This free guide can show us how to create small groups of new Christians quickly and effectively into small group Christian leaders that multiply naturally with minimal effort and time. We give and support the Christian groups and its leaders with a complete step by step off-the-shelf 12 months Christian discipleship course that is simple to use and easy to understand.
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Free growing deep and strong guide
1. How To Create Small Groups Of New Christians Quickly
And Effectively Into Small Group Christian Leaders That
Multiply Organically With Minimal Effort And Input
FREE
20 Page Report
Plus bonus pages
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2. HOW TO BUILD AND MULTIPLY SMALL GROUPS OF NEW BELIEVERS QUICKLY AND EFFECTIVELY.
One That Will Give New Believers A Solid Biblical Foundation,
Become Strong in Their Faith,
Live a Holy and Sanctified Life 24/7.
A Format That is Simple to Administrate
Easy to Follow and
Multiplies Groups Organically and Naturally
Building and multiplying small groups of new believers is one of the
single most challenging issues a Christian leader faces today.
The problems usually faced can be one or several of the following;
In general, a lack of materials that are available to take a new believer on an
intentional discipleship path, one that will build solid biblical foundations in a
logical cohesive manner
Limited availability of discipleship methods for dealing with the emotional and
demonic baggage a new believer carries with them.
The risk of developing Christians who remain shallow in their faith, “talk the talk”
but don’t “walk the walk”.
A lack of unity and direction
A lack of leaders’ materials that is simple to use, easy to implement and remains
consistently biblical in its foundations.
Power or leadership struggles in the gatherings with hidden agendas
One or more people who dominate the gatherings
The risk of shallow or surface relationships developing that have no depth or
richness
A lack of enduring and endearing relationships
Gatherings that become sickly, introverted and lifeless
Strangers remain feeling as strangers and no depth of relationship is developed
And the list could go on and on
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3. Hi, my name is Carl John Fechner, I’m known as a Bible Life
Coach, Author and Co-Founder of the Growing Deep and Strong
Series.
I provide and support Christian Leaders with a complete step by
step off-the-shelf 12 months Bible Study Discipleship Program,
that is simple to use, easy to understand and multiplies small groups organically,
the program takes a person from a pagan background to a Christian small group
leader in 12 months or less.
And David W Searle is my co-author, he is known in the
Christian community as a gifted pastor and teacher with a
rich Christian heritage and co-author of the Growing Deep
and Strong series, he is a trained Secondary School
Teacher, has a Diploma of Divinity,
Licentiate of Theology, Bachelor of Arts with Honors, majoring in Biblical Hebrew
and Biblical Archaeology,
Graduate Certificate in Ministry, Counseling, and Certificate in Business
Management,
A UNIQUE TEAM
As co-authors of the Growing Deep and Strong series, we each have very unique
gifts and experiences that work really well together. This has caused Growing
Deep and Strong to be rich in content with a strong Biblical emphasis, yet very
easily understood by new believers who have no church background.
David W. Searle's rich Christian heritage and strong Biblical background,
combined with Carl J. Fechner's understanding of today's worldview bring a
unique balance to the material making it relevant and understandable to new
converts by presenting the word of God simply. The material is written in a way
that takes the new believer on a journey of personal discovery through the Bible
that is relevant in today's society, and applies God's standards to the way life
should be lived.
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4. HOW TO BUILD AND MULTIPLY SMALL GROUPS OF NEW BELIEVERS QUICKLY AND EFFECTIVELY.
Now that I have introduced ourselves, let me first make the comment that there
are many different suggestions and models to follow
But:
Here Is What We Have Found Works
BONDING;
For a Small Group to bond and build endearing, rich and deep relationships they
need to spend time together
In our world today, we all seem to be time starved and the art of conversation
over dinner has broken down into grabbing something quick and easy and
conversation has become not much than snippets before we go onto the next
item on our busy schedule.
