I’m a product of the church growth movement, but the church growth movement isn’t going to take the church where it needs to go in the future. We need to move from addition to multiplication–from adding to our numbers through attraction, to sending out our people to start new faith communities that in turn raise up new leaders that are sent out to start new faith communities. Moving from addition to multiplication is a necessary step if we are to experience the kind of movement The United Methodist Church experienced in the early 1800’s in Indiana.
Up till now, a prime metric that we’ve been taught to watch is the average number of people in our weekly worship services. Therefore, we’ve focused on marketing our churches and protecting and conserving our numbers. The last thing we’d want to do is send people out because our worship attendance metric would take a hit.
The Church Development team is convinced that we need to change our prime metric and begin measuring the number of people that we’re sending out to help start new faith communities. The reality is that fewer and fewer people in the U.S. are interested in coming to our churches. What if we embrace Jesus’ command to go? What if we take the church to them?
Last month, over 100 church pastors and leaders from the Indiana Conference gathered with Bishop Trimble and the Church Development team to consider this very idea. What would it take for us and our churches to move from an addition mindset to one of multiplication. We’re convinced that God is moving right now in our leaders and churches, placing on many of their hearts and minds the desire to multiply! If you’re such a person, or you attend such a church, know that the Church Development team is ready to partner with you.
— Ed Fenstermacher, Associate Director of Church Development
Leaders praying at the Bishop’s Multiplication Summit held September 7, 2017
Making Disciples, Transforming Communities 