A Church That Multiplies 2: Healthy, Interdependent Plurality of Leadership

It was such a great joy to be with you at District Conference and to celebrate together what God is doing in our midst. As you were reminded, God is up to something good and we are joining with God in the good work that God is already doing. As I shared with you on the opening night, our goal of 30 new Kingdom advancing environments is a TOGETHER goal. We work together to create new environments where we can see the Kingdom advanced and be a light in the darkness. And together we have seen 7 new environments started with 5 more in process. Praise God who is the only reason any of this is possible.

Last month I introduced the idea that there are some qualities that need to be present for a church to multiply in a healthy and productive way. The first quality is that of “Divine Expectation and Engagement”. A church needs to live in such a way of dependence on the Lord that they know that God is going to meet them in a real and tangible way at every step of the journey. A church that lives in the knowledge and experience of God’s presence is one that is poised to multiply.

The second quality of a church that multiplies is a “Healthy, Interdependent Plurality of Leadership”. Leadership in the Kingdom is not limited to one or two at the top of a hierarchical system. Rather, effective Kingdom leadership is lived out among a larger number of leaders working in tandem according to their gifting within productive, healthy, relational environments where there is balance in diversity of gifts, talents, abilities, and calling. One Scriptural model for this type of leadership is found in Ephesians 4:11-13: “11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

This model, abbreviated as APEST (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Shepherd, Teacher), is one way of envisioning church leadership through a lens of gifting and calling that helps people to recognize how they can best serve the church. Not every church will be structured with a formalized APEST-style organizational chart (though some are), but it is important to note that each of these roles is for people with gifting and calling to serve the church. And the outcome APEST-style leadership in this passage is that people are equipped for service, the body is built up, unity is achieved, and people become mature.

Though we could discuss and disagree about whether the APEST framework is normative or situational, one feature of this passage I don’t think is up for discussion is that it illustrates for us that leadership in the church is done by a group of people each using their gifts to serve in the ways that God calls them to. No one person can fulfill all of the leadership roles needed in a church, instead, it takes a group of people working together.

This plurality piece is such an important factor for church multiplication because a church that wants to multiply must raise and empower leaders and give them real experiences in ministry and leadership. A single-leader church where that leader expects to do everything and make every decision never will multiply because the church has no habit of EMPOWERING, which is at the heart of a healthy interdependent plurality of leadership. 

As you think of your church in light of this characteristic, where would you self-evaluate? Is the leadership at your church healthy? Is it interdependent, with multiple leaders speaking into decisions and ministries as opposed to only having one voice make all the decisions? Is there a plurality of leaders with multiple leaders working together? Which of these is your strongest? Which is an area where you can try to grow? Churches that multiply are necessary to see Kingdom impact multiply. Keep up the fight and continue the good work.

Kyle Magstadt

Associate Superintendent for Church Multiplication
North Central District of The C&MA