When mission becomes everything.
For the last year, I’ve been gathering stories and case studies of multiplying movements of disciples and churches around the world. I’m now turning the research into a book to be published in the first half of 2026.
What’s striking about these movements is the clarity of their mission and the way they turn vision into action. Their mission is to multiply disciples and churches to the glory of God among every people group and in every place. They move towards that mission in tangible ways by going, identifying receptive people, sharing the gospel, gathering around the scriptures, making disciples, planting churches, and developing leaders.
They know what to do on Monday morning.
Contrast mission in the Western world. For more than a century, we’ve been discussing, debating, and defining what “mission” means. The emerging consensus—first among mainline denominations and now a growing number of evangelicals—is that “mission” is about the renewal of the whole creation, which includes evangelism but also seeks socio-political transformation and creation care. Mission has become everything and therefore nothing.
These movements do not deny the social impact of the gospel. They witness that impact every day. What they do deny is that transformation is the goal rather than the fruit of their mission. They see transformation because the gospel, discipleship, and church formation are at the heart of their mission.
The men on death row in Texas who gather for discipleship and community are not trying to dismantle the unjust power structures of the world in which they grew up, or of the prison system in which they live. They are getting right with God and learning to love the people around them. The atmosphere in the prison is changing for the better as an overflow of the gospel. It’s possible to conceive of a situation in which prison officials and gang members are antagonistic to the gospel. The result would be persecution, not transformation. That was the pattern in the Book of Acts.
Consider the disciples in Islamist Iran, Communist Laos, or Hindu nationalist India; should their mission be socio-political transformation, they can expect a violent confrontation with the authorities. They’re willing to suffer, but they’d rather be suffering for the gospel.
The truth is, the restructuring of society is something only privileged and powerful Westerners can imagine.
Which cities or societies were transformed by the disciples in the New Testament? Jesus announced the destruction of Jerusalem, not its transformation. Paul stood before Nero in chains for the sake of the gospel. He wasn’t there to advise the emperor on economic policy.
One reason why there are so few multiplying movements in the West is that we’re not clear on the core missionary task, and we don’t know what to do on Monday morning. Perhaps we have something to learn from these movements that are multiplying disciples and churches around the world.
