September 25, 2006
by Mickey Noel
“Church multiplication movements within denominations typically take 7-10 years to develop when focused attention is consistently given.”—Dr. Robert Logan
As I begin my seventh year of leadership in this role for the C&MA it is probably a good time to take stock of progress in our efforts to join God’s multiplication movement. We are thankful for forward movement on many fronts. As I reflect on my visits with our district leadership teams this past year in our Church Multiplication Academies—I have identified 5 dangers that threaten the achievement of our objectives.
Danger #1—Complacency and Absence of Faith-filled Leadership Accompanied by a Holy Determination to Pay the Price to Succeed
Failure to perceive the urgency of the day and respond with faith and clear vision driven initiative is a possibility. There is always a chance that when we experience good things then we might settle for mere “addition-al” progress without continuing to work toward multiplication. When this happens, bearing some fruit can become the enemy of bearing much fruit. According to John 15 “this is to the Father’s glory—that we bear much (multiplied) fruit!” So don’t let “good” results satisfy our quest for “great” results.
Without change there will be little progress. Here’s the rub—change hurts! It upsets the apple cart and demands new paradigms, systems and patterns. As we strive to become a well resourced, consistent movement of multiplication there must be continual effort to clarify vision, mobilize the resources and aggressively seek opportunities. The path of least resistance is always a tempting option. We must choose the path of Kingdom advance. There is always a price to pay for progress!
Danger #2—Failure to Take Assessment, Training and Coaching Seriously
We are committed to investing in our planting teams. The core of that support is a desire to carefully assess the strengths of our workers, train them in principles and processes, and provide on the job coaching through the first 18 months of the plant. This three-legged stool of assessment—training—coaching is really one entity, not three. Our commitment to empowering our church planters and teams requires that we continue to improve our systems to provide this empowerment. If one of the legs is shorter than the others or worse, falls off, then the whole stool will collapse.
Danger #3—Failure to Prioritize Coalition Building for Church Multiplication
There is an African proverb that states “it takes a village to raise a child.” In our context, it takes a coalition of churches to raise a new church. We are serious about stopping the phenomenon of the “orphan” church plant. The C&MA has 29 districts across the USA—each one working to build a supportive network for every church plant. Our continued objective is to surround every Alliance church plant with encouraging, partnering churches to provide the support every church plant deserves.
Danger #4—Failure to Empower a Team to Develop and Resource Elements of the District’s Church Planting Systems
One of the major insights we have gained in the last few years is the power of team-based ministry. The essence of multiplication is the ability to reproduce oneself and to empower others for ministry. Just as the success of the local church depends on its leadership’s capacity to raise up, empower and hold accountable ministry leaders—so do district leaders hold a major responsibility of identifying leaders who can be empowered to follow through on its Church Multiplication Academy Plan. Without the development of such a team, there will be a lack of widespread ownership, creativity, continuity and longevity of effort. Failure to establish a team is also a recipe for district leader ineffectiveness or personal “burn-out.”
Danger #5—Neglecting Our Urban Areas Because of the Costs Involved
That the C&MA began in the cradle of the city is an incontrovertible fact. That the C&MA/USA at 115 years of age is relatively absent from America’s big cities is also indisputable. One of the reasons for this is because once urban Alliance churches migrated to suburbs with the population shifts. Today America’s cities are in desperate need of effective Great Commission healthy churches. We are persuaded that cooperation with our C&MA DNA demands a renewed interest in reaching lost urban America. Sure it costs more, it takes longer, and the pool of interested workers is smaller but we must re-engage urban America through church planting.
As we continue to pursue God’s agenda, let us take notice of these five dangers and embrace the challenges.