THE PRACTICE HANDBOOK FOR THE DISTRICT SERVING ONES

SERIES TWO
THE GOD-ORDAINED WAY AND VARIOUS KINDS OF MEETINGS

Message Sixteen
The Increase of Groups and Districts for Propagation and Increase

Acts 2:46       And day by day, continuing steadfastly with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they partook of their food with exultation and simplicity of heart,

Mark 6:39-40And He ordered them to have all recline by companies on the green grass. And they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties.

 

THE INCREASE AND SPREAD OF THE CHURCH

BEING THE GOAL OF OUR KNOWING THE TRUTH
AND GROWING IN LIFE

The Lord’s recovery among us emphasizes two things: knowing the truth and growing in life. However, we must realize that knowing the truth and growing in life are not for truth and life themselves but for the increase and spread of the church. Today we pay attention to the church only in the matters of knowing the truth and growing in life; we do not pay attention to the increase and spread of the church. Therefore, we have to study the book of Acts to check our condition, because the contents of this book concern the propagation, increase, and spread of the church. In reality, the increase and spread of the church are the increase and spread of Christ, because the church is Christ (1 Cor. 12:12). 

Acts shows that there was much spreading in the early church, but in this spreading, the apostles did not forget the teaching of the truth and the nurturing in life. Regrettably, it seems that today we take care of only truth and life; we have not paid much attention to the increase and spread. Therefore, we need to be adjusted.

Nevertheless, if we emphasize only the believers’ knowledge of the truth and growth in life but neglect the increase and spread of the church, we will greatly restrict the Lord. This word of balance should be applied to us. We have had a peaceful time here in Taiwan for over twenty years. In the first seven years of the Lord’s recovery here, there were only four hundred saints, and there was insufficient coordination. Yet we all were in one accord, and there was a great deal of increase and spread. In contrast, we have reached tens of thousands of people, and our coordination is getting better, but we do not have much increase, not to mention much spread. This is really inexcusable. We must admit that we have greatly restricted the Lord. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 1, “Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 4: The Increase and Spread of the Church,” msg. 1)

THE DESPERATE NEED FOR THE PROPAGATION AND INCREASE

According to the Truth and the Life that the Lord Has Given to Us,
Our Increase and Spread Being Too Poor

In the last sixty years the truth in the Lord’s recovery has not been lacking, and even though our life has not been quite so rich, it is still adequate. There is only one matter that has really become a problem—the matter of increase and spread. According to the truth that the Lord has shown us and according to the life that He has given to us, our increase and spread are too poor. This is especially true of the ten years from 1974 to 1984, when our average worldwide rate of increase was less than two percent. It is for this reason that I have been pressed and burdened to the extent that I can no longer bear it.

Therefore, in 1984, apparently through my own decision but actually under the Lord’s leading, I returned to Taiwan. I felt that the situation could not continue in this way. I saw clearly that the truth among us cannot be changed, and the life we have cannot be shaken, but the way we work must be changed in order to keep up with the need. It is true that no one can change the globe, because it was created by God. Man’s standard of living on the globe, however, has been improving throughout the ages. One hundred years ago it took at least six months to sail from the west coast of America to the east coast of China, but today the methods of transportation have improved so much that one round-trip flight in an airplane takes only one day. This does not mean that the globe has changed or shrunk; rather, it means that methods of transportation have greatly improved, making travel more convenient. (CWWL, 1986, vol. 3, “The Furtherance of the New Way for the Lord’s Recovery,” msg. 1)

Practicing the God-ordained Way at Any Cost

Some have said that we should forget about the work and come back to the enjoyment of Christ, but we need to realize that the enjoyment of Christ always has an issue. If a branch of the vine tree is really and richly enjoying the life-juice from the tree, surely the branch will bear fruit (John 15:5). If the branch has not borne fruit for years, it has probably already been cut off (vv. 2a, 6). A person may think that he is enjoying Christ, but actually he may be cut off from the enjoyment of Christ. He may be self-deceived. Have we been enjoying Christ year after year? Where is our fruit? When I returned to Taipei in 1984, they only had three thousand in attendance at the Lord’s table. Today they have five thousand at the table. They also have thousands of new ones that they are caring for in home meetings and small group meetings. The saints and churches who have practiced visiting people in their homes with the gospel have testified of the fruitfulness of this way. Can we give a testimony in a definite way of the fruit that we have borne?

