Introduction
Jesus' vision for the world is to "win souls and make disciples." This He clearly stated in Matthew 28:19-20: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations. . . ." To achieve His vision, Jesus worked closely with twelve men that He mentored to take His place on the earth. Following Jesus' pattern, the apostle Paul also trained a number of young men ("Timothys") who later became the great leaders of the New Testament Church. This is the heart beat of G12.

Overview
The phrase G12 is a shortened form of the phrase "Groups of Twelve" (It's also used to refer the Government of 12). It refers to a web or network of relationships among leaders. The principle of twelve was first implemented in a church in Bogotá, Colombia pastored by Cesar Castellanos. This church has used the principle of twelve to build the largest small group network in the world: 40,000 small groups in a single congregation!

Now, churches worldwide are implementing this principle because it is simple, relational, and easy to duplicate. It is not a program, but the development of relationships that help every new leader become a dynamic, multiplying leader who can disciple others.

The Ladder of Success
The vision exists in a simple Principle: To win souls and make disciples. This is done in a 4-step process: win, consolidate, disciple, & send. This 4-step process is called ” The Ladder of Success ”.

The Vision
To Win Souls & Make Disciples

The Goal
Every Believer A Leader

W I N (The Networks)
New believers are added to the church through: Personal friendship evangelism (prayer of three), The celebrations (Sunday services), Life groups, Network Meetings. (Men, Women, Youth, Children), Miracle Catches (The Nightmare, WCW, The Glory and the Fire, Etc.)

Networks
The G12 vision works through homogeneous cell groups. The cells are organized into several different nets: The men's network, the women's network, youth and children's networks. Homogeneous groups allow people to learn and grow in the company of like-minded people who have the same needs, face the same challenges and share the same interests, identity and language. The gospel (evangelism and discipleship) travels fastest along these kinship or homogeneous lines.

We know this principle very well from the youth ministry. Young people have special interests that enable them to identify with one another. Their music, their style and their mind set all relate to their time of life. We can best address their questions, pressures, and temptations in the context of youth ministry.

The same principle applies to women. Many women's ministries are being raised up today. These recognize the special dynamic that operates when women come together to minister to each other. The same is true of men's ministry. Men open up better in the company of other men. And we need to minister to the men as men who share the same needs, desires and pressures.

The principle is 'like disciples like'. When you disciple others, you reproduce yourself. Jesus' 12 disciples where male, although He had many women followers. In fact, they were often the most faithful, loyal and supportive. Women backed his ministry in practical provision. He elevated them and gave them a very high place in His ministry, teaching and mission. But His close disciples (His 12) were men. The homogeneous principle does not mean the sexes or the age groups are divided and separated. It means that they are discipled as men, women, youth and children to take up their place as disciples in their families and in the wider church body. They become better husbands, wives, fathers, mothers or children. The celebrations and church services include everybody. The church is a family and the family must come together. The result of this type of discipleship is powerfully demonstrated in Bogotá, as there are NO divorces in their church.

C O N S O L I D A T E (Encounters)
The consolidation process begins immediately after the new believer has made his decision for Christ. The new believer is given an explanation of what has happened to re-affirm the redeeming work of Christ in his life.

Members of the consolidation team are assigned to new believers or new members to help enroll them in a weekly cell meeting, guide them through a short Pre-Encounter course, and register them to attend an Encounter Retreat. At this weekend retreat, they "encounter God" through teachings on inner healing, deliverance, baptism in the Holy Spirit, and the vision of the church. Following the retreat, they are encouraged to attend a new believers' class entitled Post-Encounter.

Consolidation is "the care and attention that we should give to every new believer in order to reproduce in him the character of Christ with the aim that he fulfils the purpose of God for his life which is to bear fruit that endures". The consolidation process was a practice of the early church: "...strengthening the souls of the disciples…”.

Encounters
In both the Old and New Testaments, the Bible shows men and women experiencing great, life changing encounters with the living God. The G12 Vision is really very simple and straightforward. However, there are many parts to it. One of the most important of these is the Encounter Weekends. An Encounter Retreat is a weekend short course in freedom (freedom from habits, bondages, bitterness, wrong thoughts, and past mistakes). At the Encounter, the Lord will set you free through the power of the Cross. Each Encounter is led by a Net leader or staff member, who is assisted by his or her 12 (which is a group of twelve people the leader has been personally mentoring). Men and Women attend to gender-specific Encounters. Youth and Children Encounters are not gender specific. Generally, Encounter groups contain between 30 and 70 people.

