by Michael D. Crane
“Multiplication” has become a buzzword amongst ministry leaders in recent years. It can be an annoying word when used to signal to everyone that we are doing spectacular work. Multiplication might even begin to sound obligatory. Don’t we all want multiplication? People from the business world want to see the church have increasing Key Performance Indicators (KPI). Others seem to think higher numbers show the value of the church or ministry. Eventually, the focus can become so fixated on multiplying numbers that pride begins to set in.
In reaction, some people have rebelled against the pressure to multiply. Some have a tendency to mock the discussions of multiplication, as if anyone who talks about it only cares about numbers. So, they do not multiply, and as a result, they end up withholding the goodness of the gospel from others. Sadly, those who reject multiplication can often develop pride for not focusing on numbers.
So much of the chatter about multiplication makes the conversation confusing. We might hear things like “growth is healthy,” implying that, if there is not multiplication, then something must be wrong. Sometimes, multiplication can almost sound like a multi-level marketing (MLM) scheme. Or worse, it can sound like a version of the prosperity gospel. When I served as interim pastor at a church after the COVID-19 pandemic, a man came to visit the church who had been a part of it during a time of thriving. When he saw that it was smaller, he assumed God was not blessing the church. We never saw him come back. These are unhelpful ways to consider the purposes of multiplication.
The Christian faith is never intended to be stagnant, and the concept of multiplication is very present in Scripture. The opening command for humanity in Genesis is to “be fruitful and multiply” (Gen. 1:28). God’s promise to Abraham was to bless all the families on earth (Gen. 12:3). The Bible repeatedly holds the whole world in view and our role in heralding the gospel to all “peoples, nations, and languages” (Dan. 6:25; Rev. 5:9; 7:9). As God’s people, we have the mandate to carry the message of God’s salvation to the ends of the earth (Luke 24:46–47; Acts 1:8). In essence, our assignment is to reach all the people of the earth. This is no small task!
There is a temptation to jump straight to pragmatic solutions. How do we maximise our resources to get the gospel to all of the world as quickly and efficiently as possible? The concern to obey this calling is encouraging. But we must be careful not to take the call to multiply upon our shoulders alone.
Paul offers an important reminder that multiplication is ultimately in the hands of God. In 1 Corinthians 3:5–7, the Apostle Paul says this:
What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth (1 Cor. 3:5–7).
To put all of the pressure of global multiplication on ourselves is not only inaccurate—it is theologically wrong. God is the one to bring growth. Apollos played an important role. Paul played an important role. But Apollos and Paul were servants of the One who brings growth. Paul gave his life to making Christ known. His labour was to present everyone mature in Christ (Col. 1:28). In the very next sentence, however, Paul makes it abundantly clear that he does his work through the power of God (v. 29). God gives the growth.
So then, how do we pursue the command to make disciples of all nations with a sense of urgency in such a way that it is God working through us? As Paul continues in 1 Corinthians 3, we gain further insight into his work of multiplication. Paul was proactively multiplying disciples and churches.
According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done (1 Cor. 3:10-13).
After we are told that God is the one who actually gives the growth, we might be tempted to sit back and watch God work. But that is not what the apostle highlights. Paul describes his role like that of a wise master builder or contractor in establishing the church. Although God gives the growth, it does not mean that Paul’s contribution was not significant. Paul’s role was to build his work on a foundation of Jesus Christ. Because the foundation was Jesus Christ, the cornerstone (Isa. 28:16; Eph. 2:20), God was pleased to give growth.
These words from Paul offer important wisdom in three ways. First, do not overestimate your contribution to God’s kingdom. God used a donkey in Numbers 22; God can use you. You are to point people to God. Second, do not underestimate your contribution to God’s kingdom. You have been given the command to make disciples and the resources to do it. This passage reminds us that, though we may play different roles in this multiplication of disciples, all of us should play some part.
The third point to make from Paul’s letter to Corinth is this—the work must always be founded on Christ Jesus. Without full surrender to Jesus, we will not see God transform us. Paul is diligently multiplying disciples and churches. The articles in this magazine issue highlight many examples of faithful and diligent multiplication of disciples and churches. In our busy and increasingly technologised world, we will need to draw on creativity to accomplish this work. But most importantly, we want to see everyone mature in Christ.
The real key to multiplication is for every believer to be intentional in discipling someone. This is how Christianity has perpetuated for two thousand years. Faithful Christians have taken their faith seriously by pouring their Christ-changed life into another person until that new believer is also ready to pour into yet another person. One more…discipled in the way of Christ. When this happens, new communities are formed.
The secret sauce of multiplication is intentional discipleship. Discipleship should be about increasing Christ in the life of another. We can only do that when Christ increases in us first. We turn from self-reliance to Christ-reliance. It is what the world needs. We need one more discipled in Christlikeness.
“Lord, help me get one more,” said Desmond Doss in the movie Hacksaw Ridge. The movie is based on a true story about Doss, an American who signed up with the army in World War II. But he refused to kill or even hold a gun. The other soldiers ridiculed him and tried to have him removed, as they thought he was a coward and would be a burden to them. He fought to stay in the military as a medic. In the Battle of Okinawa, the Americans were ambushed by the Japanese on a ridge and had to retreat, leaving many dead and wounded on the ridge. They retreated off the ridge and as the sun set, the guns and mortar from the Japanese died down. Desmond Doss stayed up on the ridge and began to find wounded soldiers to bring to safety. His Christian faith drove him to rescue as many as he could. He had to pull them by himself to the edge of a cliff and use a rope to hoist them down the cliff to safety. Through the night, he continued rescuing one after another, while the enemy patrolled the area. “Lord, help me get one more,” he prayed. Throughout that grueling and terrifying day, Doss saved at least 75 lives singlehandedly.
When each Christian prays, “Lord, help me get one more” to disciple, we will see multiplication. Even more importantly, we will see lives changed by the only One who can truly transform our lives.
Author
Michael Crane loves cities and the church, bringing global experience from living in Taipei, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, and San Francisco. He is a professor of urban missiology at a seminary in Southeast Asia. Michael serves as a co-director of Radius Global Cities Network (RADIUS Initiatives)—an urban research think-tank that assists the church in seeking the welfare of the city—and as the chairman of Gospel City Network. In addition to contributing to numerous articles and book chapters, Michael is the author of Sowing Seeds of Change: Cultivating Transformation in the City (2015) and co-author of City Shaped Churches: Planting Churches in a Global Era (2017).
