For more information about LTG'S contact Pastor Joe at jstill@riverbluff.org
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5 Biblical Reasons
Why LTG's may be the best context for making disciples and multiplying God's Kingdom.
1. Community | 2. Accountability | 3. Confidentiality | 4. Flexibility | 5. Reproducibility
- Community
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 says “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of 3 strands is not quickly torn apart.
Life change does not occur in a vacuum; it happens in relationship with others. From the beginning, God has said, “It is not good for man to be alone.” God designed us with a need for community.
Sure, a community can be a larger group than 3, but a group of 3 can be the strongest form of community. Many have difficulty developing the kind of close-knit relational bonds that can change our lives with more than 3 people at any one time. The best context for a life-changing community is in a group of two or 3. I'm more convinced than ever that 3 is the ideal number for a group to experience real growth through community.
- With a group of 3 it is harder for one person to dominate the discussion (though not impossible)
- It is also harder for someone to hide in a group of 3
- It is easier to have full participation from all in a group of only 3, but as the size of the group increases, some become more outspoken and others fade into the background.
- 3 also embodies the perfect community, that God Himself, who exists in a community of 3 — the Holy Trinity — Father, Son, & Holy Spirit.
- Accountability
1 Timothy 5:19 says “Do not receive an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or 3 witnesses”
Few things would ever get done in life without some degree of accountability. In the pursuit of godliness we need accountability to one another. There are at least 28 “one another” admonitions in the New Testament. Many more if you count those which are repeated. We need each other.
It is difficult to be held accountable to a multitude of people who do not know you intimately. A group of two or 3 has a greater degree of strength in accountability. You can find support with a group of two or 3 who know and understand your life.
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- Confidentiality
Matthew 18:15-17 says “And if your brother sins, go and reprove him in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or 3 witnesses every fact may be confirmed. And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church.” Since confession of sin is needed for cleansing and preparing one for a life — of service, then a safe place is essential. Rarely do people feel comfortable confessing their sins to a large group filled with people they don’t know intimately. A small/cell group, which is coed, is also not a safe enough place to share your darkest secrets. A group of two or 3 others of your same gender, who know and care about you and who also are sharing their own struggles is as safe a place as one can find.
Confidentiality is much easier to manage in a context of two or 3. This is especially true when each participant is vulnerable and equally at risk of exposure. Jesus clearly taught us that it is best to have a group of no more than two or 3 when confronting sin in order to maintain confidentiality (Matt. 18:15-17).
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- Flexibility
Matthew 18:20 says “For where two or 3 have gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst.” Certainly there is more behind the words Jesus spoke in the above verse, but flexibility is one advantage of a group this size.
Most of us have had the experience of trying to coordinate the calendars of a handful of busy people. An advantage to a group of two or 3 is that there is a better opportunity to coordinate schedules for a meeting time for all.
A second logistical advantage to a group of two or 3 is that they can meet almost anywhere. Some groups have met in a restaurant for coffee, some in a gym while working out, others have met at the park where their children can play and they can walk together. There is no need for a host/hostess with this size of group.
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- Reproducibility
High school biology taught us that simple things multiply easier than complex things. A group of two or 3 can multiply much easier than a small/cell group of ten to fifteen. All that is needed to multiply such a group is to find one more person and multiply into two groups of two. If we cannot see multiplication at this level, we will not see it at higher, more complex levels of church life. If we can’t multiply groups of two or 3 we will not multiply a cell group, or a worship service or a congregation. This is the most basic unit of the — church, two or 3 believers held together by the presence of Jesus Christ and the truth of His word. By initiating multiplication here, at the base unit, we can infuse the very genetic code of the church with the value of reproduction. If we truly wish to see the power of multiplication released at Riverbluff, It seems best to initiate the momentum at the grassroots level.
The command that God gave us was to make and multiply disciples, not cell groups or even churches. Of course Jesus is building His kingdom through churches, but His plan is to do so by multiplying disciples. It begins here—with the basic unit of the church—then it spreads through every pore in the body of Christ. The hard truth is if we do not start here, if we skip this God-ordained step, we can work and work and work until we turn blue and drop dead and we most likely will never see multiplication happen.
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