The Power of Multiplication
Numbers are everywhere in scripture. From census numbers to the number of people Jesus fed with five loaves and two fish, it seems like God’s people were always counting something. The practice continues today.
As churches leaders we count attendance, offering, venues and volunteers. We count these to assess church health. The question is, are we measuring the right things?
In many countries, all over the world, the church is multiplying. Thousands of people are encountering the grace of God for the first time through multiplying movements of disciples. What’s preventing us from seeing this happening in North America? Could it be a wrong scorecard?
At Passion for Planting we want to equip leaders to start healthy multiplying churches, and we know that one barrier that prevents multiplication is a faulty scorecard. Most churches are focused on attracting as many people as possible and filling seats, and their scorecard reflects these goals (attendance, services, volunteers, etc.). However, multiplying churches develop a different scorecard and focus on making disciples and sending them out to make more disciples, oftentimes through starting new churches.
At Passion for Planting we want to help you take steps towards multiplication. To help you with that we’ve filled this newsletter with resources designed to help you evaluate your church’s scorecard and embed multiplication DNA into the life of your church. Ready. Set. Multiply!
–Dale Spaulding, Director
October 2017 – Contents
- Multiplication Assessment
- Multiplication Course
- Multiplication Strategy Template
- Multiplication Distinctives
Multiplication Assessment
Philip Yancey once reflected on the grace of God and described the mathematics of the gospel as atrocious. Citing the parable of the vineyard workers in which every worker received the same wage even though they had worked varying lengths of time, Yancey exclaimed, “God’s grace doesn’t add up!” His economy works differently. Jesus’ math made many of the religious leaders uneasy because they were used to earning favor with God through rule keeping and religious ritual.
Perhaps the idea of multiplication makes you a bit uneasy. Perhaps you want to lead a big church and the thought of developing people to send them out seems antithetical to your mission. There’s nothing wrong with leading a big church, but Jesus did have something against burying the resources he entrusts to you. Is your church developing leaders and sending them out to make disciples? Don’t guess. Take this free Multiplication Assessment brought to you by Exponential and measure the culture of multiplication that permeates your church today.
Multiplication Course
Believe it or not, there was a time in your life when you didn’t know how to multiply. You learned, though, and it revolutionized the way you counted. Instead of relying on addition and counting every single item, you multiplied groups and found your answer with one equation. Just as learning how to multiply accelerated your counting skills, so too learning to multiply will accelerate your church’s ability to impact God’s Kingdom.
Our friends at Exponential want to help your church multiply. That’s why they’ve designed this free Multiplication Course geared to equip your church with the knowledge, tools, and resources needed to multiply.
Multiplication Strategy Template
Leaders know that hope is not a strategy. You can’t just wish something into existence. Yes, sometimes God blesses us when we don’t deserve it and moves in spite of ourselves, but more often he works through the plans we develop in his name.
Proverbs 14:15 says, “A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thoughts to his steps.” Hoping your church will multiply puts you in the category of the simple man, but developing a multiplication strategy reveals your prudence. Use Passion for Planting’s free Multiplication Strategy Template to help jump start your multiplication journey.
Multiplication Distinctives
Is God calling you to start a church or is he calling you to start a church that starts churches? There is a big difference between the two. The difference is seen not only in the influence they yield for God’s Kingdom, but the characteristics they model and behaviors they practice. What are some key distinctive found in multiplying churches? Paul Whaley of the Acts 29 Network shares his insight in What Every Church-Planting Church Must Have.
What’s your next step towards multiplication? Is it multiplying yourself, your church, your network? Whatever your next step is, don’t leave it up to chance. Seek God’s wisdom and guidance, develop a strategy, and then implement it!