This mini-series is a summary of my notes from the Exponential East 2016 Main Sessions.
Becoming a Level 5 Church
Speakers: Erwin McManus, Ed Stetzer, Jon Ferguson
The opening session will set the stage for the week’s conversation and introduce the 5 levels of multiplication addressed in the theme book Becoming a Level Five Multiplying Church.” Exponential East 2016 Main Session 1
The 5 Levels of Multiplication
I didn’t know leading a church could cost me so much.” Erwin McManus
Level One – Subtracting
Every Sunday the church gets smaller and scarcity is king.
Level Two – Plateauing
Opportunity surrounds them but they remain unchanged
Level Three – Adding
This is the church on the run from plateauing, growing 1 person here, 1 person there.
Level Four – Reproducing
One church becomes two and they both grow; eventually they both reproduce.
Level Five – Multiplying
This is God’s dream for the church without limits, the church on the move.
I don’t want to spend my life shifting existing Christians into cooler churches.” Ed Stetzer
Characteristics of a Multiplying Church
- Embraces a Kingdom vision
- Prepares the planter
- Loves the lost & intentionally evangelizes
- Commits to discipleship
- Develops other leaders
- Creates a clear strategy to multiply
Inflection Point
Only 4% of churches in the US reproduce or multiply. We need to get that to 10% and we have the critical mass to accomplish it. We’re at an inflection point.
What do we do?
A preview of the main sessions to come:
Motives (Session 2) – is this church going to be about my kingdom or God’s Kingdom?
Measurements (Session 3) – is this church going to be about growing or sending?
What you measure improves and what you celebrate gets repeated.” Dave Furgeson
Methods (Session 4) – is the future about risk-taking or relaxing?
Download the FREE eBook Becoming a Level 5 Multiplying Church
Download Stetzer’s The State of Church Planting in the US 2015
Challenge Questions
- Where are you now (reality check)?
- Where do you want to go (honestly)?
- What will it take to move up a level?