Serving the Church on God’s Mission
Discipleship Ecosystem
I live in a part of the world that is rich in farmland. The farmers here are currently focused on preparing the soil, seeding all kinds of crops, and keeping an eye on the weather. As they well know, some things are in our control, and so many things are an act of faith. There are many things in life that we must entrust to God’s care and provision.
I want to return to the metaphor of an ecosystem that I’ve written about before. It helps us to understand discipleship through the Church in the kingdom of God. This metaphor is timely as the USMB Church gathers this July in Salt Lake City, with the theme ‘Cultivate - Living on Mission with Jesus’.
An ecosystem is a complex, diverse, interconnected environment where living and nonliving components interact with one another. Diversity contributes to stability and health, allowing each component to thrive while supporting the flourishing of the whole. Ecosystems are never stagnant; they are constantly growing, adapting, pruning, and renewing. Life emerges through seasons of cultivation, patience, and dependence on forces beyond human control.
The prophet Isaiah described the Lord’s ecosystem in vivid detail: fertile soil, cleared stones, watchtowers, walls, rain, pruning, and the patient expectation of a harvest (Isaiah 5:1-7). Likewise, Paul spoke of planting and watering while recognizing that God alone causes growth (1 Corinthians 3:5-9).
The Church is Central
God is not merely growing individual Christians, He is growing His Church. The Church is where God’s cultivation, planting, and watering happen. Through worship, prayer, Scripture, fellowship, service, and mission, the Spirit prepares the soil of our hearts. As disciples grow, the entire ecosystem becomes healthier and more fruitful. Even through seasons of dormancy, drought, and fallow, God is at work - in and through His Church.
The Church is not an afterthought in God’s mission, but central to His eternal purpose. Through the Church, God reveals His wisdom, His power, His grace, and His reconciling love to both the visible and invisible realms. Throughout his letter to the church in Ephesus, Paul presents the Church as God’s new humanity, united in Christ and filled with His presence. He has placed all things under Christ and appointed Him as head over the Church, which is His body and fullness (Ephesians 1:22-23). He is building a holy temple in which He dwells by His Spirit (Ephesians 2:21-22). Through the church, His manifold wisdom is being made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 3:10). He is forming a mature body that reflects the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13). He is preparing a radiant Bride for His Son (Ephesians 5:25-27). These are remarkable images and realities of the Church on God’s mission.
Disciple-making, leadership development, church planting, and mission are not separate activities, but part of the same ecosystem of kingdom growth. They are interconnected dimensions of God’s larger purpose to build His Church among all peoples. Disciples become part of communities. Communities mature into healthy churches. Churches raise up leaders and send workers. New disciples are made, and the cycle continues. The ecosystem exists because God is growing and multiplying His people throughout the world. When viewed through this lens, the Church becomes the primary ecosystem in which disciples are formed, nurtured, and sent.
A Trellis for Growth
Every flourishing vineyard requires both living growth and supporting structures. Vines need a trellis—not to produce fruit, but to support healthy fruitfulness. The same is true for the Church on God’s mission.
Structures, strategies, and leadership frameworks are valuable when they serve life rather than replace it. They help create environments where disciples can mature and mission can multiply. At Multiply, we seek to serve the Church on God’s mission by cultivating, developing, and aligning both the organic and the organizational components. Through prayer, obedience to Scripture, and frameworks such as the Mission Strategy Map, we aim to support local churches and national leaders as they move from disciple-making to leadership development, church planting, and being sent as witnesses to all nations. Our structures function as trellises that support growth, while trusting that God alone gives the increase.
Throughout this Witness you will see various ways that we support the development and sending of missionaries from North American and other regions. You’ll read about how we support national leaders as they engage in making disciples, developing leaders and planting churches in all regions of the world. We are privileged to work with partners who live and serve the Church in very difficult situations, sometimes making impossible decisions in very challenging contexts.
This is the labor that we do together. This is the Church on God’s mission. We are an imperfect and broken vessel, but we are the Body and Bride of Christ. May God find us faithful to be His witnesses, empowered by His Spirit, in our own expressions of Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth.
