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Why do many say that G-12 is wrong in a church?

T

TaliOrlando

New Member
Jeff Weaver said:
Pardon the ignorance, but what is G-12?
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I believe its cell groups in a church.. when a church gets big.. they have different cells in which its divided in groups of 12. I just heard about it myself and thats why I was like HUH?? lol

Here is some info I found...
http://www.godembassy.org/en/embassy_/g12.php

The G-12 System is one of the foundational elements that has resulted in the exponential growth of the church. The basic concept is very simple. Pastor Sunday began by choosing 12 people to assist him and be taught by him. Each of those 12 people found 12 people and each of those people found 12 people and each of those 12 people and on and on until everyone was in a group. Now, when someone comes to the church for the first time and is born again, he is directed to home groups in his region, enabling him to become involved and anchored into the church.

The main reason for these groups is discipleship. Every new believer or church member is in a group. Here, they will learn the foundational principles of the Bible, be encouraged to stay in church, receive teaching on prayer and healing, learn how to overcome trials and not fall into temptation, and discover how to live a Christian life. As the new believers grow, they begin their own groups and help teach others. The object is not for the leaders to dictate the lives of the group, but to teach them the Word and prepare them to be able to make the right decisions.

A strong bond is formed between leaders and the group members. Birthdays are celebrated, weddings and anniversaries are a time of joy for the entire group, and holidays are times for group fellowship and parties. The fellowship and friendship is not just spiritual, but extends into every other area of life, including having fun. Relationships are strengthened and cemented over a game of soccer and a picnic lunch. Fun and prayer go hand in hand and everyone has a good time.

Another element of the G-12 group is the potential for leadership growth and training. Each person in the group is special and each person has a unique function for which he is responsible. As members mature, they will be asked to lead groups if the leader is absent or to teach or lead a segment of the group. Each person is encouraged to participate in the meetings and to offer his experiences, thoughts or opinions. In this way, the entire group can learn from the experiences of others and avoid making the same mistakes.
 
J

Joseph M. Smith

New Member
I have not read a critique of this, so cannot respond to "why so many say it is wrong." But a few observations ..

  1. This may work well IF it is not just an overlay on all the traditional church program, so that a person is "expected" at Sunday worship, Midweek prayer meeting, Sunday School, etc., etc., as well as the small group. If the small group is to be the chosen instrument of formation, it needs to have protected time and priority.
  2. It would seem that some form of supervision is necessary. Will a pastor prepare an agenda, curriculum, or process for each group to follow, or will the groups follow their own instincts? If it is to be the latter, who will evaluate, on what criteria, and will be empowered to offer course corrections?
  3. How will there be an assurance that the grouping process will go forward? That is, what keeps the existing group from getting comfortable and staying put, rather than continually reaching out or accepting new members?
 
Marcia

Marcia

Active Member
I have read recently that G-12 groups are cultic, or are part of a cult movement. I need to do further checks on that, but here is one source:

http://letters.salon.com/mwt/col/tenn/2006/01/27/doubting_christian/view/index.html


G12 is a sort of religious pyramid scheme. Each new recruit is assigned to a cell or family group, usually with one group leader in adult or children's groups, or a male/female pair in college age groups. They are not told about the program or the structure that they are put through, which is "Win, Consolidate, Disciple, Send." Winning pretty much means getting you to break down and be saved, which they accomplish through very high pressure tactics namely pseudo-exorcisms. Consolidating involves working you into the system and attending their retreat. Discipling means making you over through rigorous courses. Sending seems to be the stage this student has reached: when they are sent out to start their own cell.
Each cell starts out with just a leader, who is a member of a cell consisting of twelve people and a leader that has absolute "spiritual authority" over all members of the cell. They in turn are a member of another cell, all the way up to Cesar. The leader recruits their cell up to twelve people, puts those twelve people through the paces, and then sends them out like a cell ruptured by replicating viruses.
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E

El_Guero

New Member
G12 is a large cell based church in Latin America. Because of its success, Anglo-centric church planters consider it an option for church planting here in the USA.

I was impressed, but not enough to think that it is any better than any other cell based church program . . .
 
J

Jim1999

<img src =/Jim1999.jpg>
I may be showing my age, but frankly, I don't see what's wrong with a good old fashioned New Testament local church.

Cheers,

Jim
 
Marcia

Marcia

Active Member
From what I saw on the Internet, it appears that G-12 possibly refers to different groups or concepts, and may not all be the same thing. Or else it was picked up in different places and evolved differently depending on where it was being used. But that's just an impression I got from a quick search. No time to really look into this now.
 