And most meeting formats are set up so that you gather together on a
predetermined evening after dinner at someone’s home around 7.30 - 7.45 pm.
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5. The First Thing To Change Is The Format!!!
We recommend everybody come together for the evening meal, now before you
run off in your thoughts, this does not have to be complicated, on the next page,
(we will explain why we suggest having a meal together), we have done it for
years and it is simple if you follow a few guidelines,
This is what we suggest and we found it worked
keep the meal very simple,
Don’t let it become a cooking contest
Everybody brings a plate of food to share. Some will precook a dish, some
will buy take away. It’s okay. We never formalise this. We just allow
everybody to bring what they desire. (Well, sometimes we have had to
suggest that a packet of biscuits is not really a meal!)
I must admit, we usually end up suggesting the host make a dessert
As we got know each other, we found some people had certain dishes they
like to cook and bring, so as a group we discussed the options and came to
a mutual agreement on who might like to bring what, and this was only
done after we had been sharing meals together for some time.
We worked hard at keeping it simple and informal.
In some cases we even used disposable plates and cutlery if it looked like a
heap of dishes was a strain on the host
RECOMMENDED TIME: 45-60 minutes
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6. THE PURPOSE WAS NOT THE MEAL
Hey! Don’t miss this important step: In our agenda-driven
world we can easily forget that we are human beings not
human doings!
The outcome and purpose of having a meal together was;
Eating together broke down hidden barriers,
it is difficult to “mask” and put food into your mouth at the same time.
It gave people time to relax and separate their work day from the time
together
If people were having issues in their private world, it would usually show up
in their demeanour, body language etc.
It helped to pick up on the tone of the meeting.
It allowed for personal one on one interaction.
People became relaxed, got to know more about each other in this style of
atmosphere, and it began to build relationships that went beyond just
meeting in that particular group
People were more relaxed and open to the next stage of the evening
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7. You will be amazed at the depth of relationship building and
bonding this simple act of meeting together for a meal will do
(in the New Testament, they continually met in this manner)
PLEASE NOTE; from a house keeping point of view, with this type of meeting
format, it is important that everybody cleans up afterward, not just a select few
or just the women. Do not let it become a burden on the host and
MEN: THIS IS A JOINT HELP TIME, Everybody pitch in and help.
TIME FRAME
This is what we have found the most productive for new believers
Relationship building is of paramount importance,
so we strongly recommend that you;
Meet weekly.
Predetermine what is the ideal evening of the week.
Come to a common agreement about what is the most suitable time to
gather for a meal.
Involve everyone in these decisions so that they can take ownership of the
gatherings.
It will never be perfect for everyone, but work hard at making it as
convenient and suitable for everyone.
This will help eliminate the likelihood of anyone claiming that they are not
coming because the time frame didn’t suit them.
This is about lifestyle, not another job to go to or “dictatorship” by a leader,
so involve everyone in the formation of the gatherings.
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8. THINK RELATIONSHIP BUILDING, BUILDING TRUST
Trust cannot be demanded, it can only be earned.
It is invisible, yet real.
You will find that most people have become….
Cynical; they are living in a world of broken promises….
A society that no longer values integrity, good character and high moral
standards….
Where truth is in most cases is not much more than lip service….
A society where prominent leaders and celebrities are poor role models….
And in general do not demonstrate integrity, honesty and values that we as
Christians hold and value dearly.
Jesus Christ became a servant leader to all and so must you; it cannot be a play
on words but a heart attitude.
This Must Be First And Foremost In The Mind Of
You The Leader
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9. Small Group Dynamics
The following is a diagram and explanation of the typical life cycle of a small
group or team project.
The various stages or phases of small group development can be seen in the
following diagram.
completion
(celebration)
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PRODUCTIVITY
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TIME
CREATION: The creation phase is when the group forms, there is
excitement and productivity however it is generally a bit of a “honeymoon
period.
CONFLICT: The conflict stage involves some storming within the team.
