The first community group I ever led was a struggle.

We had multiplied out from another group that was not entirely healthy. The multiplication process was a bit rushed and our members didn’t feel like the previous leaders had cared well for them. As brand-new leaders, only 23 years old, we over-corrected to the previous error by over-promising our group longevity without multiplication.

I remember telling the group at our first gathering, “You don’t have to worry about multiplying. We’ll build and maintain strong relationships here.” Everyone smiled and nodded in approval. However, after about nine months, our group had grown to the capacity of our little living room, and I knew it was time to bring up the topic of multiplication again.

When I told our group very gently that we should consider multiplying to create space for new people, they revolted. I hadn’t expected them to remember my early words about not multiplying. I said, “Well, of course, we need to multiply: There’s no space here!” But they responded, “Why do we need more space? We should just close the group to outsiders. They can go to other groups!”

I suddenly realized my mistakes: I had not started the group with an expectation of multiplication, nor had I regularly reminded the members of the need to stay open to outsiders.

These errors were not minor: We then faced an uphill battle trying to shepherd the group through the conversation, and it took close to a year to get the group ready to multiply. I figured that once it was time to multiply or send out members to start a new group, we could take a few weeks to talk through it, and everything would work out. I was wrong.

As the years have passed, I have been able to lead or oversee dozens of healthy multiplications. Some were easy and some were still slow and challenging, but I’ve discovered over the years a five-step process for healthy group multiplication.

I truly believe that growth and multiplication are the results of a healthy group, and multiplication itself can be a healthy, life-giving process. Multiplying a group or sending members out to start a new one still aren’t easy or simplistic endeavors. But this process has enabled dozens of fruitful multiplications and new groups.

The Language of Multiplication

When you’re talking with your community group or your leaders about multiplication, you’ll want to choose your words carefully. Here’s what I mean: Although multiplication is a straightforward concept, some will have negative preconceived notions about it.

I’ve often found that younger members and new churches—those who haven’t been in community groups for many years—find multiplication life-giving and exciting for the first few years. If they experience these five steps for healthy multiplication, they’re likely to have a positive experience.

But once a member has been in community groups that have multiplied several times, it’s common to feel an amount of “change fatigue.” In a few years, they could have been in three groups, adapted to the styles of three different leaders, and built dozens of new relationships. (Introverts like me will especially struggle with this.) As group leaders and pastors, we shouldn’t be quick to reject the need for stability in community.

In these cases, when your members are saying they’re weary from recent multiplications, you may want to change your plan and your language. For instance, maybe instead of directly multiplying a group of 16 adults into two groups of eight, consider that same group empowering a couple to lead and open the door to anyone who wants to form a new group. Perhaps only five or six adults will “plant” the new group, but you’ve still accomplished the formation of a new group to reach more people and you’ve allowed deep relationships to remain intact.

Please understand that multiplication will always need to be done on a case-by-case basis. There is no one-size-fits-all plan for starting new groups. My best advice is to use a handful of strategies—regular multiplication, “planting” new groups off a “sending” group, and starting new groups from all new members. Especially if your church is in a season of numerical growth, you’ll almost certainly need several paths to new groups.

Your community group must understand that the goal of community is the Christ-shaped spiritual maturity of its members, not mere fellowship, fun, and friendship. The New Testament does not allow us to define fruitfulness simply by fellowship; we are called to make disciples (Matt. 28:19). And yet, at the same time, fellowship is an essential component of community group, and we have spent months or years encouraging deep relationships with our members.

So for our community groups to be healthy, multiplication must be done in a way the promotes member health, not in a way that neglects it.

Here are five steps for healthy group multiplication:

Step 1: Develop a biblical vision of healthy multiplication
Step 2: Set expectations for healthy multiplication
Step 3: Prepare for healthy multiplication
Step 4: Practice healthy multiplication
Step 5: Maintain health after multiplication

There’s a firm foundation for all of this: Our groups will be life-giving places of spiritual formation when centered on Jesus’s way of discipleship and practicing the three rhythms of discipleship in community.

In the next article, we’ll discover a biblical vision of healthy multiplication.

*This article is Part 5 of an eight-part series on community groups and their importance that will run this summer. Read the full series here.