Despite what you may hear, the American church is doing just fine, thank you very much. Sure, plenty of problems still exist, but the fact remains the Church is seizing new opportunities to grow and reach people far from God. For example, according to LifeWay Research, in 2014, 3,700 evangelical churches closed their doors, but approximately 4,000 new churches opened. That might not seem like much, but it reveals a positive net gain and a trend in the right direction. In addition, according to Leadership Network, there are now more multisite churches in North America (5,000 as of 2012) than megachurches (1,650 as of 2012). This means churches aren’t just gathering more people, they’re expanding to new places and reaching new communities. These are exciting days for the church because we are beginning to see a new wave of church multiplication take shape in the United States.

Church multiplication comes in various forms, and churches of all sizes are increasingly looking for ways to multiply. Some churches multiply other churches either through autonomous church planting or a multisite model. Others multiply through the strength of their disciple-making processes, they multiply their influence through partnerships and outreach into their community, or they multiply their overall impact through generous giving and by measuring their sending capacity rather than just their seating capacity. Every church, no matter the size or context, can do their part to multiply.

Church multiplication starts with church culture, and churches that multiply have found a way to develop a culture of multiplication. They’ve identified the elements that create multiplication and intentionally created systems of reproduction. So how can you develop a culture of multiplication in your church? There are many factors, but here are six key elements of multiplication for you to consider:

(1) Mission/Vision. This will not surprise anyone, but mission and vision are critical elements in the health, growth, and multiplication of any church. The issue for many churches becomes that the finely crafted statements on the wall do not play out in the life of the church. A biblical mission and a clear vision draw people in, compel them to belong, and motivate them to action, but only if mission and vision are alive and active, and visibly at work in the life of the church.

(2) Community Engagement. This covers everything from outreach to all forms of evangelism, and even the weekend experience. Community engagement is simply your strategy to engage the community outside the walls of your church and let them know what you’re all about. It’s the “so what” question for your church. You have a church in the community. So what? What difference is your church really making? If your church ceased to exist, would anyone notice or care? To have good answers to those questions, you need a good community engagement strategy.

(3) Discipleship Pathway. The first two factors are important, but they won’t matter much if you don’t have a clear plan to make disciples of the people you engage. Everyone knows disciple making is important, but few do it well. It’s hard, difficult to measure, and requires constant focus and intention. Without a plan to make disciples however, true multiplication cannot take place. Developing a simple yet comprehensive way for people to take the next step in their walk with Jesus will help create a culture of multiplication in your church.

(4) Leadership Development. The ability of a church to develop leaders may be the most important factor in multiplication. Churches get stuck and leaders burn out because a great amount of work falls to a small number of people. Churches that have a plan to identify, develop, and release a growing number of leaders see tremendous growth in their churches both deep and wide. For multiplication to go from a dream to reality, you have to reproduce leaders.

(5) Volunteerism. Leaders and volunteers are not the same. You need leaders, but you also need an army of volunteers operating in their God-given gifts and abilities to achieve the growth and multiplication of the church. Again, don’t think of growth just in terms of Sunday attendance, or multiplication just in terms of churches or campuses. To multiply your church’s influence and impact in the community and around the world you need people actively involved in the community, engaged in missions work, and using their gifts to serve others in increasing measure.

(6) Generosity/Stewardship. Churches that multiply teach stewardship and promote generosity. There’s a culture of yes, and everyone understands the importance of giving through, not just giving to. Generous churches avoid the scarcity mentality at all cost, and are not afraid to talk about money because the mission and vision are just too big not to challenge everyone to give their best in every way. With vision comes provision, but the role of the leader is to connect the dots and create a generous culture.

In the weeks and months ahead, we’ll discuss these topics in more detail in both our print magazine as well as here online. In the articles that follow, we’ll also provide strategies and insights on how to develop a culture of multiplication in your church. In the meantime, what do you think? Do you see these elements at work in your church? What are some key factors of multiplication you’ve discovered?