If the way that I have presented to you is ordained by God and is according to the Scriptures, we have to practice it at any cost. Then the Lord will have a way with us to finish His recovery. Otherwise, we may force Him to drop us and go to others. The Lord dropped others in His move and came to us sixty years ago, but where are we today? The gifted ones—the leading ones and the co-workers—need to perfect the needy saints, not by speaking to them as a congregation but by visiting them in their homes. Some of the older co-workers may feel that they have become useless now that we are changing to the new way. Actually, if the older ones pick up the new way, they will become more useful. Their years of experience are needed for the perfecting of the saints. If we do not go along with the tide of the Spirit in this age, however, we will become dropouts. Time does not wait for us. This is why the New Testament tells us to redeem the time (Eph. 5:16). The older ones are more useful, but they have to go along with the present advance of the Lord’s recovery. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 4, “The Way to Practice the Lord’s Present Recovery,” msg. 2)

The Advance of the Church
Depending on How We Cooperate with the Lord

We have all seen a three-legged race. With this race, it is not a matter of how fast or how slow the contestants walk. Rather, it is a matter of whether or not they can cooperate and coordinate with each other. If one of the contestants runs very fast and the other runs very slow, then they will easily fall and be unable to rise up again. Consequently, they will remain in the same place and have no way to go forward. Today we are tied together to the Lord in a three-legged race. However, often when He walks, we do not walk, or when He does not walk, we walk. As a result, this three-legged race is not in step or in unison. Hence, how our future will be and how the church will advance both depend on how we cooperate and coordinate with the Lord. If we have much prayer, much pursuing of the truth, and much entering into the truth, we will have more knowledge and experience of the Lord. Thus, we will have more supply, the number of saved ones will naturally increase, and the power to retain them will be strong. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 5, “Speaking for God,” msg. 7)

Being Desperate for the Lord’s Increase

We need to be desperate to gain new ones for the Lord’s increase. We also have to exercise our faith to apply the Lord’s authority, standing on Matthew 28:18-19, where the Lord said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and disciple all the nations.” When we go out to preach the gospel, we should pray, “Lord, I stand on this word. Your authority is mine. I go with Your authority.” When we are sharing the gospel with people, we should not ask them if they would like to receive the Lord and be baptized. If we do this, they will say no most of the time. Instead, we need to exercise the Lord’s authority and direct them to believe and be baptized. (CWWL, 1986, vol. 3, “Elders’ Training, Book 9: The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (1),” ch. 2)

THE PRACTICE OF MEETING IN DISTRICTS AND GROUPS

There were several characteristics of the work that we began in Taiwan. One feature was to hold trainings that were comprehensive in nature. The best training was in 1953; it was a training on truth, life, the church, and the gospel. The aspect of the training that was on the church included service. Those who attended the trainings know that that particular training was comprehensive. As a result, the leading in the church was also comprehensive. We did not overemphasize any point; rather, we paid equal attention to truth, life, the church, and the gospel. These trainings were very successful, and our numbers in the churches increased greatly. As our numbers increased, we began meeting in separate meeting halls, and because our numbers continued to increase, the meeting halls were divided into districts.

At that time we did not use the term group. Even though Brother Nee used the term districts, based on Acts 2:46, which says that the believers met “from house to house,” he did not have the way to practice it. The turmoil in the church in Shanghai prevented him from putting this into practice. After the turmoil the church stopped meeting. That was in 1942. That same year the church in Chefoo had a great revival. The church in Chefoo put the matter of meeting in districts fully into practice, but we did not have the practice of meeting in smaller groups. During that time our numbers increased but not such that we needed to divide into smaller groups.

