Years ago, I was in Europe, talking with an experienced missionary couple about multiplication. They were meeting weekly with a small group of believers in their home, and as new people came to Christ, they were added to this group. I affirmed their work but pointed out a key challenge: while this was wonderful, it wasn’t going to multiply.

We explored what it would take for the gospel to spread organically among the locals. One of the new believers—we’ll call him Isaac—had led a few of his coworkers to Christ. That was a great start. Now, they were also attending the group.

The husband suggested making Isaac his assistant. A step forward, but still under Western leadership. The wife proposed letting Isaac lead the group. Better—but would people expect him to match the quality and structure they had already established? Wouldn’t that be setting him up for failure? What if they split the group in half and had one part meet in Isaac’s home? Closer, but that was still division, not multiplication.

Finally, the husband had a revelation: Isaac should start his own group with his friends. No need for an external leader—he already had their trust. And if they followed the same pattern after being discipled, the movement would multiply naturally.

Isaac’s house church wouldn’t start by gathering—it would start by him being sent.

Gathered vs. Sent

Many churches begin by gathering believers. This could be a church plant that draws Christians in a new neighborhood or a group of immigrant believers from the same country finding each other.

Because they start by gathering, their natural mode of ministry is to bring more people into the gathering. They equip people to invite others, to build the gathering, or even to start additional gatherings. This leads to a model of ministry centered on gathering: gather for preaching, gather for prayer, gather for Bible study, gather for meetings.

Other churches, however, begin by sending disciples to evangelize. This could be someone reaching their neighbors, a believer engaging a new immigrant community, or an individual called to a specific people group. In these cases, the church forms because someone was sent.

Because their origin is sending, their ministry remains focused on sending: send people to preach to the lost, send them to pray for the hurting, send them to tell Bible stories on the streets, send them to meet new people.

Gathered becoming Sent

The word missionary comes from the Latin missus, meaning “sent with authority.” A gathered church that wants to be missional faces a unique challenge: the people signed up to gather, not to be sent. You can’t rewrite history to make “sentness” part of your DNA.

But what you can do is recognize and affirm those whom God has called and sent, just as the church in Antioch did:

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. – Acts 13:2-3

• The Greek word for set apart means to separate, divide, or distinguish.
• The word for sent means to release, set free, dismiss, or even divorce.

The church in Antioch liked Barnabas and Saul. They would have gladly kept them. But the Holy Spirit told them it was okay to let them go. “Sending” was really about releasing, because the sending was ultimately God’s job. The church’s role was to bless them and not hold them back.

Multiplication: The Family Model

This shift sets the stage for real multiplication. Like a family, disciples grow up, move out, and start their own households. They aren’t expected to keep helping around your house or showing up for dinner every Sunday. They have their own families now—and their disciples will eventually do the same.

This approach won’t boost your church attendance or tithing. In fact, in the short term, it might hurt both. You’ll have to sacrifice your own “success” for the next generation of disciples.

Or, you could redefine success—not by how many people you can gather, but by how many you can send.