Healthy Community Groups will grow both deeper and wider. It’s normal for groups that are experiencing life change together to get larger in number as they become more devoted to Christ. So, how do you know when it’s time to multiply your group? As a leader, you’ll need to walk through the process carefully and intentionally. Watch this quick training video for some ways to pinpoint the right time for multiplication.

No matter how you look at it, Jesus left us on earth to be and make disciples. At Saylorville, we say it this way: We exist to make more people be more like Jesus. One of the best ways to do this is to be intentional about inviting others into the Biblical community we’ve found. When others join us, the community grows, and multiplies. Multiplication is actually a normal part of the growth process of healthy groups. But, sometimes multiplication can be a hard pill to swallow for your group members who have grown to love each other, live authentically with each other, and share life with each other. The way you talk to your group about multiplying will be key in the way the mission of disciple-making continues in our church and around the world.

Joining the front lines of ministry as a Community Group Leader can be exciting, overwhelming, life-changing, encouraging, and stretching. If you’re ready to jump in, then it’s time to start forming your new group. But who will God ultimately place in your group for you to experience life change together alongside? Here are some practical tips to help you find the right people to join you in community.

Reproducing yourself into the life of a co-leader is one of your main priorities as a Community Group leader. Why is this so important? Here are three reasons.

Life change happens best when we’re growing together. This is a powerful thought for Community Group leaders. If you’re launching a Community Group for the first time, or are just getting ready to kick off a new season with your current group, here’s a simple encouragement – never lead alone. Developing a co-leader in your Community Group will instantly increase it’s potential and capacity for life change together. Here are four steps to identifying new co-leaders for your Community Group.

At our church, Community Groups meet together regularly for a season, then take a break, then meet again. This rhythm allows us to implement strategic on-and off-ramps, as well as give our leaders intentional breaks. If your group is approaching the end of a season, here are some practical tips to finishing strong:

Celebrate wins. A great way to finish the group season is to take time in your next gathering for everyone to share one way they have experienced life change together over this last year though a specific circumstance, relationship, discipline, ministry, or helpful teaching.

Share a meal. Is it possible to have a party without food? Go all out for your last night of group with the biggest feast you have had all year. Make it a celebration your group won’t forget.

Get feedback. Your group members may have some great insights to help your group continue to be an environment where people are loved, cared for, and are excited to share life together. So ask them!

Identify future leaders. Do you have couples in your group that show the character, chemistry, and commitment to lead? They may be great future co-leaders in your group or a future group. Discuss them with your co-leaders, pray for them, and invite them to pray with you about how God might use them in leadership next season.

Talk about multiplication. Whether your group recently multiplied or you’ve been together for a while, start planning now for multiplication and keep reminding your group of our mission to make more people more like Jesus. You might even say something like, “At one point someone made room in their Community Group for us to experience community and we want to do the same for others.”

Plan a few social events for the break. Don’t feel like you need to fill up the calendar, but brainstorm with your group about how you might get together over the break time. If you don’t schedule it, it probably won’t happen!

Stay in touch. Community Groups wind down during these seasonal breaks but relationships never end. As leaders, you can be an example of this, but keep it simple! It may be a Facebook post, a text, or a coffee or lunch with one or two people in your group.

Enjoy the break. We plan breaks from group for a reason. Enjoy some time to rest, hang out with your family or friends, have an extra night in, or travel. It is okay to say no to an invite and not have to feel guilty about it. Use this break to recharge and grow more in love with Jesus.

As a Community Group leader, one of the greatest privileges you’ll have is developing co-leaders who will one day multiply out and lead on their own. Remember – today’s co-leaders are tomorrow’s leaders. To raise up effective leadership for today and tomorrow, follow the example that Jesus set during His ministry on earth. Jesus was the master leader-maker. So, how did He do it?

Healthy Community Groups multiply. It’s in their DNA. They can’t help it. When a group of disciple-making disciples experiences life change together, it’s infectious. The group will grow, and multiplication will be a natural part of the process. Here are some key steps in the journey of helping your group prepare to multiply.

As a Community Group leader, how do you know which of your group members could make great co-leaders? Here are three qualities that will help you identify tomorrow’s group leaders in your group today.

When it comes to your Community Group, today’s co-leaders are tomorrow’s leaders. If you’ve identified co-leaders with the right character, chemistry, and commitment, you’re well on your way to making sure a new generation will experience the life change together that your Community Group has enjoyed. As you develop your co-leaders to take the next step in their own leadership journey, keep in mind these five key stages:

You lead, they watch, then talk together. After you’ve identified a co-leader couple, ask them to simply observe for a while. Let them watch while you lead the weekly group discussion. Take them along on a hospital visit, or invite them to coffee with another couple in your group. Be sure they attend Community Group leader trainings and have access to group leader resources. Just give them opportunities to see leadership in action. And then, talk with them about what they noticed. Let them give you feedback, ask questions, and even offer constructive criticism.

