An excerpt from the Simple/House Church Revolution book:
Just as every new living thing has in it the power to reproduce, in the same way new believers, who have received Jesus’ new life, have the power in them to reproduce. We want to see this potential for multiplication unleashed at every new spiritual birth.
As soon as someone has experienced new life, we encourage them to share their story with others. The DNA of multiplying what God has put in us can begin the moment a person receives a new life in Christ. By sharing their story immediately with others, they become reproductive quickly and learn that they have unlimited potential to be used by God. A new disciple can begin reaching and discipling others by giving away immediately everything that he or she receives.
We like to baptize people publicly. We find that baptism is a wonderful opportunity to invite the person’s friends and families to a celebration. This allows the person who has experienced a new life to share that reality with others.
Reaching and discipling others can begin from day one. If a person is learning life lessons from his walk with God and his own process of being discipled, he can help others follow the same patterns and grow as well. New disciples can become disciplers by passing on their own experiences and pointing others to the same tools (Scripture, prayer) that are providing growth in their own life.
If gatherings are as simple as they are meant to be, then new believers can gather others. By simplifying gatherings back to basics, those who are new to Christ, and learning from others, can begin gathering other new believers or seekers together and follow the same patterns he is being taught.
When new believers can begin immediately to reach, disciple, and gather others, then the process of multiplication of God’s kingdom can be unleashed in an incredibly powerful fashion.
Empowering others becomes natural to new believers. Finally, we see that new believers can become leaders in the best sense of that word. They learn that everything God gives them can be given away to help, strengthen, and lift up others. Thus they discover, from the outset, to become leaders who know how to serve and empower other people.
If we can see the simple principles of God’s kingdom (reach, disciple, gather, empower, multiply) cultivated into the lives of new believers, then the natural power of God’s life will reproduce itself without the need for human-made systems to control or motivate. This is the wonder of true, organic multiplication.
