Leaders Who Multiply

By Larry Barker, Regional Coordinator for Europe and North America

“To add growth, lead followers. To multiply, lead leaders.” (John Maxwell)

At BMA Global we are blessed and fortunate to have these kinds of leaders around the world. God’s call to leadership requires a focus on leading others to lead others who lead others. The challenge is not just teaching people to live like Jesus but to lead like Jesus. Second Timothy 2:2 talks about discipleship to the fourth generation (Paul, Timothy, faithful men, others), and God has enabled BMA Global to see this principle lived out right before our eyes in Nicaragua, Mexico, and the Garifunas, just to name a few. 

BMA Global’s second value statement tells us that “the entire context of the New Testament is one of multiplication. All healthy believers and churches will multiply. The multiplication of disciples is the most important factor in the formula for multiplication.” We are blessed to be watching the multiplication of disciples, leaders, and churches. Mac Lake refers to discipleship as “intimacy with Jesus” and leadership as “influence for Jesus.” Discipleship focuses on character, and the journey of leadership development is being carried out by adding competencies and skill sets to the character building seen through discipleship.   

In Gaining by Losing, J. D. Greear gives five essential traits of multiplying leaders, areas for leaders to think through and wrestle with by applying them to their ministry context. In Spiritual Leadership, Henry and Richard Blackaby state, “Spiritual leadership is moving people on to God’s agenda.” Thankfully we are witnessing this and seeing godly leaders focused on developing and raising up more godly leaders. C.S. Lewis said, “The church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ and make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time.” 

The first essential trait is clarity. In our recent Global Care Conference, Drew Cline stated, “Clarity is kindness.” My, how true this is, because one of the greatest landmines in ministry is unrealistic expectations. Leaders realize that some people have expectations they will never be able to live up to. Why? Because they just are not realistic. 

In leadership, your team must be able to see what you see. Thankfully, at BMA Global there are leaders around the world who are able to envision what God is desiring to do: godly leaders seeking God’s agenda with their eyes fixed on the mission of God. They can state it and teach it, and they are repeating it.

The second essential is familiarity, repeating it over and over. You will be tempted to think, “Oh,  they already know this” or “They are tired of hearing this.” Actually, that is when they are just beginning to hear it, understand it, and own it. BMA Global has stated over and over again clearly that we need leaders to “Go, Disciple, Plant, Repeat!” The best that can be said is what God has already said. It is not about a bunch of new facts or new discoveries that are needed. It is becoming more deeply aware of the things God has already said in his Word and doing them. Thankfully, those are the kinds of leaders God has given us.  

Another essential trait of a multiplying leader is proximity. People’s lives only change when they see change modeled. Developing leaders who multiply  is less about a class where you teach leaders  and more about a life that you model in front of them. In The Multiplication Effect Mac Lake states, “He [Jesus] didn’t just randomly and spontaneously choose these men and invest in them–he had spent time getting to know them and letting them get to know Him. He walked with them, taught them, modeled evangelism with them, prayed for them, and invited them to walk alongside him.” BMA Global leaders are modeling this very principle.

The fourth essential trait of a multiplying leader is equity, because the ultimate goal is the transfer of leadership. The goal is not getting someone to help you but getting them to lead it, own it, and take responsibility for it. 

BMA Global’s fifth value statement says that “the mission of God must be carried out according to indigenous principles. We are the scaffolding, not the edifice. Our goals are for sustainability and reproducibility.” This truth is modeled in Nicaragua where our American missionaries left over 35 years ago. There were nine organized churches then, and today there are almost fourteen with ten current church plants and a vision to plant ten more.The fifth essential trait of a multiplying leader is humility. Leaders who are willing to lead with an open hand. They refuse to hold on too tightly to those they develop but are focused instead on equipping, empowering, and releasing. Our goal in leadership is the multiplication of disciples, leaders, and churches. It is humbling because many times these leaders have watched their “best” disciples be the very ones with the desire to leave and multiply. The temptation is to hold on to them, but spiritual leadership rejects the desire to control and instead is driven by a heart to commission others into his mission.