This is when there are power struggles, personality clashes, testing of
authority, status, wariness of one another and what each other may want,
personal agendas emerge and there is a general sense of chaos.
The productivity drops dramatically as there is a loss of focus.
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10. If there is no resolution of the conflict issues within the team then this can
cause irrevocable damage and ultimate disintegration of the team.
The positive outcome from this stage is that often the God given gifts of
each individual are discovered.
COHESION: The cohesion phase or otherwise known as the “norming” stage
is when the small group pulls together having worked through any conflict
issues and the productivity improves.
This is when the real work begins.
CONSTRUCTION: The construction phase or performance phase shows the
benefits of having worked through issues within the small group and a building
of trust.
There is a corporate vision which has emerged as opposed to individual visions
and the decisions made now conform to the corporate vision.
This also demonstrates a synergy within the small group of being more
productive together as a team.
This phase is leading the small group to bond together establishing
boundaries of mutual respect and allowing the group to trust one another by
walking with each other through personal challenges
CRUMBLING: This phase of the team dynamics is when the task for which the
team was first formed has now been completed. There is a celebration of
achievement and at the same time there is a sense of mourning as the team
will now naturally disband. Though disbandment will happen the legacy will
continue through the relationships left to those in established positions of
leadership.
This last issue is somewhat typical of church thinking and applies to church tasks
or activities.
This should never be the case with small groups.
Small groups should multiply by natural growth and relationship.
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11. A GODLESS SOCIETY
This is the challenge for all Christian leaders today.
We now have a society in the western world which is basically unchurched,
meaning
They have no Christian or church background….
They have little or no Bible knowledge and in….
Most cases have never opened a bible in their life.
Carl’s Experience
And this was where I came from, so, much of what the church just assumed was
normal “everybody knows that” stuff left me stranded and confused
In the early days of my Christian journey, I felt somewhat intimidated and
embarrassed by my lack of knowledge and that expectation by those around me
that I should know that
Man, I didn’t know the books of the Bible, I knew there was an Old Testament
and a New Testament, but that was all I knew!
And why this man Jesus died on the Cross, well, that was the dumbest thing I
had ever heard! (PS. I now know why!)
Like me, many of these new believers are ignorant, misinformed and have a real
and total lack of knowledge about the Bible and Christianity.
SPIRITUAL BABIES
It is important that you view new Christians as spiritual babies, and just like a
natural baby, it is imperative that you give them intense nurturing and protection.
It would be absurd to treat a natural baby like an adult, yet in many cases we
tend to do that with our new spiritual babies.
We place on them unrealistic expectations, or we leave them to their own devices
and hope that they will grow up via some sort of self-discovery process.
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12. Well, that is like throwing someone into swimming pool
and saying. “Here! Learn to swim.”
The result is one of two things
1/ they drown, (“backslide,” leave the church, abandon Christianity.)
2/ they do learn to swim, but without proper instruction, they will form bad habits
and never reach there full potential. (become Carnal, worldly Christians lacking all
that God has for them)
As leaders, like natural parents, we have a responsibility to nurture, grow and
develop our new spiritual babies into strong mature Christians who are capable of
leading and discipling others.
Now many of you reading this; know this already and have a real desire to see
these new spiritual babies grow into dynamic small group leaders and are lacking
effective, seamless discipleship materials or methods.
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13. SMALL GROUP LEADERS
Billy Graham once made this profound but true statement
“When God’s people are truly revived and renewed spiritually, it results
in a new vision for a lost world and a new commitment to reach out to
those who do not belong to Christ.”
Do this well and you will have the nucleus of dynamic small group leaders.
For you to develop dynamic small group leaders, you must first revive and renew
spiritually your new baby Christians, or in the case of many Christian
communities, revive and renew your existing Christian community
They could be described as an artist’s blank canvas and God is the painter and
you are His brush
AN INTENTIONAL DISCIPLESHIP PATH
Many of our current programs assume that the new believer has a basic
understanding of Christianity
In most societies today this is not true.
