MP THultiplica The
of
by LARRy bARKER Director of North American Missions
T
he New Testament church was set on the path of multiplication in the Gospels. Churches need
to return to the path to which Jesus led the disciples in John 15: one of fruit, more fruit, and much fruit. Some have taken this to be a numbers game, but it is not. It is what Christ commands and what his followers demonstrated from the First to the Fourth Century. Te problem is that we are thinking “addition” while the Bible teaches “multiplication.” Meanwhile, the world is multiplying at an alarming rate. “Early Christianity was not spread by professionals but by ordinary people whose names and deeds went unrecorded,” said S. Addison. In Disciples Are Made Not Born,
Walter Hendrickson said, “Te reason
that the church of Jesus Christ finds it so difficult to stay on top of the Great Commission is that the population of the world is multiplying while the church is merely adding. Addition can never keep pace with multiplication.” Te path to multiplication begins with death. John 12:24 says, “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” Every church is called to intentionally commit to die together so that others might find God’s Kingdom. For whom is this path of
multiplication? Every born-again believer! Is it for small churches or large churches? All churches! What ministries should be involved? Every ministry! Is it for the young believer or the mature believer?
All believers! Is it for church planters or established churches? Both! We need to pray that God will raise up a generation of church planters who will transform their communities for Christ, and we need to pray for God to raise up leaders who love established churches and desire to see them multiply. “Reaching the harvest is the ultimate goal. Starting and multiplying new churches through the development of reproducing leaders is the only way we will be able to fully obey Jesus’ command to make disciples,” said Robert E. Logan. First, churches must be about making
disciples. Disciple-making begins with the lost. We must, once again, become passionate about evangelism. We must embrace the mission of Jesus as our own and begin living as missionaries right
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