G12 Vision

The G12 Vision is a Christian evangelism and discipleship strategy to fulfill the Great Commission. It is founded upon the idea that every Christian can mentor and lead twelve people in the Christian faith, following the example of Jesus.[1] It was conceived by Pastor César Castellanos in 1983, after Castellanos said he received a vision from God instructing him to implement this structure of cell groups of twelve. It was first modeled in his church in Bogotá, Colombia which has now grown up from an originally 8 members up to 200,000 members, composing of 45,000 cell groups.

History

Pastor César Castellanos developed the G12 strategy after visiting with Pastor David Yonggi Cho, who had successfully implemented a cell-group structure in the Yoido Full Gospel Church in South Korea. With about 1,000,000 members (2007), Yoido is the largest Protestant Christian congregation in the world.[2]

Pastor César returned to his church, Misión Carismática Internacional in Bogotá, Colombia, with the revelation that he received from God while he was in South Korea — that God had given him a vision which would increase the number of Christian believers and help him to care for the growing numbers of people.[1]

Aim of the G12 Vision

The aim of the G12 Vision is to form disciples with a Christ-like character who in turn will 'go and make disciples' as commanded by Jesus. Through prayer, encounters with God, teaching, support and encouragement, disciples are then encouraged to also make disciples. In both theory and example this process leads the church to grow exponentially, without losing accountability of Christian values due to the eventual size of the church.

G12 Methodology

The G12 Vision is based on the methodology used by Jesus to begin his ministry, when he chose the Twelve Apostles. Following his 40 days temptation in the desert, the first act of Jesus in his ministry was to form a group of 12 disciples, who were all men. (Mark 3:14). Additionally, in the book of Acts the first action taken by the 11 remaining disciples (Judas Iscariot having been instrumental in Jesus' eventual crucifixion and therefore no longer part of the group ) 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. Jesus of course included women in His group of disciples,Mary Magdalene and His own Mother for example but the men only are counted as Apostles. (Acts 1:26). It was only after the re-established as a 12, that the day of Pentecost came, although Jesus had already appeared to both men and women and many men and women were present, not just the 12 Apostles, when the Holy Spirit fell at Pentecost.

It should be noted that this methodology was never implemented by any one of Jesus' disciples, in their individual ministries. While Jesus chose twelve men to disciple, he never taught the practice as a foundational truth to follow for his apostles or any of his disciples.

The G12 Vision is explained by Pastor Cesar in his self-published books, Dream and you will Win the World,[3] and Successful Leadership Through the Government of 12.[4]

Ladder of Success

"Ladder of Success" is used to describe the main steps of the G12 Vision.[5]

G12 International Conference

An annual G12 International Conference is held in Bogotá, Colombia in January and is hosted by Misión Carismática Internacional church. The President of Colombia has frequently attended these events. Former President of Colombia (2002–2010) Álvaro Uribe attended in 2004,[6] 2005,[7] 2007,[8] 2008,[9] and 2009.[10][11] In 2006, Senator Germán Vargas Lleras attended and in 2010, former Minister of Defence and future President, Juan Manuel Santos spoke at the conference.[12] At the 2012 conference Álvaro Uribe returned to thank the church and delegates for their prayers and support during his time in government.[13] In 2013, former President Uribe and current President Santos attended the conference as special guests. Over the years, there have been many influential leaders and pastors attending the international conference; such as, Prophet Cindy Jacobs, Martin Smith of Delirious, Cece Winans, John Maxwell, and many more.

G12 Internationally

Many churches of all denominations around the world work with the G12 Vision.[14][15] Conferences are held each year on every continent.[16]

Concerns

The G12 Vision movement considered controversial by some pastors and Christian organizations,[17][18] with some going as far as calling it a cult[19] or a pyramid scheme.[20]

Joel Comiskey

In 2002, Joel Comiskey, founder of the Joel Comiskey Group raised concerns about the G12 Vision,[21] saying "I'm deeply troubled by what we are observing in the G12 movement today", with concerns of "Spiritualization of the Number Twelve in the Bible, Franchising of the G12 model, and The division this model is causing".

Personal Experiences

There are many negative personal experiences from former members.[22][23][24][25][26]

References

  1. 1 2 What is G12?
  2. ↑ "O come all ye faithful". The Economist. Special Report on Religion and Public Life. 2007-11-03. p. 6. Retrieved 2007-11-05.
  3. ↑
  4. ↑
  5. ↑ The Wall Street Journal, 'Spreading the Word--Fast'
  6. ↑ INTERVENCIÓN ANTE LA CONVENCION INTERNACIONAL DE LA MISION CARISMÁTICA
  7. ↑ Palabras del presidente Uribe en convención de Misión Carismática Internacional
  8. ↑ XX CONVENCIÓN CARISMÁTICA INTERNACIONAL G – 12
  9. ↑ Palabras del Presidente Álvaro Uribe en la Convención Anual de la Misión Carismática Internacional
  10. ↑ Palabras del Presidente Álvaro Uribe en la Convención de la Misión Carismática Internacional
  11. ↑ Christian Today, 'British pastor praises Colombian president'
  12. ↑ Christian Today, 'Christians welcome Colombian presidential victory for Santos'
  13. ↑ G12 Conference Photos 2012
  14. ↑ The Straits Times, 'Megachurch: Colombia'
  15. ↑ Charisma, 'Church-Growth Strategy Goes Global'
  16. ↑ G12 Conferences
  17. ↑ "MISIÓN CARISMÁTICA INTERNACIONAL (G12) CFAR Summary". The Centers for Apologetics Research. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
  18. ↑ Lawson, Chris. "G12 - CULT, ABERRANT CHRISTIAN GROUP, OR BOTH". Spiritual Research Network. Spiritual Research Network, Inc. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
  19. ↑ Catorce, Isaias F. "Exposing the Dangers of G12". Retrieved 27 February 2013.
  20. ↑ Carrillo, Miguel Rosell. "G12; revealing the reality of that which is called Government of the Twelve; first part" (PDF). Retrieved 27 February 2013.
  21. ↑ Concerns about the G12 Movement
  22. ↑ Allen, Robert. "My Testimony (from a broken heart Pastor who used to be in G-12)" (PDF). Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  23. ↑ "Midwest Christian Outreach Journal, Spring 2007" (PDF). Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  24. ↑ "G12 Cult - A resource guide to learn more about the G12 religious movement". Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  25. ↑ "The Truth About the G12 Movement". Retrieved 28 February 2013. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  26. ↑ "Mission: Expose the G12 Cult & Generations Church in Yuma, Arizona". Retrieved 28 February 2013. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)

External links

Official sites

Discussions

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