How To Build An Exponential Group System

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What makes a group system exponential? What makes a church exponential? I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, but my convictions on the matter string together some important concepts acquired over the years.

But before we get to the keys to building an exponential group system, let’s define it. In some ways it’s kind of an “I’ll know it when I see it” thing, but basically an exponential system is one that is about multiplication as opposed to addition. Take a look at two examples:

Example A

if you have 10 groups and 7 of them agree to take a small group vacation
and out of those 7 groups you ended up with 18 additional hosts who opened their home for the church-wide campaign
and you used a campaign topic that was engaging to the crowd (i.e., Live Like You Were Dying, Soul Detox, or Love at Last Sight )
and 13 of those 18 new groups determined to keep meeting after the campaign
you’d double the number of groups from 10 to 20.

Example B

You have 10 groups
You talk with each group leader challenging them to birth a new group in time for the church-wide campaign
and you choose a topic for the campaign that is about building up believers (i.e., Just Walk Across the Room)
8 of the 10 group leaders say they’re not ready to birth, 1 of the 2 apprentices announces they’re moving
You challenge each group to invite a few new folks to their group for the upcoming church-wide campaign
At the end of the church-wide campaign you’ve added one group and the total number of people in groups has grown by 20.

Example A is about multiplication. Example B is about addition. If you want to have an exponential group system, you’ve got to think multiplication.

The first key to building an exponential group system (or church) is to understand what you have right now. A kind of diagnosis. If you pull up to the Ferrari repair shop and complain about poor performance, the first thing they’re going to do is lift up the hood and take a look. When you lift up the hood on your group system, you need to figure out if you have a “crowd to core” philosophy. Or more of a “core to crowd” philosophy.

What is “crowd to core?” Easy to understand, especially if you’re familiar with Saddleback’s concentric circle concept. Essentially a crowd to core philosophy is designed to help people in the crowd take an easy step into the congregation, the folks in the congregation take a step into a deeper commitment and the committed step into the core.

Core to crowd is the opposite arrangement. It is the idea that if I focus on the most committed people, building into them, investing in them, discipling them, they will reach the community. It is the concept behind services and programs designed to build up the believer with the idea that once they’re equipped they’ll reach out, they’ll disciple others, etc.

Can’t a group system (or church) with a core to crowd philosophy of ministry experience exponential growth? Isn’t it really just a matter of preference? An extension of “it takes all kinds of churches to reach all kinds of people?” Yes and no. While it may be theoretically possible for a core to crowd philosophy to experience exponential growth, it rarely happens in practice. More often than not it becomes about growing deeper, losing the potential vibrancy of new life that comes when you reach into the crowd.

You may be thinking, “Skip exponential! We’d settle for growth.” Can’t we get that with a core to crowd philosophy. Yes you can, but unless you’re living in a very stable community where few people ever move away, you probably won’t realize the long-term potential of building into your core.

So what kind of system do you have right now? Are you operating with a crowd to core philosophy? Or more of core to crowd? The problem for many, many churches? Wanting (and even expecting) exponential results while building a core to crowd system.

The first key? Make sure you’ve got a crowd to core philosophy and that your strategies match up. What’s next? You need a brutal assessment of the present.