The
human population of the world is growing at an exponential rate. It took from creation until early in the
eighteenth century A.D. to populate the earth with one billion people. In 1930 the earth was inhabited by two
billion people and in 1975 by four billion.
Demographers estimate that the earth will be populated by approximately
six billion human beings by the year 2000 and by eight billion by 2025.[1] The population of the earth has grown at such
a rate that more people are alive today than have ever lived in the entire
history of humankind.[2]
The
only means to reach this ever-expanding population of the world with the gospel
is through spiritual multipli-cation.[3] The church must make disciples of all nations
who will in turn make disciples, and so on, until "this gospel of the
kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all
nations," (Matt. 24:14). Just as it
was God's design and command at creation for humankind to be fruitful and to
multiply biologically, so it is his design and Christ's command that the church
be fruitful and multiply spiritually.[4]
The
principle
of multiplication states that the church grows by conversion to the
degree that it expands exponentially, enlarging its witness and reproducing
disciples, leaders, small groups and churches.
In other words, effective evangelism is dependent upon the church
growing in geometric proportions, multiplying and utilizing its spiritual,
human and physical resources to preach the good news to all creation.
Jesus
said, "The one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who
hears the word and understands it. He
produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown,"
(Matt. 13:23). If the church is to
fulfill the great commission in every generation, it must grow by spiritual
multiplication.
Multiplying
Friendships
The
church grows by multiplying its influence—enlarging its credible presence and
verbal proclamation of the gospel. Luke
records that during the first century "the word of God continued to
increase and spread," (Acts 12:24).[5] This is multiplying outreach, actively
sharing the good news, sowing the seed of the gospel broadly. As more and more people are exposed to the
message of Jesus Christ, especially those who are receptive, greater will be
the response.[6]
Local
churches can enlarge their witness as Christians take the initiative to share
the gospel, increasing the frequency of presenting the claims of Jesus Christ
to others. For example, if one hundred
believers who normally share the gospel 0.2 times each per year, multiply the
number of times they communicate the gospel to five times each per year, they
would reach five hundred people. If on
an average, one in ten unbelievers who hear the gospel receive Jesus Christ,
they would increase the number of people won to him from two to fifty!
This
requires, however, that Christians be spiritually prepared, trained and
mobilized to share the good news. The
expansion of the church throughout its history has depended upon the gospel
being proclaimed by all Christians regardless of their role or level of
spiritual maturity. Whenever the church
has depended solely upon full-time professionals, it has grown slowly, leveled
or declined.[7] It is therefore imperative that the church
not rely on pastors and evangelists alone to proclaim the gospel, but deploy as
many disciples as possible to share the good news.[8]
The
purpose for believers being equipped and mobilized is for them to reach those
within their spheres of influence-- within the church's corporate sphere of
relationships. Churches that are
pastor-dependent for evangelism limit the scope of their outreach to the
personal ministry of the pastor, plus the corporate activities of the
church. In contrast, churches that are
believer-dependent for evangelism multiply their outreach by the total number
of believers who are motivated, equipped and mobilized, including the pastor,
plus the effect of the corporate ministries of the church.
Churches
have the potential to influence an entire geographical area. The Apostle Paul commended such a church
saying, "The Lord's message rang out from you not only in Macedonia
Multiplying
Disciples
The
church grows by multiplying disciples--persuading others to believe in Jesus
Christ, incorporating them into the circle of fellowship, building them up in
the faith, and sending them into the world to reach others. Jesus practiced spiritual multiplication as
he selected twelve men and imparted to them his mission, vision and passion,
concentrating particularly upon three disciples--Peter, James and John. He prepared his disciples to carry on his
ministry of reconciliation and to multiply themselves as they trained others.[9] They were obedient to this task as Scripture
states, "So the word of God spread.
The number of disciples in Jerusalem
Disciple-making
is the groundwork for church growth by conversion. It is a process that begins slowly, taking
years before its wisdom becomes apparent.