This is the first fatal mistake that many of us make as Christian leaders
We must come from a place of assuming that this new Christian baby lacks any
knowledge pertaining to God, His Word and how to live according to the Word of
God.
THE GOOD NEWS
The good news is that these new spiritual babies are like a blank canvas, and the
Master Painter can create His work of art upon their soul.
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14. OUR RESPONSIBILITY
God has given us as Christian leaders the responsibility to nurture and develop or
disciple these new spiritual babies into strong mature Christian leaders.
HERE IS WHAT I DISCOVERED
When my wife and I first became Christians,
we discovered that most of the teachings;
Was piece meal stuff i.e. bits and pieces….
Had no progressive or seamless journey of discovery and growth….
Was not relevant to our level of understanding as new Christians from an
unchurched background….
Was denominationally biased only portions of the Bible that suited their
doctrines.
We were hungry for God, so we found ourselves in a place where we had to go
and actively seek out help and discipleship materials outside our Christian
community.
Now you may say, “Well that only happened within your Christian circle of
influence.” But after many years on my Christian journey I have discovered that
this is a common phenomenon right across the Christian community.
And it really became evident while we were national coordinators for a global
ministry and met thousand of poorly discipled Christians
It really grieved me to see the body of Christ in such a poor condition.
It wasn’t just us but literally thousand of others have been poorly discipled.
HERE IS WHAT I FOUND WORKS
And it can work for you,
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15. What you need is a simple to understand, easy to implement mentoring program
that builds strong Christian leaders that can duplicate what they have learned to
build and multiply small groups.
My co-author David W Searle and I spent six years and thousands upon
thousands of hours creating a mentoring program called the
Growing Deep and Strong series
And in essence
We show you how you can take our simple, easy to implement and
administrate, off-the-shelf- 12 months bible study mentoring program,
called the Growing Deep and Strong series that will take a person from a
pagan background and establish them in a strong, mature and sound
biblical relationship with God within 6 months, and within 12 months,
become a discipler or mentor of others building small groups that
multiply themselves organically with minimal input and supervision
We have seen it change and transform the lives of people with a diverse range of
backgrounds.
Now you may choose to use our program or write your own, the following is the
theme that we would recommend you take.
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16. This is what makes ours work
We have written the Growing Deep and Strong Series from our life experiences
We have four nine week modules and two Encounter Weekends
Each module has a Coach’s Manual which makes it
Easy for anyone to teach another person….
With filled-in answers….
Has questions for review and group discussion….
It is easy follow and teach.
Each module has a Disciple’s Manual and is an excellent tool for Christian growth.
It is:
easy to read….
Simple in its approach….
Encouraging one's personal involvement as one discovers Bible answers for
themselves….
A good exercise in discipline.
It provides the triangle of learning:
Through the eye-gate (verbal presentation),
The ear-gate (group discussions)
The touch-gate (writing as the answers are discovered).
We have found this is the best method of learning.
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17. We call Module One Laying the Foundation
And like what the name suggests we lay down a strong Biblical foundation
covering topics such as
We have found these topics build a strong foundation that will last for rest of the
disciple’s life.
1/ Behind The Scenes DVD presentation, as an introduction and orientation
Then eight sessions covering foundational principles such as,
2/ A New Life, and how to use the Bible
We take the time to show them how to use all the great features of this NKJV
Spirit Filled Life Bible
This will give them the skills to use this Bible for life, not just for The Growing
Deep and Strong series
3/ Kingdom of Darkness
This session reveals who their old ruler was, how he influenced their lives and
decisions they made.
