Healthy churches don’t happen by accident. They are shaped by leaders who are willing to learn, reflect, be challenged and keep growing in their own leadership.
That is the heart behind Multiply, the Church Health Team’s two-year equipping and coaching program for pastors and church planters. Its vision is to see more churches empowered to make disciples, raise up leaders and plant new churches, contributing to the wider Gen1K vision of a growing movement of healthy, multiplying churches.
The fifth Multiply cohort gathered at Kiah Ridge from 18 to 20 August for its first of four three-day Learning Intensive. Since the program began in 2022, more than 70 pastors have taken part across five cohorts.
Ben Cochrane, Associate Pastor at NewHope Church, has participated in three Multiply intensives. For him, one of the greatest benefits is simply having space to step away from the demands of ministry.
“Getting out of Sydney for the three days was valuable,” says Ben, “it gave me space away from the day-to-day demands of church leadership to reflect, listen and allow God to speak into my current season of ministry.”
That space is combined with practical equipping. Between the intensives and monthly coaching through local Learning Communities, participants explore everything from leading through change and biblical governance to discipleship, developing leaders, strategic planning and church planting.
“It has been good to hear a number of different perspectives on how to build a healthy church,” reflects Ben, “both from those new to ministry and those that have many years of ministry experience.”
For Tracy Wang, who is involved in church planting, those conversations have helped reshape her understanding of what healthy growth looks like.
“Multiply has challenged me to think beyond simply focusing on numbers, risks and activities, and to pay attention to the spiritual and relational health of the church from the very beginning,” says Tracy, “this has been quite transformative for me.”
That focus on health is central to both Multiply and Gen1K. The aim isn’t simply to see churches become bigger, but to become healthier. To see churches making disciples, developing leaders and creating a culture where multiplication can happen.
Multiply is designed to help leaders turn their ideas into reality. “Multiply is not only about giving church planters a theological or conceptual framework,” says Tracy, “but also providing practical tools and processes to help us build healthy churches step by step.”
The importance of this combination of practical training and relationships has been evident since the first cohort.
Over the years, participants have called Multiply “one of the most helpful things” they’ve done since Bible college. With its “solid, practical, well presented, biblically shaped input”, alongside the “encouragement and camaraderie from likeminded pastors”, Multiply is growing and strengthening pastors from across NSW and ACT.
As Tracy reflects, the impact continues beyond the intensive: “I am very grateful for the wisdom, encouragement and relationships I have received through Multiply,” she says, “I believe these lessons and resources will continue to shape how I lead and develop our church.”
Multiply is an investment in pastors for the sake of healthy churches. As leaders are equipped and supported, the hope is that more churches will flourish, more disciples and leaders will be raised up, and more churches will be planted.
Please pray for the pastors taking part in Multiply, and for the churches they lead. Pray that God would use these times of learning, coaching and relationship-building to strengthen healthy churches, raise up new leaders and multiply disciples and churches. And pray that, together, we would see the vision of Gen1K become a reality, not through our efforts alone, but through the work of God among his people.
