Should multiplication be the goal of missions?

Should multiplication be a missionary’s goal? For many people, the question seems nonsensical because the answer, they’d say, is an obvious “yes.”

This response represents many leaders I encountered while with the International Mission Board (IMB). When we first took a role with the Board. All new missionaries in our region were asked to provide “faith estimates,” forecasting how many churches we would start in our first term. Then, every month that followed for nearly 15 years, we were asked to report on how many new churches, new believers, new baptisms, etc. we helped to bring about.

The desire to see multiplication is natural for anyone who loves Christ and people. My questions concern something else: I wonder whether we can or should call it our goal. The distinction matters in this respect: we typically think of goals as things we can achieve and for which we can be held accountable.

When we make goals, we are taught to consider the methods we’ll use to attain those objectives. If we fail to reach those milestones, either our methods are wrong, or our effort is insufficient. In either case, goals are something we have a reasonable degree of control over.

What does Scripture say about this subject?

Plant, Water, and Grow

Paul’s comments to the Corinthians are helpful. In 1 Corinthians 3:5-9, he writes,

What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each. For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.

We see here 3 actions— planting, watering, and growth. Paul makes it clear that we (God’s people) join in two of these activities (planting and watering). However, only God gives growth.

As I understand it, planting generally refers to evangelistic activities. Watering could include more evangelism but further signifies the pastoral work of training and counseling. The latter, then, is concerned with the maturity or health of the gospel seed that takes root in people’s lives.

Ultimately, gardeners plant seeds and tend the soil in the hope of bearing abundant fruit. Still, the gardener doesn’t control the result. Bad soil, natural disasters, and who knows what else could impede growth.

In the end, only God gives growth.

When Multiplication Isn’t the Goal

If by “goal,” we only meant desire and earnest reason for laboring, then I would be less concerned about how we think about our task. In our technique-driven age and writing of SMART goals, I can’t help but observe how quickly goal language leads us astray. We might even resort to manipulation without realizing it.

In the IMB, for example, I saw person after person being promoted and spotlighted because their work had produced large numbers of some sort. Others (who saw lower numbers of converts and churches) were pressured to use questionable tactics or strategies itoincrease their numbers. Many people left the field early out of discouragement.

I address this phenomenon in my article “The Influence of Culture on the Evolution of Mission Methods: Using CPMs as a Case Study”(with key ideas highlighted here).

Furthermore, we will inevitably reinterpret Scripture to justify our claim to be able to strategize certain growth. This is what I tried to expose in “There are No Church Planting Movements in the Bible.”

While these are a few dangers, there are benefits to recognizing that multiplication is not a goal we can achieve. For instance, when we focus on watering and planting, we will more likely find healthier churches and more mature believers arise from the process. We will give more thought to long-term sustainability. We will also judge “obedience” by more than the number of evangelistic conversations. In short, we will more likely find that our ministry produces Jesus-like disciplines and churches, not merely converts that we can only hope will be around after 3-5 years.