4/ Kingdom of Light
This session introduces them to the Godhead,
Particularly God the Father, as part of this session,
We use the story of the prodigal son as an example, no matter what their
background was, they have a loving Father in heaven who loves them
unconditionally
5/ Why Jesus Came
This session we go right back to the Garden of Eden, how the choices made then
affected man’s relationship with his Creator, this session reveals the life of Jesus
on earth and why He came and chose to be the sacrifice that restores our
relationship with our Father in Heaven
6/ The Holy Spirit our Helper
This session brings the person of The Holy Spirit alive, the session reveals His real
and tangible existence and influence in our lives today.
7/ Existence of Angels
This sessions acknowledges the biblical existence of angels both good and evil,
and helps the believer
Understand their purpose and that angel worship is forbidden.
An important session that blows away all the misconceptions about Spirit Guides,
mediums, angel worship, etc.
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19. “It Has Given Me Skills for Every Area of My Life”
This is what Andrew said about our program
“Found it laid out very well and easy to understand… each lesson followed on
from the previous in a real logical way… Laying The Foundation cleared up a few
misconceptions… laid a good foundation….cleaned up a bit of the rubbish… the
“homework” wasn’t to heavy, helped the lesson sink in… the Bible we used was
great with all the extra…..Growing Deep and Strong gave me a map… it pulled it
altogether… it has given me skills for every area of my life….a husband, a father
and a better person in general… reinforced truth… who God is… why Jesus came…
what Christianity is about…”
“The Manuals Made It Simple To Coach Others”
This is what Tammy said about the coach’s manauls
“…. it was a learning curve…. interesting to see the dynamics at work… we had a
small group of people we were responsible for… we each had 3-5 people to
coach… the manuals are fantastic… They outlined and gave direction on what to
speak about… What questions to bring up and discuss… gave us guidelines… it
gave us back up and knowledge… A lot of depth and knowledge in the scriptures…
And was brought out in simplistic terms… And was really easy to teach in
simplistic terms… it was great…”
Greg Nichols said this
In my journey as a Christian, nothing has accelerated my knowledge, faith and
love for the Lord more than the Growing Deep and Strong series, which was like
stepping on to a ‘fast train’.
I really liked the relaxed setting, commencing each week with a meal with other
new Christians and our coaches which was combined with great teaching and
course material.
I also found the Personal Discovery and Encounter Weekend to be really valuable.
The course fast tracked my growth as a new Christian, connected me with new
eternal friends and introduced me into the life of my church.
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20. GROWING IN MATURITY
In Module One, we approached the new disciple as a new spiritual baby.
In Module Two, we want to come with an attitude of likening the disciple to that
of a teenager approaching adulthood, marriage and having children; they are
becoming responsible for their own decisions and actions and in this Module we
want to teach them godly principles that will develop their character.
Module Two comprises ten sessions and deals with developing godly character.
Power principles are addressed
such as
1/ The power of praise and worship,
We chose this as the first topic, after experiencing the healing power of God in
the Encounter One Weekend the disciples will be open to Praising and
worshipping God.
We cover, why should we worship God? Praise and Worship defined and how we
worship God.
2/ Talking with God
We titled this talking with God, we wanted to clearly demonstrate that it is a two
way conversation, not just a one way dialogue, we teach them how to talk with
God and we give the disciple 10 ways that they can hear from God using
examples from the Bible
And how to confirm what they heard is correct.
3/ Power of possessions
Our western world is consumed by materialism and we want to bring Biblical
balance, In this session we cover, covetous, peril of self-sufficiency, worry wealth,
poverty, principle of rest and God gives wealth.
4/ Power of giving
Christian liberality, setting the scene, liberal giving, doing good to those in the
household of faith doing good to those that teach, doing good for the poor and
radical change.
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21. 5/ Power of our words
We open this session with taming the tongue, we use the story of the Israelites
coming out of Egypt, God’s promises, the mixed report, negative and positive
words and the consequences of the spoken word. We cover the creative power of
words and practical steps to take.
In the next four sessions we have endeavoured to cover the timeline of a human
being from birth through to marriage and having a family.
