Multiply

Today, and in episodes to follow, I want to share some thoughts about characteristics that I look for when identifying potential future leaders. 

We don’t know a lot about Jesus’ disciple called Nathaniel. But one thing we do know about Nathaniel is that he owes a debt of gratitude to another disciple, the one named Philip. Listen to John 1:44 – 49:

I am excited to share today, or shall I say, “reinforce,” the vision that God has given One Mission Society’s Village Church Planting.

Many Christians have asked themselves, “What is my part in God’s big plan?” A simple answer is to work for God’s ultimate purposes on earth. The end that God is working for has been called God’s Z. To learn more about Z thinking and how it can guide you to do the will of God

He also makes the observation that “true leaders do not seek power but are driven by a passion to achieve a noble cause.”  In our context, we have the ultimate noble cause, that of Christ’s Kingdom.  

To learn more about God’s ultimate plan for the world and how we can join Him to bring it to fruition click here to enjoy a new edition of Multiply:

The church is simply a representation of God‘s hand at work in a group of people transformed into followers of Jesus Christ, growing into a healthy body of believers. Why plant churches? Because we love God, and we love people. 

To learn more about why church planters invest so much energy in starting new communities of faith, click here to enjoy a new edition of Multiply:

* Leadership is about influence more than power or authority * Godly leaders must be consistent in their 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.

Our topic for 2025 was steward leadership, and today we launch into 2026 with a new series on Leadership Development. I believe that our current limitation to further growth lies with the need to identify, raise up, equip and empower more leaders.

Acts 3:5, and the man began to pay attention to them equally, expecting to receive something from them. (anticipate, expect) When we pray for God to be in control of our hearts in the coming year, we can wait with expectation because God is always faithful to us. We can stand in that truth that he gives us to be transformed into his image.

As we close out 2025, in this episode I want to say a big thanks to the many people who make possible the Multiply podcasts.

The world we live in is broken. We see brokenness all around us. But this was not God’s original design. God created the world so that we could experience his love and so we could love one another. Finally, 2,000 years after calling Abram, in the fullness of time, God sent his one and only Son to be born in Bethlehem. This is God’s Big Story. The story of Christmas, when his Son took on flesh and became one of us, is an important part of that Big Story. So, tell it well and tell it often; tell others and tell it over again to yourself. Tell it to your family and your church. Tell it to your village and your nation. It is the greatest story ever told!

During 2021 I shared three leadership values of VCP Supervisor Peter Baraka, and today I would like to highlight them once again.   1. A good leader listens well and understands others’ perspectives. 2. Godly leaders are not afraid of criticism 3. We must love those we lead.

Good and godly leaders seek input from all involved and seek the Lord as they make decisions.  We cannot please everyone with every decision, but good leaders can ensure that everyone involved feels like they had the opportunity to be heard. 

God has entrusted me with many blessings, and I feel the weight of responsibility to steward His many blessings in order to meet his expectation (the scripture says “will be demanded”) of fruitfulness. 

Character matters – This theme is foundational; if one fails to have good and godly character, then he or she cannot be trusted with God’s resources or blessings.  Stewards have an obligation to account for their stewardship – our earthly leaders have a responsibility to hold us accountable for our use of organizational and Kingdom resources. Stewardship necessitates cultivating relationships 

The principle here is that faithful stewards will be entrusted with more.  This principle certainly applies to our work in Village Church Planting. 

If we are to steward well the resources and provision of God for VCP, we must aspire to see growth. (And, praise the Lord, VCP is experiencing amazing growth as we are now working in 36 African nations with more than 800 training centers.)

Firstly, if we as steward leaders are to “achieve the owner’s (or the master’s) objectives, we must have relationship with the owner. In our context, our Master is Jesus Christ. Secondly, as steward leaders we must develop relationships with those who are our followers.  Third, and lastly, steward leaders must cultivate relationships with the resources. I will be quick to admit that I needed some help on this point, so I did an internet search, and here is the result