As disciples reproduce themselves, they enlarge the band of disciples,
increasing their number and expanding their influence exponentially.[11] The Apostle Paul said, "Our hope is
that, as your faith continues to grow, our area of activity among you will
greatly expand, so that we can preach the gospel in regions beyond you,"
(2 Cor. 10:15-16).
As
the base of reproducing disciples expands, the mass is enlarged, magnifying the
presence of the church and increasing the proclamation of the good news. Jesus' master plan was not to reach the world
with the truth by himself, but to reproduce and multiply himself in the lives
of his disciples who were growing in Christ-likeness, representing him,
ministering to others as his body in the world.[12] His strategy was to expand the worker base
that gathers the harvest, to enlarge the pool of fishers of men, and to extend
the number of ambassadors sent to every nation.
It
is evident why spiritual multiplication is God's method for church growth. If a local church with 20 multiplying
disciples incorporates an equal number of new believers, and teaches, equips
and motivates them to reproduce themselves over a period of three years, at the
end of that period there would be 40 multiplying disciples. After six years at that rate, assuming all
are faithful to the great commission, there would be 80 multiplying disciples. After fifteen years, there would be 640 and
after 18 years there would be 1280 multiplying disciples. While this is an ideal example, it
illustrates the distinct advantage of spiritual multiplication.[13]
Multiplying
Leaders
The
church grows by multiplying leaders, continually expanding the core of
leadership as it reaches and serves a growing number of people.[14] These leaders are disciples who are
spiritually mature, gifted, trained and qualified to oversee the church. They are shepherds who lead, feed and protect
God's flock. The Apostle Paul
communicated to his apprentice Timothy, "And the things you have heard me
say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be
qualified to teach others," (2 Tim. 2:2).
Timothy was to continue his mentor's pattern of spiritual
multiplication--reproducing himself in faithful believers who would reproduce
themselves and so on.
This
pattern requires that multiplied disciples become multiplying disciples,
spiritual leaders who are able to instruct and guide Christians to apply the
truth of the Scriptures to their daily lives, calling them to serve God in
various forms. It requires that the
church generate leaders to minister as pastors, teachers, small group leaders and
care-givers, each laboring in the disciple-making process.[15] Leaders must develop new leaders who will
reproduce and multiply themselves in the lives of others.
Biblical
leadership requires apprenticeship, not only followership. Apprentices are disciples who learn from and
assist their mentors in their task or trade.
They are trained, supervised and deployed to assume a similar role and
responsibility as their mentors. They
either assume the task and position of their mentors who move on to a new responsibility,
or they begin a new work themselves.[16] With an emphasis upon multiplication,
evangelists train new evangelists to proclaim the gospel in unreached
areas. Experienced teachers instruct new
teachers to lead new Bible classes.
Small group leaders train new leaders to start new groups.
Church
growth by conversion is stifled when believers are not conferred the authority
and commissioned the respons-ibility for leadership. In churches where the pastor or staff perform
the shepherding function alone, the church grows minimally, if at all.
A
reason for lack of delegation may stem from a lack of disciple-making training
of pastors themselves, having never been adequately prepared for reproducing
disciples or multiplying leaders.
Another reason may be from their need for control and security, feeling
threatened or challenged by other leaders in the church.[17] However, pastors who confer authority and
delegate responsibility for leadership, foster spiritual growth and personal
development in believers, as well as, augment the numerical expansion of the
church.[18]
Multiplying
Small Communities
The
church grows by multiplying small groups, like cells that reproduce themselves
in the human body. As apprentices are
prepared, commissioned and deployed to start new groups, the rate of
multiplication increases. New believers
are incorporated into these groups, providing a setting for them to have their
various needs met. Consequently, the
church grows as the number of these small groups is increased.
Small
groups provide an entry point, a place for new converts to come into the
congregation.[19] The greater the number of small groups
offered, the greater the possibility that new converts will be
assimilated. Multiple groups appeal to a
variety of people who represent different needs, problems, backgrounds and
interests. Offering several groups that
are each designed to address particular differences, composed of believers with
certain affinities, will draw a larger number of people altogether.
