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Encyclopedia > G12 Vision

The G12 vision, also referred to as Groups of 12 or Government of 12, is a controversial strategy for church cell groups and church growth. It is based on the idea that each person should mentor and raise up twelve disciples in the Christian faith, and subsequently each disciple is to mentor 12 other disciples. Christianity percentage by country, purple is highest, orange is lowest Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch...

Contents

History

César Castellanos developed the G12 strategy after visiting the Yoido Full Gospel Church pastored by David Yonggi Cho, who had successfully implemented a cell structure in his church in South Korea. Cesar returned to his church, the Misión Carismática Internacional in Bogotá, Colombia with the revelation that God had spoken to him while he was in South Korea, and that God had given him a vision which would increase the size of his church. He subsequently formed his church into groups of 12, while his brother-in-law, César Fajardo, did the same with the youth. From 1991 to 1994 his church grew from 70 to 1,200 members.[1] Between 1994 and 1999 the church grew to 20,000 cells with a regular weekly church celebration of 45,000 people. Soon they lost track of numbers and began to count in cell groups. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... David Yonggi Cho is a Korean Christian minister. ... Motto: Bogotá, 2600 metros más cerca de las estrellas Bogotá, 2600 meters closer to the stars Localities (localidades) of Bogotá Country Department Foundation August 6, 1538 Government  - Mayor Luis Eduardo Garzón, PDA Area  - City 1,587 km²  (612. ...


In the year 2000 church leaders around the world, seeking to increase the size of their churches, travelled to the Misión Carismática Internacional to learn about the G12 vision. In the year 2001, Castellanos formed an international group of 12, with leaders from various countries (including the controversial Brazilian evangelist Valnice Milhomens). However, by 2005 some of these leaders, including César Farjardo, left the G12 vision, which had by this time become a movement centrally controlled from Bogotá, and formed their own adaptations. Many of the original leaders, however, have continued branches of the G12 movement following in the footsteps of Castellanos. One of these individuals is Adam Hoover, located in Tri-Cities.


G12 philosophy

The idea of the G12 is to reach out and disciple every member and to hold every member accountabe to Christ's teachings. The main leader would disciple 12 people, they would instate Christian values, teachings, prayer and ministry on a weekly basis until their disciples were ready to lead their own groups. Each disciple would find 12 new disciples and repeat the same process until there were 144. In both theory and example this process leads the church to grow exponentially, without losing accountabily of Christian values due to the eventual size of the church.


It is based off of the methodology used by Jesus to begin his ministery. Following his 40 day temptation in the desert, the first act of Jesus in his ministery was to form a group of 12 disciples (Mark 3:14). Additionally, in the book of Acts the first action taken by the 11 remaining disciples (considering Judas Iscariot's betrayal) was to re-establish a group of 12. Seeing fit not to leave it at 11, or allow 13, but rather to cast lots, which fell on Matthias, to fulfill the 12 (Acts 1:26). It was only after they re-established the group/government of 12 for the church that the day of Pentacost came (the moment when the disciples were all filled with the Holy Spirit)


This number 12 is considered significant as representing Government, there are 12 months governing a year, 2 cycles of 12 to govern the day and night, and 12 disciples established by Jesus to govern the body of his church - fulfilling the Great Commission (Mark 16:15).


G12 methodology

The G12 structure is found in some evangelical, predominantly charismatic churches. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The word evangelicalism often refers to... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The charismatic movement began...


Ladder of success

This is broken up into 4 parts with the sole aim of leading people to follow Christ.[2]

  • Win:- new believers are added to the open cell through friendships and by utilising the prayer of 3.
  • Consolidate:- after joining the cell, new believers are consolidated in the Christian faith and sent on an encounter.
  • Disciple:- once the new believer has experienced an encounter, they are sent to the school of leaders.
  • Send:- During the school of leaders the believer begins to reach out through friendships and prayer of 3 to start their own open cell. Once they've opened their own open cell, one of two things happen.
    • a) The new cell leader stays in their own leader's open cell. This cell gradually changes into a closed leadership cell.
    • b) Or, more commonly, will join a separate leadership cell under their cell leader.

Prayer of 3

This is when three disciples meet once a week and pray for three non-Christians each, nine in total for a period of a month, before inviting the people prayed for to evangelistic events called nets, with the hope that they will follow Christ. The prayer and invitations are continued until those people eventually make a decision for Christ.


The number 3 is symbolic of "completeness," i.e. The Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) being "God", also Christ was dead for 3 days before being resurrected and in Exodus before Moses asks for Pharaoh to let his people go, he first asks him to allow the Israelites to go into the wilderness to worship their God for 3 days.


