Multiplication Team Update

At our Annual Conference 2024 the phrase “deliverance from dead discipleship practices” was used in the Multiplication Team report when discussing the path forward toward multiplication.

Hopefully, you are reading that line and asking yourself, “What does that even mean?” Here are two quick examples:

Method over Message

When a congregation’s worship services and ministry practices are more about checking boxes with no regard to effectiveness of genuine spiritual engagement then we have come to value our method more than the life transforming, soul saving message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If personal preference always wins in discussions concerning needed change for ministry effectiveness then our directive to die to self in order to follow Jesus has been neglected.

Mission Disconnect

Organizations will often talk about mission drift. Mission drift is when an organization begins to lose sight of our core values and drifts off course from the intended trajectory. Mission drift can typically be corrected because at least they are still moving forward in the general direction of their goal/destination.

Mission Disconnect unfortunately is when an organization still holds their core values to be true but rather than distracted or drifting they are instead sitting dead in the water. Because they have disconnected from the Great Commission they are no longer propelled by mission. No vibrancy, no urgency, and no movement. What does this look like? It looks like a congregation with all the meetings and committee people doing all the “right things” but the focus is inward, the congregation is faith-stagnant, and if the church closed tomorrow there might be one less food pantry in the community but the number of souls being saved or lost remains unchanged. And this isn’t a small church problem, it is a church problem. I sat in on a round table discussion where the on-staff statistician of a 20,000 church in LA stated, “We are great at getting our people to give but most can’t tell you their own testimony.”

“So what do we do about this?”

1st: Gather one or two other spiritual leaders and seriously assess your congregation from a place of discernment. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal areas of drift, disconnect, or where preferences might be stifling needed change. And if you are bold enough to ask in prayer then be sure to give space to listen and then have the conviction to respond.

2nd: Start small, start now, stay consistent. Commit to continued prayer and discernment and use resources like Thom Rainer’s books Autopsy of a Deceased Church and Anatomy of a Revived Church to assist discussion.

3rd: Realize this isn’t something for only the pastor(s). It takes your pastor(s) being a part of a spiritual leadership community which is actively engaging the whole of the congregation in participating in the Great Commission.

As your Multiplication Team and the Conference it is our desire to see Every Church Plant but to see this happen “it is our hope to see healthy congregations of all sizes participating in church planting by the year 2030.” The health and missional drive of your local congregation is key to us being a conference where it is our churches who are multiplying and planting churches.

Get Equipped

• Speaking Schedule

• Is your congregation hearing the call to become multipliers? Are you interested in starting new ministries, multiplying your ministries, or becoming a church that plants? Or do you know that those seeds need to be planted in your congregation? Then reach out to the Multiplication Team about getting on the speaking schedule so we can meet with your leadership team, lead a workshop, and/or preach about multiplication and planting.

  • Email: multiplicationteam@uppermidwestgmc.org

• Monthly Multiplier Zoom Call - Third Saturday, 10AM (CST)

  • Join in with other multipliers and leaders in our Conference on a monthly Zoom call where we discuss multiplication practices, encourage one another, and get inspired to see Every Church Plant. 3rd Saturday of the month at 10AM Central. Zoom link is on the Conference calendar.