If I gave you the choice of having one dollar a week for fifty two weeks OR one cent a week and an amount each week that is double the previous week’s amount, which of the two would you choose?

It’s the difference between being $53 better off and $22,517,998,136,852.48c better off! (That’s 32 trillion, 517 billion 998 million, 136 thousand 852 dollars and 48 cents!) The first illustrates the principle of addition, the second illustrates exponential growth through multiplication.

Or to put it another way… Suppose an evangelist sees 1000 people become believers every day. At the end of the first year there would be 365,000 new believers. Now we think that’s revival! But suppose another person in one year leads one person to Christ and spent that year training them and encouraging them in a discipling relationship. At the end of the first year there would be two believers. Mmmm – pretty slow growth huh? But if in the second year the two disciples each led one other person to the Lord, and that pattern is repeated for the next 20 years, the discipling ministry of those initial two people multiplies out to 1,048,576 people!

But hang on, meanwhile our evangelist is leading 365,000 people to Christ every year. Surely there is more fruit in that? Well in terms of converts there is, in fact 7,300,000. But by year 25 the ministry of one leading one, then discipling one to lead one now has 33,554,432 believers and the super evangelist has slowed by comparison to 9,125,000. In fact, the number reached by the discipler by year 26 is not reached by the evangelist until year 184!

The point being – as exciting as it all is to see people streaming to the front at an “altar call” or evangelistic appeal, in the LONG RUN it is NOT as fruitful as the practise of discipiing that involves people getting involved with other peoples lives to train and equip them in service to God. Channelling converts into a “New Believers Class” has a limited ability to make a substantial difference in their lives. Jesus’ model is all about DISCIPLING. He gathered 12 to be with him.

The Cell Church model provides a context for discipling to take place – both during the cell meetings and through one-on-one times with members outside the meeting. Through this emphasis on relationships and community, new believers are quickly bonded to the each other and the church in a practical and life giving way.

Adapted from an article in CellNet News

Related Articles:

• Review: The Faith of Leap: Embracing a Theology of Risk, Adventure & Courage, Michael Frost & Alan Hirsch, Baker, 2011
• Why do Ex-College students Leave Christianity?
• Effective Evangelism: 18 Obstacles
• WAS JESUS GOD?
• COUNTRY CLUB TO MISSION BASE: THE STRATEGIC ROLE OF THE PASTOR

This work, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Australia License.