Nets

Nets are Revival/Evangelistic meetings run monthly, where non Christians are invited to attend with the hope that Christ's message will touch them, and they will follow Christ.[3]


Encounters

These are weekend retreats, usually set away from the city in a conference centre.[4] Encounters generally last three days where there is basic Christian teaching on holiness, prayer, fellowship with God, forgiving, tithing, speaking life, walking in the Spirit, demonic liberation (which is a Christian form of exorcism, also called casting out the enemy or deliverance), healing the sick, winning souls for Christ, having patience and bearing fruit. One of the main points for these "encounters" is for the believer to have a genuine repentance and revelation of what the cross is all about. Also in these encounters there is extensive prayer and use of common symbolic acts to define the end of the old and beginning of the new. Pentecostal experience strongly encouraged. Saint Francis exorcised demons in Arezzo, fresco of Giotto Exorcism (from Late Latin exorcismus, from Greek exorkizein - to adjure, correctly pronounced exercism) is the practice of evicting demons or other evil spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed (taken control of). ...


The process

Laying aside the old self-rejecting old ways of thinking, acting, feeling,. Renewing believer's mind with God's truth-understanding the truth of what Christ has accomplished for them and that that gives them a new capacity to live for Him. Putting on the new self-in thought, words, actions, values, and relationships. The main purpose of these encounters is for the believer to have an actual encounter with God face to face. For him or her to give themselves completely to God, the result: to have a Christ-centered self-confidence, Joy, Courage, Peace, and a desire to know Christ.


School of leaders

This is a nine month course split into three ten week sections, where all the fundamentals of the Christian faith are taught, as well as the principles of the G12 vision.[5] It is usually co-ordinated and run by church members who have attended the school of teachers.


Homogeneous groups

Men, women, and children are allocated to homogeneous cells.[6] This has been found to be effective as ministry in cell groups can be more focussed, relevant, and also some issues are unlikely to be discussed and dealt with when people of the opposite sex are present.


Concerns

Some people have raised concerns about the G12 vision, the way it has been enforced, the division it is causing and its legitimacy. [7][8]


To be part of the G12 vision, church leaders have been forced to submit to the head church in Bogotá. Since 2005, this has led to many churches using the same basic strategy as the G12 while changing the name and terminology — and, in turn, being cut off from the G12 vision directed from Bogotá.


The G12 vision has been challenged for other reasons, such as spiritualization of number 12, pragmatism and creating a Catholic-style hierarchy among Protestants. Cesar Castellano's book "La Revelación de la Cruz" (The cross revelation) has often been compared with writings by Saint Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus. G12 principles are similar to the Shepherding Movement, and have similar problems. They have often been criticized for their "cult-like" tactics in recruiting and securing new members. Most of the leading G12 churches in the UK have now left the movement. Ignatius of Loyola Saint Ignatius of Loyola (December 24, 1491? – July 31, 1556), baptized Íñigo López de Loyola, was the founder of the Society of Jesus, a Roman Catholic religious order commonly known as the Jesuits that was established to strengthen the Church, initially against Protestantism. ... Seal of the Society of Jesus. ... The Shepherding Movement (sometimes called the Discipleship Movement) was an influential movement within American charismatic churches in the 1970s and early 1980s. ...


The Bethany World Prayer Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, under pastor Larry Stockstill has been one of the primary proponents of the G12 strategy in the United States. Similar difficulties have been encountered in this implementation.


References

External Links


  Results from FactBites:
 
Encountering G12 - The Vision (1696 words)
G12 training materials are saturated with language reminiscent of sales motivation, in which the faithful are repeatedly exhorted to become “winners” and “leaders” and strive to achieve “victory” and “success”.
Pastors who travel to Bogota to learn the G12 strategy at the source are offered a comprehensive training package, and they are encouraged to purchase all of Castellanos’s books so they can fully implement his strategy in their churches.
The first is to meet once a week with his or her own leader (to whose group of twelve he or she belongs); second, to direct his or her own weekly cell group; and third, to meet with his or her own twelve disciples once a week.
What is the G12 vision / movement? (561 words)
Answer: The G12 vision / movement is a cell-church discipleship strategy pioneered by Cesar Castellanos at International Charismatic Mission of Bogota, Colombia, where he was a pastor.
This vision was the “government of 12” principle, a hierarchal pyramid scheme of discipleship and authority.
As a church-growth model, G12 seems to have worked for many churches, but its association with doctrinally corrupt teachings leave much to be desired for those intent on retaining Scripture, and not man's teachings, as the sole measure for one's life (2 Timothy 3:15-16).
  More results at FactBites »


 
 

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