Church Planting Series: Creating a Culture of Multiplication

By amazon Wednesday, October 2, 2019 Comment Edit

Multiplication always starts small.

In 1982, Heather Locklear did a shampoo commercial about a new product. As she tells viewers, she told two friends about the new shampoo. Then, those friends told two more. And so on and so forth. The video uses graphics to make it seem much cornier than it actually is, but the point is clear; Heather Locklear summarized what a culture of multiplication looks like.

It’s simple math, really. It’s not new. This way of spreading information has been around for as long as we can go back. Think of middle school, for example. One kid starts a rumor. He tells another person who tells another, and by fifth period the story has traveled around the entire school.

We also see this culture of multiplication when it comes to church planting.

Scripture sums it up pretty well. 2 Timothy 2:2 tells us, “These things you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” It’s clear that we are made to share the good news with others. We are made to grow one another for the sake of God’s kingdom.

This is the culture of multiplication.

Multiplying Churches

Imagine if this culture was somehow in every avenue of our churches. Imagine if disciples multiplied into new disciples. Imagine if each of our small groups doubled or quadrupled in size because its members constantly made new disciples. Imagine if we could use this model to eventually multiply churches.

It sounds perfect and easy on paper, but when people get involved, multiplication is not perfect. The idea is great, but the realities of bringing people to church, let alone making new disciples, often hold people back from fully embracing a culture of multiplication. Reaching out to people ...