The intent was that regardless of what age the disciple is, they can reflect back
on their life or look to the future and align their lives with God’s word.
6/ Power of Parenthood
In this session we cover, miracle of human birth, a helpless child, how God sees
children, how a child sees parents, learn by example, obedience and discipline.
7/ Power of integrity
In a world that is losing its moral character
We want to teach the disciples society’s package vs. God’s package, the power of
integrity, walking in integrity, teenage years, our thought life, lawlessness
defined, submission and change of heart
8/ Power of Purity
God’s grand design for our body, immorality, who defrauds whom, pornography,
purity in dress and marriage partnership
9/
Power of a Godly family
This session covers, leave and cleave, a helper, unequally yoked, privilege of
marriage, husband’s responsibilities, wife’s responsibilities, marriage covenant,
divorce, parenthood, abortion and creating a Christian Heritage.
“Wow, is that The Power Of A Godly Family!”
This is what Dulari said about Module two
“I came from a dysfunctional family….a rebellious little girl… wow, is that how a
Godly family is supposed to be!………. how it is supposed to be… it was a real
revelation… A family is really a fantastic institution when it is done Gods’ way… I
discovered what a family is supposed to be….”
This module concludes with another Encounter Weekend
Where ungodly character issues that have come to the surface in this Module are
addressed in a safe environment.
And we cover such topics as;
Offence
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22. Bitterness and its roots
Words and word curses
Integrity
Possessions
Giving
purity
soul ties
House cleaning, etc, etc.
Demonic influences and other blocks to the development of godly character are
removed so that the disciples can walk in freedom from them and live in the
power of godly character
By now new Christians using our program have been on the journey for 6
months and have discovered God in a very personal way and have built a real and
vibrant relationship with God.
This is what Andrea A wrote about the Encounter One
Weekend
I am so grateful for this course. It has been such a blessing in my life.
I found the teaching material easy to understand, while at the same time it
challenged and encouraged me to think for myself about how the teaching applied
in my own life.
The Encounter Weekend was an awesome and enlightening experience. I went
into the weekend a little cautious and nervous, but now I am very glad that I
went along. I had no idea that I needed deliverance, but God did, and He touched
me at the Encounter Weekend in a very personal and powerful way.
I know that I will never be the same again because of the Growing Deep and
Strong series. My Encounter Weekend experience and the teaching have helped
me to become a much happier and stronger Christian.
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23. As Billy Graham said;
When God’s people are truly revived and renewed spiritually, it results in
a new vision for a lost world and a new commitment to reach out to
those who do not belong to Christ
Evangelism is the fruit of revival
With this in mind,
We created Module three, The War is Real
By now your disciples will be
“On fire for God”….
Truly revived and renewed spiritually….
Wanting to reach out to those in there circle of influence….
experiencing the real and vibrant relationship they….
now have with their new King and Ruler of their lives
Module Three is aimed at teaching and equipping the disciples to pray for the
people they know who remain in the kingdom of darkness.
And help them discover their own unique God-given gifts and how they can best
use their gifts as they serve God.
This Module teaches firstly on
Spiritual warfare….
Combining prayer, worship, intercession and fasting….
As spiritual weapons against the enemy who has blinded these people.
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24. The second aspect is to help the disciples
Apply the principles of prayer warfare practically….
By targeting three people in their circle of influence….
And praying for them over a 40 day period….
With the aim of seeing them come into the kingdom of God
We created a DVD called Behind The Scenes which is an effective evangelism
tool for presenting the Gospel to their friends at the conclusion of their 40-day
prayer warfare, this is available free from our web site.
New disciples of Jesus are the result of prayer warfare and
evangelism.
This is how new groups of brand new believers can be
multiplied.
Ideally, the person who prayed new believers into God’s kingdom would follow
them up, and become their coach.
With the oversight of their current coach they would assist the new believer to
begin Module One while they themselves complete Module Four.
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