The means of multiplying yourself How many times have we wished we could be at two places at one time? Mentoring is the only way a busy person can minister in more than one place at a time. For example, fifteen years ago I started one group. I could only be in that one group. Yet I mentored the people in that group to become multiplying small group leaders. Many of those in that group have spent time the last few years raising up group leaders. Today there are nearly 100 groups from that initial group. So now, in a sense, I can be at 100 places at a time!

The way one ordinary person can reach thousands Never underestimate the power of multiplication. As we saw in chapter one, the first few `generations’ or levels are not overly impressive. One becomes 2, and 2 becomes 4. But as reproducers raise-up reproducers the impact multiplies. Slowly 4 becomes 8, then 16, 32 and 64. Then the impact explodes as 64 become 128, then 256, and 512. And by the tenth `generation’ of leaders, one has become 1024! You say, “I could never minister to a thousand people.” But if you are an effective small group leader, you can mentor someone else to become a leader. And by mentoring one highly effective leader at a time, you can eventually minister to thousands through the ministry of the leaders you have trained. Effective mentors understand that they will never have multiplied results until they multiply themselves into other leaders.

The 8 Habits of Effective Small Group Leaders by Dave Earley