For nearly 20 years, I’ve prayed for and pursued the multiplication of disciples and churches here in Austin, while also supporting the spread of the gospel overseas. I believe multiplication is at the heart of the Great Commission—Jesus calls us to make disciples of all nations, and that work necessarily includes both sending and reproducing. How frequently that happens is ultimately the work of the Holy Spirit, but I remain convinced that disciples reproduce disciples, those disciples form churches, and those churches go on to reproduce more disciples and churches.
Lately, however, I’ve noticed a growing challenge in this pursuit—not just in missional structures or strategies, but in the hearts of everyday disciples here in Austin.
The Quiet Barriers Within
We are living in the aftermath of a disruptive cultural moment. In some sense, things feel “normal” again—but underneath, there are still scars and fears. The isolation many experienced during COVID didn’t fully recede; it morphed into a new kind of independence. People are more disconnected, and communities are more fragile. Our culture has shifted from the idolatry of individualism to an even more radical version—one rooted in unbounded self-expression and utter autonomy. Add to that the pervasive anxiety of our time, and even the simplest spiritual practices—sharing a meal, initiating a spiritual conversation, inviting someone to church—can feel like heavy lifts.
The Root of Fear
But beneath all of this, I think the root issue is fear—a quiet force that governs so many of our decisions. Fear of being misunderstood. Fear of saying the wrong thing. Fear of creating harm in already fragile relationships. Fear of not having enough capacity to care for someone else when we’re already stretched thin.
And at the core, perhaps it’s the fear of being hurt again.
The root is fear—we seem to be really, really scared to engage.
The Cost of Multiplication
What do fear and multiplication have to do with one another, you might ask?
Multiplication assumes a baseline of spiritual health—it requires margin in our time, courage in our speech, and relational trust to develop. But when most of us are emotionally threadbare, spiritually weary, or socially isolated, it’s hard to imagine stepping into the kind of self-giving love that multiplication requires.
It’s easy to talk about movements and momentum, but multiplication at its core is relational and sacrificial. It costs something. And people are hesitant to pay that cost when they’re barely holding things together.
Perfect Love Casts Out Fear
The thing about multiplying disciples is that it’s not something we manufacture—it’s the work of God through us. The apostle John reminds us that “perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18). If we want to see disciples multiply, we must shepherd people through fear with love. That may mean slowing down to walk with them in grief, helping them cultivate spiritual practices that restore rather than deplete, and reminding them of who they are in Christ—secure, beloved, and Spirit-empowered. And we must also call them to courageously share and sacrificially give, just as Jesus taught.
Multiplication will come—but not as a programmatic solution. It will come as fear is replaced with faith, and weariness is met with Spirit-born strength. It will come as ordinary believers believe again that God can use them.
A Call to the Church
In thinking about Austin, I believe this work of addressing fear—coupled with pleading for God to move—must precede any multiplication in our city. So before we ask people to multiply, maybe we should ask: Do they believe they’re loved? Have they addressed their fears? Are they walking in step with the Spirit?
Multiplication is not a strategy to execute but a fruit that grows in the soil of healthy discipleship.
Let’s be the kind of churches that till the soil of the heart and sow the seed of the gospel with the perfect love that casts out fear!
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