Fruit That Remains

Churches in America grew rapidly between 1990 and 2006. We built bigger buildings, launched better programs, hired more staff. From the platform, it looked like success.

Then someone did the math.

The number of people born in the United States during those 16 years equaled the size of the American church in 1990. Yet the church was almost exactly the same size in 2006 as it was in 1990.

We ran hard and stayed in place.

More people attended church than ever before. But when measured against population growth, we became a shrinking minority. We'd confused addition with multiplication—and it cost us cultural influence.

Here's what I learned while launching 80+ churches (from the three I planted) that multiplied into 2,600: Addition grows your church. Multiplication grows the kingdom.

The Jerusalem church was impressive with thousands of believers clustering in the temple courts. But it was the unnamed believers who fled persecution, scattering throughout Judea and Samaria, who turned the world upside down. They multiplied churches everywhere they went.

The Antioch church gets four chapters in Acts. Jerusalem gets one. Why? Antioch sent missionaries. They released leaders. They multiplied. Jerusalem held on and plateaued.

The Math Is Simple:

If your church adds 100 people per year, in 10 years you see 1,000 people in one location serving one community.

If your church multiplies—launching a church that launches churches—in 10 years you have dozens of churches serving multiple communities reaching thousands of people who would never attend your building.

Both strategies honor God. But only one fulfills the Great Commission to "make disciples of all nations."

Three Shifts You Can Make:

1. Measure cultural penetration, not just attendance. Is your community more Christian because of your church? Or are you just shuffling believers between neighboring congregations?
2. Train leaders to reproduce. Don't just develop volunteers to run your programs. Develop leaders who can plant churches. The nurse, the teacher, the businessman—they can shepherd microchurches that multiply.
3. Celebrate sending, not just gathering. When you lose your best families to a church plant, throw a party. You just multiplied kingdom impact. Your "loss" is the kingdom's gain.

I pastored churches that grew past 2,000 people. I'm proud of that. But I'm prouder that we sent people out who planted churches that planted churches. Some of our "grandchildren" are now "great-great-great-grandchildren" churches—nine generations deep in places we've never been.

That's fruit that remains.

The question isn't whether to grow or plant. It's both. The power is in the AND, not the tyranny of the OR. Let your church grow as large as it can. But whatever its size, multiply as the natural outcome of healthy disciplemaking.

Four Practical Steps:

1. Start with one. Identify one in-house microchurch leader ready to plant. Support them. Celebrate them. Learn from them.
2. Build multiplication into your DNA. Talk about it from the pulpit. Pray for it in services. Make heroes of those you send.
3. Lower the bar for planting. Don't wait for seminary-trained staff. Equip faithful people to start external microchurches that can grow into larger ones.
4. Stay connected after sending. Don't just commission and forget. Monthly check-ins. Annual gatherings. Ongoing support. Serve those you send.

The Bottom Line:

You can build bigger barns while the harvest rots in the fields. Or you can mobilize workers into the harvest and watch the kingdom multiply.

Both are good. Only one is great. What will you choose?

Note: I dive deeper into these ideas in my book "Let Go of the Ring"