When we came to Taiwan, we did not meet only in halls, which were equivalent to what Brother Nee called districts. We divided every hall into smaller groups, which we called districts. Due to the constant increase in our numbers, we had to consider how to take care of the new believers who were being added to us. The Lord reminded us of what He had done in the wilderness when He distributed the loaves—He had the people sit down in groups (Mark 6:39-40). Based on this principle, we began to further divide the districts into groups, and we met in halls, districts, and groups. In those seven years our numbers increased from five hundred to fifty thousand; that was a hundredfold increase. Once we had a baptism meeting for newly saved ones that began at six o’clock on Saturday evening. Even though we were baptizing people in three different meeting halls, we could not finish all the baptisms that night, so we continued baptizing people on the Lord’s Day morning. On that occasion we baptized more than seven hundred people.

Being Beneficial to the Increase of Numbers in the Church

If we had continued meeting in halls, districts, and groups, I do not know how many people we would have gained. Five hundred saints increased to fifty thousand within seven years; that is more than a hundredfold increase. From 1957 until today we have passed through four seven-year periods. In the beginning of the four seven-year periods, we met in halls, districts, and groups; however, after Brother T. Austin-Sparks visited us, we were distracted in our practice. If we had not changed our direction, we could have gained at least two hundred thousand in the following seven-year periods. A conservative estimate is that we would have a total of two hundred fifty thousand saints. We increased from five hundred saints to fifty thousand saints. If we use this fifty thousand increase as the base, in another seven years we should have gained another fifty thousand. We believe this would have been possible.

We had some definite experiences in mainland China, and we knew which experiences were useful for the building of the church and which were not. Hence, after the Lord brought us to Taiwan, we continued the useful practices and dropped the practices that were not useful. Not only so, we added a new practice of dividing into groups. Before 1952 only one sister and I were serving full time. In 1952 approximately one hundred brothers and sisters joined us to serve full time. After the comprehensive training in 1953, the one hundred full-timers went to carry out their function in the different halls, districts, and groups. This is the way that our numbers increased to fifty thousand in just a few years.

It is an undeniable fact that the way of meeting in halls, districts, and groups is beneficial to the increase of numbers in the church. However, for the past thirty years we have abandoned this practice; hence, our numbers have not increased. This has been a huge loss to us. Moreover, we have not seen any accomplishment in spirituality or in life. We do not pursue the truth, and we fall short in spirituality and in the growth in life. This is not true only of Taiwan; most of the brothers and sisters in the churches in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong are not clear about the truth. Hence, we can say that we are doing an average job in the gospel, we are not strong in the church life, we have no goal concerning the truth, and we have no accomplishments in spirituality and in life. On the contrary, we have abandoned our strong point, our special skill, which is the practice of meeting in halls, districts, and groups. Therefore, our numbers have been reduced. We can say that our loss is greater than our gain.

Paying Attention to the Truth, Life, Church Life,
and also the Number of Saints

We must learn the lesson of paying attention to the truth, to life, to the church life, and to the gospel. We must also pay attention to the number of saints in the meetings. If a church has no quantity, how can it have quality? For this reason we have not produced many elders or co-workers over the past twenty-seven years. If, instead of neglecting our early practice, we had continued to the present, I believe that we would have produced many elders and full-time serving ones, and our numbers would have increased greatly. Moreover, although we cannot say with assurance that our condition in life would be better than it is today, we believe that it would not be worse. We can also say that concerning the truth, our condition would not be worse than it is today; of course, we do not dare say that it would be better. The same applies to the church life; we dare not say that our condition would be better than it is today, but at least it would not be worse. However, we can say with certainty that we have decreased in numbers. It would be a great thing to have more than three hundred thousand brothers and sisters in Taiwan. This would be a huge asset that would enable us to do many things.

