How can we aim for anything less?

Even though I read a book or two each month, I don’t often use this space to directly recommend books. But this is an important one.

If it is true that there are movements of lost people to Jesus that number in the tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions, then that reality would necessitate that kingdom workers, and indeed, all believers, should pay attention.

If it is not true, then all this talk of multiplying disciples and churches is misleading at best, and downright scandalous at worst, giving thousands of kingdom laborers an ideal that can never be met.

Enter “Inside Church Planting Movements: What 25 Years of Assessments Reveal” by David Garrison.

Garrison, the author of the original book Church Planting Movements, tackles the question of the reality of movements to Christ with a hard look at the data from when the International Mission Board (IMB)1 did extensive assessments of reported movements.

Garrison's review of the deep-dive assessments by IMB Staff of reported movements revealed three key realities. In reverse order:

#3, there were ‘almost movements’, where hundreds or even thousands of new disciples and churches have resulted, but are not a true multiplying movement.

#2, there were over-reported movements, where an assessment revealed that original reports were not completely true.

#1, there were true movements, where hundreds of thousands of new disciples have resulted in thousands of new churches.

This book left me with this reality: You can deny #1 if you want, but to do so you would be calling the IMB and, by extension, the entire Southern Baptist denomination liars. The people calling for and reviewing these assessments of movements were everyday pastors from Southern Baptist churches. You probably know someone like them. Their definition of church was not watered down in any way. In fact, I have visited some places in the US that would not meet the standard they were using to assess movements.

The proof is there; movements to Jesus are real.

And while I acknowledge that no one is given a promise that they will be the one to catalyze a movement, I think the realities of the assessments and the state of lostness in the world should make us ask this question:

How can we aim for anything less?

A couple quotes:

• The assessment team in 2020 determined that only one of the 14,190 new churches started in 2019 no longer met.2

• There’s a difference between “being a missionary” and “being on mission.” In the former case, the missionary is the … end in themselves. Their definition of what it means to be a missionary merges with their ministry activity, regardless of whether or not it accomplishes the goal of bringing a people group to Christ.