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annsni

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Well, we're a cell church and it's awesome. I don't understand what's different between a G12 and a cell church (other than the 12 number - we don't have 'groups of 12'). We also don't have a bible study in ours but we do what's called the "Pulpit Curriculum" - taking the sermon, hashing it out and figuring how to apply it to our own lives. It's been such a blessing!

Ann
 
Jerome

Jerome

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Jim1999 said:
I don't see what's wrong with a good old fashioned New Testament local church.
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The New Testament was written before anyone knew about the wisdom of Marxist-Leninist teachings.
The concept of cell groups was pioneered by Communists in the early 1900s.

"In 1966, former Communist Douglas Hyde wrote an influential book Dedication and Leadership: Learning from the Communists, in which he urged Christians to adopt Communist cell group methods to recruit, inspire, and train new members." p. 265, Twisted Scriptures: Breaking Free from Churches That Abuse by Mary Alice Chrnalogar (Zondervan, 2000).
 
J

Jim1999

<img src =/Jim1999.jpg>
I don't even use a cell phone. The best cell I know is two by two, knocking on doors, one on one and talking about Jesus.

A good old fashioned, knee-scraping prayer meeting, and shedding tears for the lost souls on our community.

My God said He would build His church on the back of scriptures, the cross of His Son, and the blessed hope of His return to take us home to glory.

That's the cell I want. Praise God.

Cheers,

Jim
 
T

Taufgesinnter

New Member
That's cuz you're not Methodist!

Jim1999 said:
I may be showing my age, but frankly, I don't see what's wrong with a good old fashioned New Testament local church.

Cheers,

Jim
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The Methodist societies had weekly class meetings. Those were small groups.
 
L

Lagardo

New Member
annsni said:
Well, we're a cell church and it's awesome. I don't understand what's different between a G12 and a cell church (other than the 12 number - we don't have 'groups of 12'). We also don't have a bible study in ours but we do what's called the "Pulpit Curriculum" - taking the sermon, hashing it out and figuring how to apply it to our own lives. It's been such a blessing!

Ann
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Cell churches are organized differently. Most that I have encountered are a "5 by 5" model, meaning each group aims to grow to a certain level then multiply into two groups.A g-12 model, on the other hand, breaks down to groups of 12, with each member encouraged to go and start a new group. Ultimately, everyone is involved with two groups: one for discipleship and one for evangelism.

As with anything, these vary a great deal from church to church, so it would be difficult to judge the G-12 model that generally.
 
A

annsni

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Lagardo said:
Cell churches are organized differently. Most that I have encountered are a "5 by 5" model, meaning each group aims to grow to a certain level then multiply into two groups.A g-12 model, on the other hand, breaks down to groups of 12, with each member encouraged to go and start a new group. Ultimately, everyone is involved with two groups: one for discipleship and one for evangelism.

As with anything, these vary a great deal from church to church, so it would be difficult to judge the G-12 model that generally.
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Got'cha! I have to say what a blessing cells have been for DH and I. When we first joined the church, I was very sad about leaving the friends we had at our old church but I found, once we joined a cell (after about 4 months), we began to have friends that were more than aquaintances - they were becoming intimate friends. We shared our joys, sorrows, prayers and praise with each other and we formed solid friendships that still are there 10 years later. DH and I are now cell leaders and our cell has shown what healthy relationships form out of the cell - they were there in the ER with us when DH fell off the roof - and one came to the house to take care of the kids through the evening while we were there. About 6 months ago, one of the cell members (who's an orthopedic surgeon) cut his hand very badly - severing nerves and tendons to his thumb and index finger (read: pincher grip for surgery - YIKES!) and we sprang into action. Praying with him, providing food for the family for those first days and giving support all through the entire ordeal - and he was blessed, his family was blessed and all of US were blessed.

I've also seen husbands and wives come to the Lord through cells - one man was a musician and was an absolute athiest but they asked if he'd play guitar for them for worship so they didn't have to use a CD. As he came to just play guitar, his heart softened and he came to the Lord - he's now a deacon in our church (it's been a bunch of years since he came to the Lord, don't worry!).

I think cells are wonderful and I don't think our church would be half as good if it wasn't for the relationships formed through those cell groups.

Ann
 
T

TaliOrlando

New Member
Well, I dont see anything wrong in cells however the G-12 system is a belief coming from a man in latin america who had a vision about the 12 apostles I believe.

So many churches believe that the system works in 12 and many believe that it comes from a false doctrine so they dont accept the G-12....
 
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