You lead, they help, then talk together. Begin to share leadership roles with your co-leaders. Start slowly, but be intentional. Ask your co-leaders to provide the meal for one of your weekly gatherings, to come up with a creative ice-breaker for your group, or even help you organize a group service project. During group interactions, ask them to give their insights, or to respond to a specific question or comment from someone else in the group. After opportunities like these, talk with them about what went well, what might have been done differently, and how they feel about their role as co-leaders.

They lead, you help, then talk together. As your co-leaders grow in their abilities and confidence, your role will also begin to shift. Instead of leading your group, you’ll need to begin to hand over the reigns to your co-leaders. When a counseling situation comes up in your group, ask your co-leaders to spearhead the conversations. Let your co-leaders host, provide snacks, and facilitate the discussion during your weekly gatherings. Instead of asking them to help you, start asking them, “How can we help you lead right now?”

They lead, you watch, then talk together. Toward the end of your Community Group season, once you have a plan to multiply your group, it’s time to step back and watch your co-leaders as they shepherd the group. Watch them as they facilitate the group meetings and monitoring its health. Let them encourage group participants to take their next step of growth. Give them permission to make decisions about what your group is studying. Now, when you talk together about the group, it’s no longer your group – it’s their group!

Finally, they lead, they find someone else to watch, then they talk together. As the group plans to multiply, be sure your co-leaders are committed to identifying and developing a new set of co-leaders as their new group begins and the cycle continues.

One more reminder. Something happens inside each of us when someone that we respect says, “I see in you great potential!” Speak that kind of confidence into your co-leaders on a regular basis at every stage of this process. You may be surprised at quickly they grow when they know you believe in them.

As a Community Group leader, you have a built-in opportunity for discipleship with your co-leaders. Developing the next generation of leaders may become one of the greatest joys of your life. As you spend time with your co-leaders, you’ll grow together, and your group will benefit too.

Here are five reasons why you shouldn’t be leading without a co-leader couple.

Helping more people be more like Jesus is a multiplication vision. As a church, we plant other churches because we want more people to be introduced to Jesus in their own culture and community. As individuals, we’re not just called to be more like Jesus ourselves, but to show others the way to be more like Jesus too. So, our Community Groups multiply because it’s a natural part of our corporate and personal disciple-making vision. Creating a new Community Group should be a like a missionary “sending” experience. It is the disciple-making mechanism that has exponential potential for reaching our own community and the world.

There are several ways that your current Community Group can be a sending group:

Launch a new group. In this model, one couple from the parent group starts a new group. Either the current leaders stay with the group while the co-leaders form an entirely new group, or the co-leaders stay with the current group while the leaders launch out to form a new group. Talk and pray with your co-leaders about this option. Would they prefer to stay with the current group, or do you think they would be more effective starting their own group from scratch?

Plant a new group. In the same way as a new church would be planted with a core leadership team, a new Community Group could be planted out of your current group. In this model, the leaders or co-leaders would invite two or three other couples or individuals to be part of the core that plants a new Community Group. If you have a group with several mature Christ-followers that could form the foundation of a new missional group, one that would be naturally evangelistic, maybe this is the model to pursue.

Double the current group. Either the leaders or the co-leaders branch out, and the current group is strategically distributed between them to form two new groups of equal size. Of course, both groups then invite new people to join them, and the number of people originally in a Community Group doubles. If you choose to multiply through this model, be sure to prayerfully and sensitively form the two new groups. Distribute people into groups based on their chemistry with each other, their spiritual giftedness, their stage of life, and where they live. Consider talking privately with couples and individuals in your group to get their feedback on which group they feel would be best for them.

Whichever model you choose, help your group see how multiplying, although sometimes not comfortable, is the best way to create space for more people to experience discipleship and growth.

If you’ve identified a potential co-leader couple, and they’ve agreed to join you in this leadership journey, you’ve already taken a huge step in helping more people be more like Jesus! Your relationship with your co-leaders will be key to the way your Community Group experiences life change together. But what does that first meeting with your co-leaders look like? Here are five areas you’ll want to cover in that first official conversation with your new co-leaders.

The Two:22 Discipleship Plan is a tool that will help guide two people in a series of spiritual conversations. These Bible-focused discussions are designed to help both people grow in their intimacy with God, their community with other believers, and their influence with those who don’t yet know Jesus. Becoming more like Jesus is a lifelong journey – one that includes many people, experiences, and tools that God uses to shape His children. Two:22 is simply one part of that journey.

Click here to download the full Two:22 Discipleship Plan.