Effective Cell Leadership 5- Multiplication Goal

At the heart of cell church practice is the idea of cell multiplication. Ideally groups should multiply (i.e. one cell becomes two) when they get to about 12-14 people. Good cell leaders have a target date for when they would like to see the group multiply.

Groups actually become more vibrant through the addition of new people. Although we intuitively assume that new people will stifle the quality of sharing in the group, the reverse has been found to be true. In other words, new participants stimulate people to more heart-felt sharing, more prayer and more outreach.

Wiser people than I have pointed out that if you do not have a goal you will not achieve anything. The best cell leaders prayerfully set in their minds a date when they believe their group will be ready to multiply.

The Bible points out that we can plant a seed, but it is God who makes it grow. So with a cell group the seed vision of multiplying is something that requires regular and fervent prayer.

What is a reasonable time period for a cell to multiply? This is something you need to pray about for your group and seek the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. In some developing countries 3-6 months is a common time scale. In bigger cities in Western nations, 12 months is a typical life cycle. I think perhaps in smaller centres such as Narrabri, 2 years might be a reasonable goal.

We need to couple the idea of a vision for multiplication with the more practical work of reaching out to neighbours, friends and others. If we make cell evangelism a regular part of the cell agenda then ultimately the multiplication will come.

To facilitate multiplication, we also need to be training our assistants to take on their own group. Regularly giving them roles to perform in the cell group (leading worship, ice breaker etc) means that when the time comes to form a new cell there is no need to look for a new leader.