Despite our heart for the city, our combined ministry efforts are hardly putting a dent in the enormous task of sharing the gospel with every man, woman and child in greater Austin. We agree that the need for church planting in our area is undeniably staggering. We have seen that one of the most effective ways to reduce the lostness of our area is to plant new churches, while at the same time refreshing existing churches.

We recognize that many local organizations are currently involved in church planting. We celebrate those who are sending and supporting church planters. We also want to advance the gospel through a coordinated effort.

As such, we prayerfully seek to:

• Communicate with each other about church planting plans, strategies and best practices
• Renew our hearts for evangelism in our existing churches.
• Assess our individual church “operating systems” to help us understand not only how to grow through adult evangelism, but how that growth translates into new expressions of local churches.

One of our favorite resources for exploring multiplication is the organization Exponential. We recommend checking them out. Here’s a taste of where you can start from their website:

"Changing your church’s scorecard and operating system from addition to multiplication growth requires you to honestly assess where your church is on the multiplication spectrum. Exponential developed several assessment tools to help churches move toward multiplication by discovering their multiplication profile and pattern. One of the best places to start is with the Becoming 5 Assessment Tool. Church leaders who've taken the assessment say that learning about their multiplication profile has helped them find their starting point. Take the assessment now."