We are studying our past history solely with the view of analyzing it in order to learn some lessons from it. From now on, our work must pay attention to numbers, and we must give people the truth. We must train the believers who are added to us in the truth; we must also help them grow in life. Our meeting life, that is, our church life, must be strengthened and enriched, and we must pay attention to the gospel in order to take care of our numbers. As soon as we gain people through the gospel, we must bring them to the meetings in the districts and in the groups. We must learn these things and pay close attention to them. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 4, “Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 3: The Future of the Lord’s Recovery and the Building Up of the Organic Service,” msg. 1)

THE GROUP MEETING BEING A MEANS FOR THE INCREASE

The group meeting is really a means for the increase. Therefore, no group meeting should remain for a long time with the same number. Every group meeting should be subdivided into two groups within one year. This is the way to increase. For example, at the beginning of the year we may have baptized two or three. We can work on them in the home meetings and gradually bring them together to form a group meeting. In this way the group meeting will grow. All the new ones will learn to do the same things that we do. By the end of the year this group will be ready to be divided into two groups. However, in many places those who are grouped together are not willing to be divided. In a sense they fell in love with one another and wish to remain in the old group. This is absolutely wrong. In the new way one group at the end of the year will become two groups. Then at the end of the next year, there will be four groups. This is equivalent to a one hundred percent increase yearly. Just by practicing the new way for one year, everyone will learn. Hence, everyone can be a leader. The groups themselves will produce the leaders. We all have to learn this new way and not delay any further. If within one year there is no fruit, no learning, and no new groups, we have wasted one year. Then it will be difficult to be rescued out of this situation.

The longer the groups remain together, the less they can do and the less useful they will be. Not only should we see new ones coming in regularly among us, but we should also see new group meetings year after year. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 4, “Talks Concerning the Church Services,” ch. 9)

Subdividing the Groups to Produce Increase

In the past month the number of saints meeting in the small groups, that is, in the home meetings, has increased by one thousand. I have said that once a small group has more than twelve people, it should be subdivided into two groups. At this time some groups have exceeded twenty-four people, yet they are still reluctant to be divided. I understand this feeling, because I too am human. A certain hall has a very good small group that has brought in more than a hundred people. I attended their meeting once, and it was bustling with people. The saints in that small group told me that they did not want to be subdivided, because they like that small group. I dared not touch them lest some would stop meeting. They are like plants in a greenhouse that would die if they are moved. Furthermore, human beings are sociable by nature. When a group of people are always together, they build up a feeling for one another and like to be close and intimate with one another. However, we must see that if we do not subdivide the groups and the homes, the increase will stop, and the edification of the brothers and sisters will be greatly limited. This is the reason that the group we mentioned earlier has stopped increasing and is now at a standstill. We see this situation in other places as well.

The biological principle is that it is difficult for anything old to bear fruit. The spiritual principle is the same. Suppose a family migrates to a new place to spread the Lord’s gospel and preach God’s truth. Within a year this family may be able to bring in fifteen people, and then they may increase to thirty or fifty. Once they reach fifty, however, their rate of increase will slow down. This is similar to an old person being unable to bear children and an old tree not bearing fruit. For a tree to bear fruit, it must have new branches. If these fifty people want to bear fruit, they must be subdivided into different homes and into small groups. However, this may be difficult for them emotionally. Moreover, people usually love crowds. It is truly enjoyable to have many gathered together to sing and pray when the content and speaking of the meeting is very good. If they are subdivided into different homes, they are concerned about losing this kind of enjoyment. If they remain together, however, it will be difficult for them to gain an increase. For instance, when planting trees and grass, if we do not scatter the seeds, they will end up clustered together. If we scatter the seeds, they may initially appear uncomely, but a year or even half a year later they will spread all over the land and look beautiful. I hope that the elders will change their concept to see that subdividing the small groups is a tremendous matter and that they need to work on this carefully.

