Building a Culture of Multiplication

At a recent meeting of the Virginia Conference Church Multiplication Team, Jason Goins shared the following devotion. How can you apply the following lessons to building a culture of multiplication in your church?

As I spoke recently with a ministry partner in Cuba about the rapid growth they have seen since we began visiting, 2 Kings 4:1-7 came into the conversation. Over the next few weeks, I began to contemplate this story of food multiplication and how it pertains to multiplication in the church. I encourage you to read the passage now.

This narrative draws us into the story of a desperate widow, who after the loss of her husband, is in danger of losing her sons. As the wife of one of the “sons of the prophets” she approaches Elisha for wise counsels in resolving this crisis. What happens next is amazing. He simply asks her what she has and guides her through a process of multiplying a small jar of oil into the provision she needs. Embedded in this story are seven, maybe more, tips for multiplication in our new Global Methodist context.

1. Look For Your Elisha In the midst of ministry, we can feel overwhelmed even alone. But everyone needs discipleship and mentoring. As you begin to look at how your church might grow, seek wise counsel. Often an outside perspective can point us to solutions and pathways we never considered. Be careful to find wise counsel and trusted voices to help you move forward.
2. Begin with What You Have Begin with what you have. Don’t get discouraged by what you don’t have. Elisha asks the widow what she has. Her response is telling. She “has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.” It can be tempting to wait until we have everything in place to get started. There is nothing wrong with good planning and doing a job well. But the Lord loves to work with our small resources to bring great glory to His Kingdom! Take an inventory of your people, your physical space and your talents. And don’t forget to ask for prophetic perspective. Then get started!
3. Know Your Community The key to a powerful start is knowing your community. Here is where the hidden challenge lies. Elisha challenged the widow to go everywhere in her community and borrow vessels “from all your neighbors.” Often when we have been in the same place for a long time, we take it for granted that we know that place. As methodical people many of us have worn a path from one door to another without noticing the details. We have had the same friends and acquaintances for years. Reaching new people most likely means travelling on new paths and intentionally looking everywhere for empty vessels. I mean this literally. One of the most powerful times of revelation in my life was when I challenged myself to take a different route to church each Sunday for a month. I was amazed by the parts of our town that I had not seen in years. I then began to walk those streets where I could. This brought me so much clarity in ministry.
   Get to know your community with new eyes. Look for the need. Look for your people. Look for places where you have a voice.
4. Pour into the Empty Vessels The widow took a great leap of faith by pouring her only bottle of oil into an empty vessel. If she spilled, if things didn’t go perfectly, she could lose what little she had.
   Remember everyone needs a mentor. Pouring into other people is even messier than pouring oil from one container to another. The only way to truly multiply is to pour what we have into the empty vessels around us. It is easy to settle into the routine of the roles that we have always had. Multiplying makes this an across- the-board proposition. Consider if you are discipling people in a way that your church could operate if any one member was unavailable or even better if you were to commission a team to plant a new congregation in the next town over.
5. Build a Team to Help Elisha told the widow that she needed help in filling the empty vessels. As leaders we often carry heavy burdens. In Ephesians Paul tells us that as ministers we are to build and empower the church. It is important to have a team to help identify gifts, talents and callings in the life of our churches. These persons team up to identify, build up and empower others to multiply the Kingdom!
6. Use What You Have to Get What You Need Elisha told the widow to take her oil and sell it to provide for her family. As you move forward in multiplication, set your sights on the next step and use what you have to get what you need. Jesus tells us that those who are faithful with little will receive more. This happens when we use what little we may have to move to the next step in multiplying His Kingdom.
7. Support the Next Generation The widow finally has the provision she needs for her and her family. Elisha tells the widow to use God’s provision to support her sons. At some point a culture of multiplication means sending out a new generation to begin, with a new set of people, with a different style, and/or in a new place. Many churches become gravitational, not wanting to let go of people to expand the Kingdom. Sometimes supporting the new generation means promotion and sometimes it means celebrating their graduation into the place God is calling them to inhabit.