Post Encounter
After your powerful Encounter Retreat weekend, you will be taken through a preparation course for The Journey Classes called the Post-Encounter class. This class helps you to assimilate the victories you gained in your Encounter and to get ready to do serious Bible study.

D I S C I P L E (Journey classes)
After completing the consolidation process, the new disciple enters the Journey Classes , which consists of three ten week trimesters of study. During the second trimester, the students will open their own cells but will also continue meeting in their original cells, which now become their leadership or G-12, groups.

Journey classes
The Journey Classes are designed to help form your character as a disciple of Christ. Classes on doctrine and seminars on gender- and age-specific issues help each believer to round out his spiritual life to become a leader (person of influence). Our Journey Classes are high energy, fast-paced learning environments through the use of Power Point presentations, and lessons based upon the different learning styles people have. They are also more than knowledge in that each student receives personal ministry in his or her personal needs EVERY WEEK. There are three consecutive levels to the school, each taking 10 weeks to complete.

Re-encounter
The Re-encounter is a new encounter where the disciple in training receives more in-depth ministry, in preparation for opening their own open cell group. Once the disciple completes the re-encounter weekend, he is then ready to open in own cell, working towards developing their own group of twelve. The re-encounter happens mid-way through the School of Leaders, during the 5-6th week of level 2.

S E N D (Principle of Twelve)
As the disciple progresses through the School of Leaders, he opens his own cell and begins to develop his twelve, taking them through each step of the process of the vision: winning them, consolidating them, discipling them, and eventually sending them "to make disciples of all nations."

The Principle of Twelve
Twelve is the number of government in the Bible. Jesus was establishing His kingdom and government on the same principle that God established Israel in the Old Testament: twelve tribes. He intended to show us a pattern of how to disciple the nations.

This first generation of groups are known as the primary twelve or first generation. Each of their leaders ( 2nd generation ) in turn take the “heart” of what they are taught to the twelve ( 3 rd generation ) they are mentoring and share this in their own words. This ensures that whatever the Holy Spirit is emphasizing to the network leader is passed down through the generations, yet still allows freedom for the cell leader to pray and seek revelation on their own.

A generation of small groups follows the same pattern as a natural family: parents, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc. As leaders are developed and in turn develop other leaders, a generation of leaders who are all related to a discipler is formed. Often, all of the leaders in a given generation have a meeting together as a “Net” meeting. The principle of twelve is a dynamic, powerful principle that has the potential to disciple all nations. Churches can be planted even in remote areas where the leader understands that his primary goal is to turn every believer into a leader.

Paul said to Timothy:

The things that YOU have heard of ME among many witnesses the same commit thou to FAITHFUL MEN, who will be able to teach OTHERS also (II Timothy 2:2).

This is a generation of leaders:

PAUL (First generation)
TIMOTHY (second generation)
FAITHFUL MEN (third generation)
OTHER MEN (fourth generation)

The Twelve
A true twelve meeting only contains twelve leaders who are being mentored in leadership principles. Sometimes, however, a leader has both cell members and leaders in his small group. This is called an “open cell”. Until a leader has recruited 12 disciples that have completed the School of Leaders, the cell remains open. Once the leader has recruited twelve people who have completed the School of Leaders, his group will now become closed and the process of intimate discipleship begins.

Cells
A Cell is a small House meeting where evangelism, consolidation, edification and commissioning take place. There are four hallmarks of a genuine cell: worship, nurture, fellowship and outreach.

Ask any medical student "What is a cell?" and they will explain that it is the basic building block of the body. Our bodies consist of millions and millions of cells working in unison. We cannot live without them. What is true of the physical body is true of the body of Christ, the Church.

The original church was founded in cells in the homes of the believers. It was God's strategy for the church. In this way there was not only numerical growth but also spiritual growth in the church. Cells are an effective way of serving God in the Church. The Early Church grew both numerically and spiritually. In this growth the following four things were accomplished: Evangelism (Win), Consolidation (in the Doctrine of the apostles), Discipleship, and Commissioning (Send).

Christ always dedicated Himself to a group of people, His disciples. He evangelized them, consolidated them, built them up and commissioned them.

Conclusion
Our goal is to make every believer a leader. We know that God has a powerful plan for your life and that only through an encounter with Him, training in the Word of God, and mentoring by another leader will you become that person of influence you want to be in your family, your business, and your ministry.