10 is Better than 1

I assume that all of us would agree that ten new Christians is better than one new Christian. Right? I think we would also all agree that ten times ten is even better than ten when it comes to the number of people our churches are reaching.  Right? And I’m sure we would agree that it is better to have a hundred serious disciples than just ten. Right?

Well, if that is the case, when it comes to new Christians multiplication is better than addition.

So, what does multiplication thinking look like and how does it affect our ministries?  The following chart outlines the comparisons:

Addition		Multiplication
Number of People in Worship		Number of People Given Away
Formal Seminary Training		Local Church Training
Buildings		Anywhere
Expensive		Inexpensive
Come		Go
Church		Kingdom
Curriculum/Programs		Relationships
Hire from Without		Call from Within
Personal Piety		World Revolution
Consumers		Servants
Nominal Regulations		Radical, Spontaneous Freedom

Multiplication thinking begins by changing the things we count in our ministry. People who live and breathe multiplication think about how many people they can either give away or send out into the community to spread the Good News.  As such they are concerned more with Kingdom than church, relationships more than programs, servants instead of consumers, living out the Christ-like life in the community as well at church. You know you have made the shift to multiplication thinking when quit worrying about money and start focusing on making disciples who make disciples.

And usual, when people even think about multiplication thinking, fear becomes their biggest enemy. What if it doesn’t work? How will we pay the bills? What if I lose my job? What if no one follows me? We know that our book, if taken seriously, either frees a person up to do incredible ministry or it scares the bee-gebers out of them. It’s one or the other. So, what makes the difference?

If you don’t worry about people living and dying without knowing Jesus then this book will scare you do death.  But if helping people give their life to the Lordship of Christ, then this book will cause you to soar.  You might even leap for joy.

One more thing. I’ve talked to a lot of Mainline pastors over the years and the one common denominator is this – they all lament the fact that they have too many nominal members in their church and not enough sold out disciples. Depending on how much of a concern you have for this problem will also determine whether this book causes you to soar or wilt, because at the heart of any multiplication thinking is a commitment to radical discipleship.
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To learn more about moving your church from addition to multiplication, start your journey with Dinosaurs to Rabbits: Turning Mainline Decline to a Multiplication Movement.