If there were presently six people in every home meeting, there would be one thousand small groups in the church in Taipei. These small groups might be very weak, but as long as the elders are willing to take the lead and aggressively take care of the saints, eventually the small groups will be strong, and the numbers will increase. It is not a matter of whether the small groups will be weak or strong; it is a matter of whether or not the elders are willing to take the lead. If the elders are willing to take the lead, there will certainly be a result. In the past month the number of saints meeting in the small groups in Taipei increased by one thousand. This is the result of the labor and endeavor of the elders. This also proves that as long as the elders are willing to take the lead, the saints will follow.

This Kind of Increase Being the Most Effective and Practical

Our brothers and sisters have many relatives, friends, neighbors, classmates, and colleagues. If the elders are aggressive to take the lead, it will not be difficult for every home to gain one person a month. If every home gains a person each month, the church in Taipei will gain a thousand people in a month and twelve thousand in a year. This is a twofold increase. Moreover, the new ones gained in this way are more likely to be remaining fruit, because they were not compelled to come from off the streets and be saved and baptized; neither were they invited through gospel tracts or telephone calls. Rather, they are the relatives and intimate friends of the saints. Hence, it will be easy for them to be kept and to receive edification. This kind of increase is the most effective and practical.

These are the two steps, or two ways, to practice the changing of the system. The first step is to recover the non-meeting saints by delivering meetings to their homes. If we cannot do it once a week, we can at least do it once every two weeks. Moreover, we need to be steadfast. The second step is to subdivide the small groups. Once a small group has over twelve people, it should be subdivided into two groups. This will stir up the spirit of the saints to spread the gospel among their relatives, friends, neighbors, classmates, and colleagues. (CWWL, 1986, vol. 2, “Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 1: The Vision and Definite Steps for the Practice of the New Way,” msg. 6)

Observing Closely the Actual Condition of the Small Groups

We have to cover another point concerning the division of the small groups. It is not easy to group the small groups. If the number increases, it is imperative to subdivide. But it is also important that subdividing not be done too soon. Those who are more experienced should observe closely the actual condition of the small groups. For example, after you preach the gospel and people are saved, you should have three or four people under your care. You should do your best to bring them to the small group meetings. If each one would bring one, eight would bring another eight, and sixteen people would make a good meeting. This way of meeting will enable the new ones to learn. They will not know anything about the religious worship service but will only know how to meet in this kind of organic way. After meeting in this way for three months, more people will be brought in. Perhaps the number will increase to twenty-five. By then, you will have to subdivide. In this subdividing, each group will have some older saints as well as some new ones. Gradually, the groups will repeat the cycle to multiply and spread over and over again. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 2, “The New Testament Priests of the Gospel,” msg. 1)

Dividing into Groups According to Geography

Concerning the practice of the group meetings, we are short of experience and personnel, even though we have four hundred groups. This means that every serving one, including the elders and co-workers, should be assigned to help and advance a group. In other words, the serving ones should all serve to advance the groups. If there are not enough serving ones, we should ask other saints to help. For example, the movement of a large truck is slow. If we want it to move faster, it is best to push it. However, as we push it, we will discover that some parts are out of order and defective. Then we can make the necessary repairs so that the truck can run at an ideal speed.

Every serving brother and sister should help in leading a group, but this does not mean that they should regard themselves as a person who is “responsible” for the group. Neither should they consider themselves as a “group leader”; they should take the lead only in regard to fanning the gift within the saints into flame. If the fire in a group has not been kindled, the serving ones should bear responsibility to help kindle the fire. If the fire in a group is dying, the serving ones should fan it into flame. The serving ones should fan the gift in the saints into flame.

