One of the greatest handicaps of thought about your church is to look at it simply as a building or an organization. When Jesus said, “I will build my church,” He reflected the birth of a living organism (Matthew 16:18). The Church is so powerful! When an apostle like Peter testifies that Jesus is the “Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16 NIV), Jesus responds that “on this rock” of solid faith “I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (Matthew 16:18 NIV).
The “gates of Hades” refers to death. Jesus is proclaiming that the Church is created to live, not die; to prosper, not fail; to grow, not decline.
Yet, many churches are birthed, grow, provide vibrant ministry, and—at some later time—decline and ultimately die. The movement of faith often cycles from birth to growth, maintenance, and death. This is demonstrated today in the region of the world where many of the churches listed in the New Testament vanished centuries ago. It is demonstrated in whole denominations with the closure of thousands of formerly healthy congregations. We might call this missional drift.
In Revelation 2, it says: “To the angel of the church in Ephesus… You have forsaken the love you had at first” (Revelation 2:1, 4)—love for one another and for Christ. The angel continues, “Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place” (verse 5). The light goes out! The light no longer is a driving priority to reach the lost. The church’s median age creeps up. The number of worshippers goes down. Mission is overshadowed by maintenance. Infectious faith is replaced by survival ministry. This signals the beginning of the end. The local church becomes an institution of decline. The people—wonderful believers—are heavenly minded yet missionally impotent. They have misplaced their mission. This scenario is repeated over the centuries—and around the world.
Organic or Organization?
Jesus launched a movement. In many ways, a movement is out of control. Great movements are focused and strongly adaptive. Great churches are productive in reaching lost people because they are faithfully and spiritually solid as well as intentionally and ruthlessly focused on the mission.
The challenge is that mission is messy. Consider the disciples of Jesus—as reflected in much of the New Testament. Their energy was primarily focused on the Good News about Jesus, who transforms lives. They had learned about spiritual objectives, yet were not hung up about buildings or organizational empires. Their primary target for the Good News was lost people who needed Jesus. They spent most of their energy on mission, not maintenance.
Contrast that with many churches today, 20-plus centuries later. Church leaders are burdened by church politics and organizational directives. The structural issues—such as Robert’s Rules of Order, votes, and bylaws—often set more precedent than Bible study, evangelistic efforts, and outreach strategies. It should be no surprise that, over time, many congregations are plateaued. That is often a signal of future decline, even death of a congregation. In this subtle process, the organism we call “the body of Christ” becomes an organization that, like in Revelation 2:4, has “lost its first love.”
Centuries ago, the Christian movement—in many places—began to build political structures. The focus—in many churches—reflects more politics than prayer, more rules than revivals, more bureaucracy than baptisms. In many ministries, they have baptized Robert’s Rules of Order and displaced mission with meetings. The priority for mission has been replaced with a movement for maintenance.
Thank God for Pastors
It was John Maxwell, the well-known author, who introduced me to the concept: “Everything rises and falls on leadership.” As a former pastor, Maxwell recognized the genius of Jesus: to raise up leaders. It’s called discipling.
Making disciples is like raising children. It is a huge undertaking! It is also the way leaders are developed. Jesus spent much of His time developing His disciples. When leaders develop other leaders, it results in a powerful movement.
Many church leaders, including pastors and priests, spend much of their time doing ministry rather thanmultiplying ministry. This approach limits the potential of the Christian movement. It reduces the local church to become a minimal organization. However, the approach of Scripture is to equip disciples who make disciples of Jesus. The primary mission of the Christian leader is to multiply others. This signals that church leaders should be multiplying themselves. This approach requires “on-the-job” training: “I do, you watch; I do, you help; you do, I help; you do, I watch.” The Christian movement explodes when a disciple disciples others who disciple others.
Why doesn’t this occur in many churches? This approach to ongoing ministry is the key to the explosive growth of the Christian movement. Yet, most declining churches are struggling because leaders are not multiplying other leaders. Jesus called it discipling. It results in an exponential explosion of the Christian movement. Most churches that decline in numbers and increase in median age are victims of leadership that does not disciple and multiply the way Jesus modeled.
Many pastors would be challenged if you asked them to disciple (equip) others for ministry. Yet the “multiplication machine” of the Christian movement is not that difficult. It starts with a restructured worldview of the pastor’s role. This is the concept: “When I visit someone in the hospital, I will plan to take someone with me.”
This process may include several different hospital visits over a period of time. Yet, once it is accomplished, the pastor has multiplied himself or herself. Then the discipled person is to do that same process with another person. Meanwhile, the pastor begins to disciple another person for hospital ministry. Then there are two being equipped. This process is multiplied over time. The process will include several different forms of ministry beyond hospital calls: evangelistic visits, nursing home calls, etc. Doesn’t this feel like what Jesus demonstrated to the disciples?
Transformational Thinking
For many pastors and church leaders, a disciple-making multiplication approach moves the church from maintenance to mission. Every congregation has some people who have gifts and abilities to be trained for ministry—and the time and availability to multiply themselves and disciple others.
This approach changes a church from maintenance to multiplication. The multiplication becomes a movement. The movement impacts the community. It grows God’s Kingdom the way Jesus modeled. The result is exponential multiplication. This approach is the biblical ministry Jesus and the apostles modeled in the New Testament.
Pastors become multipliers of the Christian movement. Those involved in ministry become movement ministers. Churches grow and multiply other congregations. This is what it means when we call it the Christian movement. It is a biblical form of ministry: discipleship, which Jesus modeled.
Meanwhile, God’s people—members of your church—experience the unique miracle of discipling, mission, and ministry. This mentality is contagious. It impacts others in your congregation. It defines Christian ministry at a biblical level. “Church” is not just about attending worship and supporting a church financially. It is beingthe Church, becoming a mission, and making disciples, as well as transforming your area of the world. This is what it means to be the Church that Jesus launched. Every Christian is a minister. Every believer is a disciple and a discipler. Every Christ-follower has spiritual gifts that define his or her area of ministry. Christianity becomes an infectious movement. Your church becomes a mission. Each person becomes a missionary, using his or her unique gifts.
And the Christian movement impacts the world, one Christian at a time—beginning with you!
Dr. Kent Hunter is the author of Life Beyond Ordinary: Invest Yourself in Significance. He wrote this book because you are significant. Kent is the founder of Church Doctor Ministries, now led by Dr. Tracee Swank.