Why Plant Churches?

 

Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis, and this is “Multiply,” the podcast that provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

Some have said, “There is no command in the Bible telling us to plant churches. Why do you spend so much energy on church planting?” The assertion that there is no biblical command saying, “Go plant new churches!” is true. But the statement is misleading. When the apostles heard Jesus’ command recorded in Matthew 28:19,20 given on the day of his ascension, shortly before the day of Pentecost, they put His word into practice by planting churches. They planted their first church in Jerusalem. But from there they continued church planting through Judea and Samaria to the ends of the earth, just as he had commanded. When we plant churches, we follow the example of Jesus’ apostles.

But why plant churches?

The Great Commission is grounded in the Great Commandment to love God and neighbor. Jesus’ call to love our neighbors as ourselves is the basis for making disciples by planting churches. Most church planters’ hearts overflow with love for those who do not yet know Christ. Does yours?

We plant churches because the love of God constrains us. We long for many, not just a few, to be reconciled to God, to experience the abundant life in Christ, to know the Good Shepherd, to live confidently and full of hope. So, we plant churches.

And we long for transformation, for liberation, for peace, and harmony. We know that only God can bring redemption. We know that only the Messiah can fulfill the deepest longings of our neighbors. But we also know that community is God’s idea and that communities are a big part of God’s plan for blessing the world. He guided Adam towards blessing when He said, “It is not good that man should be alone.” This of course applies to marriage. But it also can be applied to other communities like churches.

We plant churches because we love the blessing that is shared when followers of Jesus unite in faith, when they come together in one accord, when they submit together to the Lordship of Christ. So many people in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas who enjoy the fellowship and sense of community that comes with being a member of a healthy church say “I never experienced love like this in my family. This church is a wonderful blessing to me!”

So, we plant churches because we want people to experience authentic community where they walk in the light, as Jesus is in the light, and they enjoy life giving fellowship.

Why do we plant churches? It’s all about love. We follow the example of Jesus who loved us and gave himself for us. If you are starting to plant churches, don’t quit. If you have planted many churches, don’t quit. Church planting is love at work.

This has been “Multiply,” and I’m Dean Davis asking, “Who will you share this encouraging word with today?”

#EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters #PlantChurches

Leadership Development - What Do We Mean by Leadership?

 

    This is Chuck Rapp with Multiply, a podcast to provide a word of encouragement for village church planters and leaders.

Our topic for 2026 is Leadership Development. Today I want to begin by addressing some fundamental understandings of leadership … what it is – and perhaps more importantly – what it is not.

For the past 33 years, I have adhered to the following leadership definition shared by a Sunday School teacher I had during our years living in Belgium. He brought both a military and a biblical Christian perspective as he taught us about leadership.

Leadership is the ability to influence people through consistent obedience to God’s commands.

​​​- Lt. Colonel Gene Klann, NATO, 1993

I like the directness and simplicity of this definition.

* Leadership is about influence more than power or authority

* Godly leaders must be consistent in our obedience to God. People will choose not to follow those who are hypocritical.

* The foundation of our leadership must be fidelity to the Word of God and the instruction of the Holy Spirit.

Here is a second description that applies very well to Christ-honoring leaders. This comes from Dr. Robert Clinton.

A leader is a person with

1. God-given capacity, and

2. With God-given responsibility to influence

3. A specific group of God’s people

4. Toward God’s purposes for the group ​​​-

I appreciate his clarity.

* A leader’s capacity comes from God (more on this in a moment)

* Leadership is a responsibility entrusted to us from the Lord (again, more on this in a moment)

* Leadership is about influence and not coercion

* Leaders lead groups of people in order to achieve the purposes of God. This aligns with our description last year of a steward leader as “someone who manages resources belonging to another person in order to achieve the owner’s objectives.”

I have two more observations to share today.

1. Leadership is a spiritual gift. In Romans 12:8, Paul wrote about spiritual gifts, and he had this to say. “If [ones gift] is to lead, do it diligently.”

2. Leadership is also a calling. Acts 13:2 shares the experience of Saul and Barnabas.  “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.’ These two were called to be leaders in the early Church, and God still calls and raises up leaders today.  

May we be open and receptive to God’s calling and gifting in our lives.  May we also be attentive to those around us as we are intentional to identify and equip new leaders.

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters and leaders.

Leadership Development - Introduction to Our 2026 Series

This is Chuck Rapp with Multiply, a podcast to provide a word of encouragement for village church planters and leaders. 

Our topic for 2025 was steward leadership, and today we launch into 2026 with a new series on Leadership Development. This year’s theme was prompted by a conversation I had in early December at a Coalition of the Willing meeting in Lome. 

I was asked by JJ, the leader of the Coalition of the Willing work, “what would it take for VCP to double in the next 5 years?”  That was a great question; one that I pondered for a few moments. 

It believe it was the Lord who quickly brought to my realization that VCP already HAS doubled in the past 5 years. Pre-Covid, VCP had about 350 training centers in 19 countries; today we are working in 36 nations with nearly 900 training centers. We praise God for this growth. 

To return to JJ’s insightful question, the Lord showed me that our limitation is not funds. The Lord has repeatedly demonstrated His provision to us. 

I believe that our current limitation to further growth lies with the need to identify, raise up, equip and empower more leaders. We need more VCP trainers, coordinators and supervisors. We need more Church Multiplication Facilitators and support personnel in the US. We need more skilled mapping technicians in Africa, and we need more African and western project managers. Undergirding all this, we need more pray-ers. 

Consequently, in 2026, this podcast series will be devoted to Leadership Development.  Supervisors and coordinators, I am speaking to you right now. I need your help translating and passing along these episodes to those whom you are leading.

I would also ask you to be intentional in your efforts to identify, equip, mentor, empower and release emerging leaders. Here is an important principle to consider. Leaders, until you have prepared someone to succeed you, you cannot be considered for promotion. I want to repeat that. Leaders, until you have identified and prepared a successor, you won’t be promoted; you are still the only person capable of performing your current role. 

I will close this episode with Jesus’s view of leadership from Matthew 20:25-28. Godly leaders are called to serve those whom we lead. 

Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters and leaders.