The first commandment imparted to humanity was “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth . . . .” (Genesis 1:28 NLT). God did not call humanity to decline, to plateau, or even to addition. God was very specific – multiply. We are to partner with God to fill creation – to populate His kingdom with His sons and daughters. Jesus was equally direct. He told a parable of four different types of soil – hard, rocky, full of weeds and thorns, and good soil. (Matthew 13). The seed (the word of God) planted in the various types of soil fared differently. The seed that fell on the good soil – the fertile soil -- “produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted.” (Matthew 13:8 NLT). God’s desire is that we would provide good soil – fertile soil -- so that we will multiply by a factor of thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times. What a vision and calling!
As disciples – followers of Jesus – we are called to multiply – disciples making disciples. As leaders, we are called to multiply – leaders making leaders. And as churches, we are called to multiply – churches making churches. Scripture does not provide an option for us. We do not get a vote. Every disciple, every leader, and every church is to be about the business of multiplication – not decline, not plateauing, not addition, but multiplication. To be honest, we are far from that reality. But God has not set us up for failure. He has promised that this will occur – for every disciple, every leader, and every church.
The Global Methodist Church is an organic movement of God. We are not “top down.” Rather, God works at the level of the individual believer and the local church. The role of the Virginia Conference is to cast vision, resource, equip, and develop local churches and individual believers to fulfill this call to multiply. Our conference has recently formed a Church Multiplication Team. The current members of the team are:
We are identifying two additional persons to be part of the team. If you have ideas or are interested in multiplication, contact Keith Boyette at kboyette@gmcvirginia.org or call 540-538-3202. Pray! And begin a conversation with others in your church or community about what God might be asking you to do to multiply!