the end, due to lack of time, and
thus some respondents skipped over the last questions.
Another reason for the missing data was that these
questions were harder and required more thinking,
and thus some decided to leave them blank.
If I were to do it over again, I would explain
these dependent variables more clearly and placed
them near the beginning of the questionnaire.
Description
of the Questionnaire Respondents
A total of 424 cell leaders
filled out a questionnaire.
Table 35 gives some descriptive background
of these leaders.
Results
of the Questionnaire
The
key questions (dependent variables) are questions
twenty-seven (whether the group had multiplied), twenty-eight
(length of time for a cell to multiply) and twenty-nine
(number of times the cell had multiplied).
All of the other questions (independent variables)
will be analyzed according to their correlation with
these three questions.
I did not consider a correlation significant
unless the probability level was .05 or lower.
TABLE
35
DESCRIPTIVE DATA FROM QUESTIONNAIRE
| COUNTRY
RESPONSE |
Colombia-60
Ecuador-139
Perú-58
Honduras-75
El
Salvador-92 |
|
GENDER
|
54%
male (228)
44%
female (187) |
|
CIVIL
STATUS |
46.7%
married
43.6%
single |
|
SOCIAL
CLASS |
11.8
%
identified themselves as poor
33.0%
identified themselves as middle lower class
41.7%
identified themselves as middle class
8.5%
identified themselves as middle upper class
|
|
AGE
|
33
years old (average age) |
|
EDUCATION
|
12.5%
elementary
50%
high school
30.3%
university
2.6%
graduate level |
|
LENGTH
OF
TIME
AS BELIEVER |
4.5%
six months
8.5%
one year
13.4%
two years
11%
three years
62%
over three years |
|
DEVOTIONAL
TIME |
63%
spent between one half hour and one
hour in daily devotions
16%
(68 leaders) spent more than 11/2
hours in daily devotions |
|
PRAYER
FOR GROUP |
70%
prayed daily for their cell group
|
|
PREPARATION
|
39%
(164) leaders prepare 0-1 hours each week
for their lesson
42%
(178) spend 1-3 hours |
|
CONTACT
|
22%
(94 leaders) contacted members of their
group eight or more times per month
|
|
ASSISTANTS
|
20%
did not have an assistant
32%
had one assistant
27%
had three or more assistants
|
Question
Twenty-seven: Whether the Group Had Multiplied
This was a very straightforward
question, "Has your group multiplied yet?"
There were only two responses, yes or no.
Out of the 424 respondents, 269 said yes (sixty-three
percent), 128 said no (thirty percent), and twenty-seven
left the question blank (6.4%).
The next step was to
try to determine the significant patterns related
to those who said yes versus those who said no.
First, there was no significant relation between
country, gender, social class, age, civil status,
education, salvation, number of outside meetings,
gifting, personality, or homogeneity and whether the
leader had multiplied the cell group.
On the other hand, the
statistics did show that there was significant correlation