In forming the groups, there should not be groups for brothers and groups for sisters or groups for elderly saints and groups for younger saints. Neither should there be groups for working saints and groups for students. Rather, the grouping of the saints should be according to geography. If there are eight to ten saints who live close to one another, they should form a group. The members of a group should include brothers, sisters, elderly saints, and younger ones, without any distinction. Even the serving ones should be assigned according to geography. In other words, serving brothers should not be assigned to nurture brothers’ groups, nor should serving sisters be assigned to nurture sisters’ groups. Furthermore, there is no need to consider whether serving saints are suitable for a particular group. They should simply go and work with a group according to geography. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 4, “Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 3: The Future of the Lord’s Recovery and the Building Up of the Organic Service,” msg. 19)

DIVIDING INTO DISTRICTS ENABLING US
TO TAKE CARE OF THE SAINTS

Concerning dividing into districts, if the number in our big meetings reaches two hundred or even one hundred, we should divide into more districts. Dividing into districts enables us to take care of the saints. From the many testimonies we can see that our shortcoming in the past was that we were inadequate in taking care of the saints and even worse in regard to shepherding. For example, in October of 1984, before we brought up the matter of taking the new way, we estimated that the church in Taipei had at least ten thousand saints. However, in reality, at most only three thousand attended the Lord’s Day morning meeting and a little over two thousand attended the table meeting in the evening. Of course, these numbers did not represent all the brothers and sisters who regularly attended meetings. In all, around five thousand were present in the meetings at different times. Besides these five thousand, there were perhaps more than ten thousand who stayed home without anyone taking care of them. This proves that we were truly negligent in the matter of caring for the saints. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 2, “Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 2: Leading the Saints to Practice the New Way Ordained by the Lord,” msg.7)

For this reason it is better not to have one or two hundred meeting together. This is too many. According to our experience, it is better to have about fifty, at most seventy, in a meeting. When we reach eighty, we should divide into two meetings. If there are fifty, about one-third of the attendants can speak. Twenty speakers can each occupy three minutes, using exactly one hour. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 1, “The Practical and Organic Building Up of the Church,” ch. 8)

In view of this, all the saints in the churches, including the elders and co-workers, who participate in home meetings, group meetings, and district meetings need to make a concerted effort to properly care for and shepherd these ten thousand saints. We particularly look to the Lord that He may lead the elders and co-workers to find a way to carry out this matter. This is an important and precious matter. 

At Most, There Being Fifty or Sixty People in a District

Whether we are an elder, co-worker, or a full-time serving one, we must take the way of going out to preach the gospel, establishing the home meetings and group meetings, and establishing churches. When the number of people in a church becomes too large, the church should be divided into districts. Even if there are only one hundred people in the church, it should be divided into districts. At most, there should be fifty or sixty people in a district because it is difficult to take care of anything above this number. After dividing into districts, taking care of the saints will become more widespread. Furthermore, the opportunity for service will increase, and the members of the Body will all be able to function. This will create opportunities for the saints to serve and fulfill their function in the church life. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 2, “Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 2: Leading the Saints to Practice the New Way Ordained by the Lord,” msg.7)

For the Increase of the Numbers,
Studying diligently to Seek Improvement in Each District

The Leading Ones in Each District

Having to Motivate Every Attending Saint
to Bring People to the Meetings

From behind the scenes the leading ones in each district meeting and each group meeting must motivate every attending saint to bring people to the meetings. This is not specifically to bring the newly saved ones but to seek those who have not come to the meetings in the previous few weeks. The brothers and sisters all know certain saints and know whether or not they have been coming to the meetings. We do not ask them to do much. Each one needs to bring only one. Perhaps not everyone can do this, or perhaps the saints can bring only one person every two weeks. As long as they bring someone, that is a gain. We should always encourage, charge, and motivate the brothers and sisters to bring people in. In our past preaching of the gospel by door-knocking and visitation, we found twenty-two hundred brothers and sisters who have not been meeting for a long time. This greatly surprised me. In Taipei there are still many hidden saints who have not been meeting. We need to encourage the brothers and sisters to bring them back.

