first ,25 its self is FAR to large . we have to back up the bus and look at WHY we gather .in the lords will he says , MAKE MORE DISCIPLES .. no one person can effectively disciple 25 people all of differing levels of understanding and maturity in Christ and in the 25 probably 60% don't really want to do much else except meet fellowship eat and go home ,no mater how often they are instructed they never actually go and do what they hear instructed from the scripture .
We gather to build one another up in the faith (should NEVER BE about 1 person talking for ages)There should ALWAYS BE dialogue
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My original thinking years ago was 12, only because it was Biblical.
But when you look at the reality of the 12 concept, you talking about 12 men.
I revised what I had thought and decided 25 persons that would include two parents with approximately 3 children each.
Therefore is you had 6 couples that would be 12 adults, and 18 children of all ages, but then again, if you split the congregation in half when you reached 12 adults, you would always have only 6 adults because of the splitting process.
Therefore there would need to be for practical purposes more than 12 adults, that is why I said up to 50, which would allow for a split to take place and remain a viable body.
My further thought on the matter was, once a month, all of the groups which had split off from the original group would meet, and then all of the groups which had split from those groups would also be included in a meeting, thereby maintaining the continuity of the body.
You would also have to take into account how big the City you live in.
We have to remember, there were more than just the 12, following Jesus, maybe there were only 12 actually being discipled by Jesus, because 12 is a comfortable number for one person to teach, also 12 is the number of Authority.
Anyhow, I found that a hard and fast rule of 12 is an impractical number, as I have said, there are other factors to take into consideration in today's day and age.
But overall I believe the concept would still work if followed correctly.