Almost every ministry leader we speak with longs to do more than simply grow their ministry bigger. Yet far more often than not as we dig into the nuts and bolts of how the ministry operates in the day-to-day, we discover that many leaders are unintentionally blocking multiplication.
Here are five primary ways that leaders block multiplication in their ministries:
Obstacle 1: You’re not personally discipling at least two other people
As the leader goes, so go the people. If you’re not demonstrating disciple-making it doesn’t matter how much you preach about it, it’s not going to happen. What generally happens when a pastor or leader captures the passion for disciple-making is they go to their default and preach a sermon series on it, have a Sunday school or some other sort of class, and maybe even launch a campaign to keep the concept in front of people. Each of those things can be useful, but none of them are as effective as demonstration.
Why at least two other people? Because if the leader sets the tone of discipling multiple people then that will lead to multiplication. The ideal here would be that the senior leader disciples at least one already-believer, and one person who is not yet a follower of Jesus. It’s incredibly easy as someone in professional ministry to lose their connection with the world outside of the Christian bubble. One of the best things you can do for your own soul and for your leadership is stay connected to people who aren’t Christians.
This discipleship isn’t just getting together and doing a Bible study (though learning from God’s word should be central). It’s about connecting deeply with people, inviting them into your life, and letting them taste, see, and practice following Jesus like you follow Jesus. This is one of the most powerful and important things you can do to start moving towards multiplication.
Obstacle 2: You’re doing (almost) everything yourself
Countless leaders unintentionally cap their ministry’s growth (in both width and depth) by doing everything themselves. Usually this is for admiral reasons like “excellence” or desiring Biblically sound teaching and avoiding heresy.
In our experience we often find that leaders think they have a team of co-leaders when in reality they have a group of volunteers who are simply doing the tasks they’ve been assigned. A leader is someone who has authority to plan and make decisions that set the direction and tone of the ministry. A volunteer, on the other hand, is someone who follows an order of service or checklist of tasks.
A few signs that you’re (probably) doing everything yourself:
you know everything that’s going to happen at every one of your ministry’s events
you’re at every meeting
you’re doing all the teaching and leading during those meetings
You have the final say about (almost) everything in the ministry
If this is you, it’s time to trust the Holy Spirit and the people God has placed in your ministry. Multiplication won’t happen until you let others truly lead, with all the risk that this entails.
Obstacle 3: You’re only celebrating official ministry events
If what you talk about during leadership team meetings, announcement times, sermons, and day-to-day conversations about your ministry is limited to official ministry events, you are preventing multiplication. You’re making it about your kingdom rather than God’s greater Kingdom.
Instead, work to uncover and share stories of real-life ministry that the people in your groups are doing. Ways they are loving their neighbors, serving those in need, praying for strangers, learning from God’s word, and more. Honor people who are doing good work at their job. Share and celebrate what other churches and ministries in your city, state, and country are doing. Each one of these remind people that ministry goes beyond events and into real life and reinforces the truth that disciple-making is an all-of-life practice.
Obstacle 4: You’re launching programs rather than people
If your first response to a need or lack in your people is to launch a new program, you are preventing multiplication.
People multiply. Programs don’t.
Maybe you’ve heard about the idea of missional communities and have launched a missional community initiative. Maybe you identified a pervasive issue of unhealthy relationships and sexuality in your college ministry, so you’re developing a course on biblical sexuality for your small groups. Maybe your people aren’t evangelizing, so you are launching an evangelism night to go out into the campus or community as a group.
Each of those are good things, but if the expectation is that the program will change people’s lives, it’s going to limit multiplication. God’s Spirit and truth, practiced in gospel community is what changes lives.
Obstacle 5: You’re prioritizing professionalism over passion
If you expect your people to meet a certain level of quality or professionalism or to be able to recite some doctrinal credo, you are blocking multiplication.
Quality is important. Doctrine is crucial. But if we’re taking Jesus as our exemplar for what it means to make and multiply disciples, then those two things aren’t the top priority.
Jesus sent out the twelve and the seventy-two to do ministry long before they had accurate theology. He actually refuses the Gerasene demoniac the opportunity to follow him and learn more, instead insisting that he go and tell his people what God had done for him. As Jesus tells his disciples in the Gospel of John, the Holy Spirit is the one who would lead them into all truth after he was gone. Jesus trusted the Spirit to lead those who loved him into maturity as they made disciples. We need to do the same.
If you’ve got a set of requirements for people to fulfill before they can start making disciples, you are blocking multiplication. Passion – a true love for Jesus – should be what we look for, rather than a certain level of professionalism. Work to cultivate a passion for Jesus more than you work to ensure people get the answers right and you’ll set your people free to multiply disciples. Then as they go they can and will learn and grow in their skills and doctrinal maturity.
How about you? Do you see yourself blocking multiplication of disciples in any of these five ways? If so, you are definitely not alone. And you are definitely not stuck.
Identify the problem, step back, prayerfully identify the solution and then get to work. God wants to use you to spread the gospel and make disciples who make disciples.
“Lord, let us not be the ones that create or perpetuate barriers to that happening.”
Benjamin Pontious serves as the Midwest Regional Director with elementum and as the Director of Threshingfloor Communities.