A
congregation with various kinds of small groups such as adult classes, Bible
studies and support groups, must multiply the number of groups it offers in
proportion to the number of new disciples it must incorporate. The new groups offered should be more diverse
and specialized, such as groups for singles, engaged couples, young couples,
empty nesters, men, women, moms at home and working women. Support groups should be multiplied to
include bereavement, chemical dependency, co-dependency, divorce recovery, and
parenting groups.
Multiple
groups form a balanced infrastructure for a disciple-making environment,
producing an equilibrium between numerical, spiritual and organizational
growth, with groups designed for various levels of maturity and accountability.[20] A church grows numerically as it penetrates
its sphere of relationships, multiplying its outreach and incorporating new
believers into its circle of fellowship.
A church grows spiritually as believers are established in the faith and
encouraged toward Christ-likeness, extending the groups which form the band of
discipleship. A church grows
organizationally as qualified leaders are multiplied, enlarging the core of
leadership who shepherd the flock through small groups.
Multiplying
Churches
The
church grows by multiplying churches, applying spiritual multiplication in
every aspect--multiplying outreach, multiplying disciples, multiplying leaders
and multiplying small groups.[21] Historically, church planting has been the
most effective means of reaching large segments of the world's population with
the gospel, reproducing congregations among receptive peoples.[22] Therefore, the church must multiply itself,
planting autonomous groups of believers who gather for celebration and
edification and disperse for mission in the world.
The
goal is to plant churches in all nations, in all lands, so that all peoples
will have the opportunity to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Thus, the church must take the initiative,
being prepared to operate in the spiritual, social and personal realms, with a
confidence and a credible presence, and proclaim the gospel with a view toward
persuasion, incorporating those who believe in Christ and providing them with a
setting and stimulation for spiritual multiplication. The church must in turn plant new churches
which faithfully multiply themselves.[23]
In
obedience to the great commission, the church should set faith goals for every
aspect of multiplication. These goals
should be established in prayer in accordance with God's will, and with a
dependence upon the leading of the Holy Spirit.
The goals should be measurable and attainable but faith-stretching. They should include personnel, financial and
material goals that balance faith and wisdom, knowing that a spiritual harvest
requires the mobilization of God's resources.
If
the church is to grow by conversion it must practice the principle of
multiplication. Sound strategies of
evangelism are devoted to enlarging outreach and reproducing disciples,
leaders, groups and congregations. This
principle should be built into methods themselves, seeking to expand the
gospel's influence in people around the world.
Hence, churches should evaluate every aspect of multiplication as it
exists in their comprehensive ministries, and devise a strategy to increase the
areas that are deficient, seeking to be faithful and responsible to fulfill the
great commission in their Jerusalem , Judea,
Samaria and to the ends of the earth.
[5]The
Greek word plethyno means to
increase, multiply. Kittel and
Friedrich, eds., trans. Bromiley, 867.
[6]The
law of large numbers is a principle practiced in telemarketing campaigns which
target thousands of homes, calculating a small percentage return which is
significantly large in proportion to the church's average attendance.
[10]The
few hundred believers prior to Pentecost multiplied within three decades four
hundredfold, reaching upwards to 200,000 believers. By the end of the first century, the total
population of the church is estimated to have reached 500,000. Robert E. Coleman, The Masterplan of Discipleship (Tarrytown, NY: Fleming H. Revell,
1987), 39.
[14]David
Womack's pyramid principle states if a church wishes to serve more people, it
must first expand its base of organization, ministry, and leadership. Wagner, Arn and Towns, 297.
[19]Dale
E. Galloway, 20/20 Vision: How to Create
a Successful Church with Lay Pastors and Cell Groups (Portland, OR: Scott
Publishing Co., 1986), 105.
[21]C.
Peter Wagner, Church Planting for a
Greater Harvest: A Comprehensive Guide (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1990),
20, 31.
[22]John
N. Vaughan, "Trends Among the World's Twenty Largest Churches,"
Wagner, Arn and Towns, 132.
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