If we want our numbers to increase, we should not have empty talk. Rather, we must come up with a definite way. Without a definite way, the work cannot be accomplished. There must be some who lead and motivate the saints; otherwise, nothing will be accomplished. On the one hand, it is true that if the contents of the meetings are rich, people will spontaneously come. On the other hand, if no one motivates the saints to bring people, no one will come. In our district meetings and small group meetings it is best to have a budget. We may look to the Lord to see how many can be added to our meeting by the end of the month. This budget will also become our prayer burden, and the district prayer meetings should pray for this. Whether or not there is prayer makes a difference in the result. The fact that we pray indicates that we have a burden, but we may still have no power to carry it out. Therefore, we must look to the Lord. This pleases Him. We should also believe that the Lord hears our prayer. I hope that all the districts will highly esteem this matter. The church in Taipei has a rich foundation and also has the practice of the home meetings, group meetings, and district meetings. As long as we implement these practices, there will definitely be a good result.

At present there are four groups of people attending the meetings. First, there are those who have been meeting in the meeting halls for many years. Second, there are those who have been gained from the communities. Among these, about five thousand have remained, three thousand of whom attend the meetings every week. Third, there are the other two thousand who come to the meetings less often but are willing to have home meetings. Fourth, there are the college and secondary-school students. To bring people into the church life, especially those in the third and fourth groups, is not an easy matter. Most of the new ones in the communities are willing to meet only in the homes. It is not easy even to bring them to a group meeting. Therefore, visitation is particularly important.

As for the students, we hope that their number will increase. Once the number increases, they may need to have their own districts and groups. However, if the students always meet by themselves, they will lack the contact with the older brothers and sisters, and in the long run there will be a loss. If they have never lived an all-encompassing church life, they will have problems later on. This need requires our study. In addition, the students usually do not come to the Lord’s Day meeting. Hence, it is worthwhile to study to find a way to remedy this.

Counting the Number and Producing a Budget in Each District

We need to count the number among these four groups of people in each district. Then based on the statistics, we may consider how many can share the responsibility of caring for them. As we care for people, we cannot allow them to remain in the stage of home meetings without any contact with the church. Just as in raising children, we need to consider how they can progress. It is a great shortcoming to always bring the meetings to the new ones’ homes without gradually infusing them with the truth that Christians should not live an individualistic life but must have fellowship with other believers and be brought into the small groups. Since the progress of the new ones is based on our supply, we should all evaluate our practice and seek definite ways to improve. Moreover, we must lead them to know the Lord’s way and the ground of locality. This also is crucial.

We should take attendance in the meetings and use these statistics to produce a budget and a plan. In doing so, we should consider the actual situation, aiming neither too high nor too low. As we promote this all year round, we will have good results. We need to persevere in this practice, and we need to change and improve. However, we must also be stable. Based on the situation of the attendants in the district meetings, the leading ones should diligently study to seek improvement. In our practice, however, we should always be stable. We should not be like a ship without a rudder, floating with the current and wandering freely. Rather, we must always labor with stability and perseverance. We must labor every week, evaluate every week, and make corrections every week. Only in this way will we progress. (CWWL, 1987, vol. 3, “An Evaluation of the Change of System in the Church Life,” ch. 4)

TAKING GOD’S-ORDAINED WAY
TO ORGANICALLY BUILD UP THE BODY OF CHRIST

By this God-ordained way everyone will be perfected, everyone will be useful, and everyone will have the development of his capacity in the divine life. Every saint will be occupied, and no time, energy, or persons will be wasted. The numbers will increase, and the life and spiritual knowledge will grow. We need to cooperate with our Lord to take His ordained way to organically build up the Body of Christ. (CWWL, 1986, vol. 3, “Elders’ Training, Book 9: The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (1),” ch. 11)

 

Discussion:

1.    What is the proper condition of the increase groups and districts?

2.    How to fellowship with the responsible brothers about the increase groups and districts?

3.    How to carry out the increase groups and districts with the saints?