A Culture of Gospel Multiplication: Guest post by Andy O’Rourke
Andy (middle) with two Indian pastors during a recent field visit with Compelled.
Did you know followers of Jesus need to understand basic math? The most important mathematical principle in Christian mission is multiplication. Gospel multiplication is at the heart of the Great Commission that the Lord Jesus has entrusted to his people (Matthew 28:18-20). This divine mandate involves the multiplication of disciples, new churches, and ultimately, the multiplication of kingdom impact throughout the earth. When I travelled to India this past March, I saw three clear examples of gospel multiplication.
I observed the first example deep in a remote mountain area of Northeast India where there is a church plant that is almost three years old. Our team arrived in a van to this village after sundown, so as not to attract too much attention from neighboring towns. We were met with a very warm welcome, filled with music and dancing. In fact, we danced down the street all the way into the church for a worship service! The local church planting pastor grew up in this village. After finishing his Bible School training, he eagerly desired to come home to reach his own people with the good news of Jesus Christ. By God’s grace, the church in this village now has approximately 140 new believers. Amazingly, this young church plant has already helped to start five new churches in neighboring villages!
The second example of gospel multiplication came from a conversation I had with one of the Senior Leaders in Northeast India. Through the decades of his ministry, he has baptized over 50,000 new believers, raised up 600 pastors, and overseen the planting of 600 churches. But this leader is one of the most humble and prayerful men I have ever met. As he looks forward to whatever remaining time God grants him on this earth, he has a vision for even greater gospel multiplication. Last year, God impressed a vision upon his heart to raise up 1,000 pastors, start 1,000 churches, and establish 100,000 believers! You will never see this man’s name in news headlines, but he is faithfully making an exponential impact for eternity.
I saw a final example of multiplication during our visit to the main ministry office in Delhi. When we were touring the facility, I noticed a 5-year vision statement written in several places. This vision statement read as follows:
Our Method 1:1:1
Let every believer produce
ANOTHER BELIEVER,
Let every pastor produce
ANOTHER PASTOR,
Let every church produce
ANOTHER CHURCH,
every year.
With the help of God,
WE WILL DO IT.
I am passionate about the ministry of Compelled because I have witnessed firsthand a culture of gospel multiplication. This multiplication is ingrained into the DNA of believers, leaders, churches, regions, and an entire movement. As individuals and churches partner together with what God is doing in India, I am convinced they are making a strategic investment and a multiplying impact for the gospel of Christ.
Andy O'Rourke currently serves as the Adult Ministries Pastor at First EFC in Maplewood, MN. He is a graduate of Moody Bible Institute (B.A) and the University of Northwestern - St. Paul (MATS, MDiv). With over 20 years experience in church planting, Andy is passionate about reaching the unreached, starting new churches and equipping leaders. He married his high school sweetheart (Sara) in 1999 and they have two adult children (Ava & Luke).