The Invest & Invite Strategy for Community Group Multiplication
WHY—Understanding the Invest & Invite Approach
While C-Links can be a great way to meet other couples that are interested in forming a community group, the Invest & Invite approach can be an even more effective strategy for multiplication. It offers several significant advantages:
Reduced Uncertainty — If you multiply your group using the Invest & Invite strategy, you're forming a group with people you already know. As a result, there's less chance of your being matched up with people who are in a different stage of life (age, kids vs. no kids, etc.).
Built-in Chemistry — The group will consist of people with whom there are already established relationships. Odds are that the people you've invested in are people for whom you have a natural affinity. With these connections already formed, group members often "open up" more quickly and establish a sense of commitment sooner.
Spiritual Growth — The three Vital Relationships are the means through which we experience a growing relationship with Jesus Christ, which are both the mission for the church and the goal for community groups. Most curricula either deal with Intimacy with God or Community with Insiders. Embracing the Invest & Invite approach allows the group to give real focus to the Influence with Outsiders relationship in a challenging but practical way.
HOW—Implementing the Invest & Invite Approach
The key to the success of this approach is keeping the importance of Influence with Outsiders front and center. Group leaders should introduce the concept early in the life of the group and be intentional about revisiting the topic regularly. Here are some steps to take:
Plant the seeds (first 6-8 weeks) — While the group is still in its infancy, the group leader casts a vision for what it means to have influence with outsiders, including what it means to invest and invite. Several introductory studies have chapters that deal with eternity and/or outreach, and provide an ideal setting to introduce the topic.
Memorialize the plan (6-8 weeks in) — Once the group has moved beyond the "starter group" or infancy stage, the Community Group Covenant provides a great impetus for the group as a whole to commit to investing and inviting. In two separate places, the Covenant addresses the issue of multiplication—once in the values section, and again in the first guideline (where the group agrees on the life span of the group).
As the group walks through the covenant, the group leader again casts vision for why multiplication is such an important part of the community group experience. The group members' "pushback" is likely to center on two issues: Why do we have to multiply? How do we do it?
This provides the leader with a natural segue into the Why behind multiplication. "If you're hesitant to split up, that shows how much you value the community group experience and highlights exactly why we should multiply—to give others the opportunity to experience this as well." It also provides an opportunity to again emphasize the How (by investing and inviting).
Commit to pray (2-3 months in) — Now that the Influence with Outsiders relationship and the Invest & Invite strategy have been brought up at least twice, it's time to raise the stakes a little bit. In one night's prayer request time, the group leader asks each couple to think about and share the names of those that they want to invest in and invite to church. The group commits to pray for these people and for their fellow group members' efforts to invest and invite. Have someone in the group write all of these names down and distribute them to all group members, so that they can be praying for them on an ongoing basis.
Schedule regular checkups (every 6-8 weeks) — Every six to eight weeks, the group leader readdresses the Invest & Invite prayer requests. This is a time to ask how the investing and inviting is going, and if there are more specific ways the group can be praying for those people. At the midway point of the group's life span, it's a good idea to dedicate one meeting to a group health checkup. The group leader pulls out the covenant, and leads an informal discussion on how the group is doing in each of the values and guidelines, which provides an excellent opportunity to evaluate how people are doing with investing and inviting.
Beat the drum — Once the group enters the home stretch (determined in consultation with your C-Group Coach)—it's time to "beat the drum" about the impending multiplication and what the group needs to do to be ready to multiply. If some group members have not taken action up to this point, the reminder that multiplication is only six months away may serve as a wake-up call to begin investing and inviting in earnest. For those who have been actively investing and inviting, now is the time for them to mention to their outsiders that the group will be multiplying in the not-too-distant future and begin planting the seeds to invite them to join the next community group. From this point on, the group leader brings up multiplication at least once a month.
Finalize group effort (final 2-3 months prior to multiplication) — Multiplication time draws near, and group members actively help each other in their invest and invite activities. As the existing group wraps up, the members host social events (cookouts, game nights, etc.), and invite all current group members and their Invest & Invite couples. This gives the prospective members a chance to see what community group relationships look like in a casual atmosphere. They'll also have an opportunity to hear more about community groups. The leaders of the new groups take a few minutes to explain how community groups operate, and other group members share a few stories about their community group experiences. If your group wraps up in the spring and your next group starts in the fall, taking the summer to do social events can help your new groups get ready to hit the ground running in the fall.
Adapted from NorthPoint Resources