100 Groups by 2030: A Vision for Discipleship Growth

I have some work to do to get from 30 groups to 100 in a few years.

I’m about to turn 45. Just after 40 I felt like God gave me a general vision for what our church’s discipleship efforts should look like when I turn 50. Currently, we average about 1,000 people in worship on a weekend (not counting kids, etc). So if I can average 20-25 in each group (some are much larger, and some are smaller), then I would need 40 groups in order to have 100% of our Sunday Worship attendance in a group Bible study of some kind.

We have several different kinds of groups, which is the first key. Right now I utilize what we call: Group Bible Studies, Re:generation Recovery Ministry, and Short-Term Classes. I’ll describe each below.

We have our standard Group Bible Studies that meet just about every day of the week, and vary by gender, off campus vs on campus, and ages. These groups mostly use the Bible as the textbook and work through a biblical book, with an emphasis on applying it to our life in the 21st century. They are on-going, so they don’t have a scheduled end date. My goal is to get to Discipleship in these groups is aimed at:

• Biblical Literacy

• Learning to study and apply Scripture to life

• Learning to pray for other believers

• Building Christian friendships

Next, Re:generation Recovery Ministry meets on Mondays. There are two main phases to this program that span about a 12 month period. My goal is that this ministry will reach a point where we have 10 groups going at a time. That would mean: Men’s Groundwork, Women’s Groundwork, and 4 Men’s Step-groups along with 4 Women’s Step-groups. I have a more descriptive post on Re:generation here. Discipleship in these groups is aimed at:

• Scripture memory

• Daily devotional habits

• Daily prayer habits along with praying for others

• Developing a lifestyle of working the biblically based 12-steps

Finally, we have Classes. These are groups that are aimed at teaching a specific subject. They are set for a specific time frame - usually 6-10 weeks. We have recently used a book called 30 Days to Understanding the Bible. We cover a chapter or two each week, making it manageable for participants. Discipleship in these groups is aimed at:

• A general or specific theological topic

• Integrating that topic with the rest of the Scripture story

• Being able to explain the topic to another person

So if 10 of those groups are Re:generation groups, and 5 are Classes, then we need 25 Group Bible Studies to reach 40 total groups. Currently, we are at about 30 total groups. So we’re almost there!

But here’s the problem. We will continue growing as a church over the next 5 years (at least that’s the hope!). So a quick google search yields the formula: Future Value (FV) = Present Value (PV) * (1 + Growth Rate (r))^Number of Periods (n). So FV=1000*(1+15%)^5 or FV=2011. So really, I need to be aiming at a system for twice what the present total is. In fact, in my mind we will need 100 groups by the end of 2030 (the year I turn 50).

Reaching that goal is going to require a structure in place to support all of those leaders and make sure everyone is cared for. It is going to require teams of volunteers that do not exist at this moment. It may even require additional paid staff.

Looking at this vision of 100 groups by the end of 2030 scares me a little and has made me realize that doing things in the way we’ve always done things - we won’t get there. We need a more purposeful leader training system. Leadership recruitment and development are the major “lids” on the system.¹ To achieve the vision, we will need to increase leadership development (I will need to make this happen). I’m going to have to let other people act as the managers of day-to-day things and focus on the hardest parts (leadership development). Please pray for me, and our team as we work toward the vision.

Now I should note, there is no penalty for not getting to 100. I won’t cry like a baby. I’m not going to lose much sleep over it if it doesn’t happen. But I do want to keep the vision in front of me for focus. I want to focus my efforts on this radical pace of growth to achieve the mission of seeing our people being discipled. I don’t consider a person being baptized to be the finish line, but rather a person discipling another person as the finish line. That’s my desire for our people and this goal will keep me focused on working toward our folks having that opportunity.

1. Remember John Maxwell’s idea of leadership lids?