Note: part of a series started April 22nd.
A community of Jesus-followers engaged in hands-on ministry to serve the world around them is a thing of beauty. Fruit will be borne from people reflecting Jesus with a spirit of humility. Sometimes it takes a long time, but it will come. So what do we do with that fruit?
The fifth and last question my coach asked me was, “What is the multiplication strategy?” Essentially, how will you take that fruit, capitalize on it and build off of it? How will you be strategic about your investment?
In the case of my church, we have seen some multiplication happening abroad as we’ve formed partnerships with church plants in Canada and Germany. We’ve also seen multiplication in the greater Los Angeles area through the natural migration of our people. When people move across town, we look for opportunities to plant new churches in those areas. Because we live in a very mobile society, sometimes so many people move that the mother church disbands in order to support the outward multiplication.
Recently I was meditating on John 12:24: “Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” And I thought, “Wouldn’t it be great if all our churches died?”
So what has it looked like for you to process through these five questions to give shape and focus to your ministry?
- What’s next?
- What’s missing?
- What’s the organizing principle?
- How can we get involved in incarnational missional ministry?
- What’s the multiplication strategy?