Pace, as we use it, refers to keeping answers brief enough that everyone answers every question every session. People here in the U.S. are particularly time conscious, so answering in sentences, rather than paragraphs, actually encourages more participation by more people. Purity refers to sticking with the passage being studied that session, or an occasional reference to a passage the group has Discovered previously. This practice of “purity” protects people who are less familiar with the Bible from feeling incompetent and giving up on hearing from God.

Seventy-five minutes is the ideal time frame here in the US. Request the group members to commit to ninety minutes and end it at 75 so everyone will be pleasantly surprised. They may hang around longer, but the first three to four sessions it is critical to complete the eight questions in 75 minutes every session.

When a Person of Peace connects you to her/his household, your goal is to equip their “inside leader” to facilitate the Discovery process ASAP. It is absolutely imperative that an ongoing coaching relationship be maintained on a weekly basis with this “inside leader” since he/she will be hearing these passages for the first time. This is where you explore the joys and challenges of the ongoing group since you may not be a personal participant. In the ideal situation this “inside leader” will begin facilitating no later than the fourth session.

As a group begins to find joy in hearing, trusting and obeying God’s Word, the great temptation will be to invite other family and friends to join this existing group. As noted in one of my recent posts (https://dmmcoach.com/2021/03/25/addition-vs-multiplication/), bringing new people into existing groups is one of the quickest ways to get addition results rather than multiplication. Encourage anyone who wants to invite a new person to the group to rather invite that person to identify a group of 3-4 family or friends who might like to be part of a new group. Offer to coach that person in starting this new group. Remember, your goal is to see people come to faith and become disciple makers. Do not forget that second part of the goal!

Starting new groups out of the relationships identified within the first group is one of the best ways to avoid a group growing so large it can no longer accomplish the deep sharing it grew out of originally. Multiplying groups safeguards the original group’s capacity for depth and combines the power of multiplication.