Multiplication Starts Here: Building Leadership Pathways for a Disciple-Making Church (2 of 3-part series)

Andy Hodgson
Mar 9
6 min read

Part 2 — From Stuck to Multiplying: How Churches Overcome the Barriers

Let's have a quick recap of the previous blog.

The Australian church is full of passion, intention, and good leaders—but the outcomes aren’t matching the hope. Attendance is declining, church planting is lagging, and fewer than 5% of churches show a multiplying disciple‑making culture. The gap between aspiration and reality is widening, and no amount of “trying harder” will close it.

The truth is simple:

our systems are perfectly designed for the results we’re currently getting.

And so...if we are actually wanting to see multiplying disciples, multiplying leaders, and multiplying churches, then we need to redesign the pathways that shape them—not just for the keen few, but for the whole church.

In the first blog of this series, we briefly explored the challenge and invited you, the leader, to take an honest look at your current leadership pipeline:

What is actually happening?
What fruit is it actually producing?
What future outcomes are we designing our pathways for?

What I always want you to be left with is not the doom and gloom, but what 'can be' if we work together. Mark Green asks this same question,

What if the 98% of Christians who feel unequipped for mission were actually envisioned and empowered?

The impact across workplaces, neighbourhoods, or, as I often like to say, 'all streams of life, and especially the impact within our churches, would be profound.

And so, although our good intentions won’t multiply leaders, if you are willing to take a step, start the journey, then together we can.

There are some initial signs of things perhaps turning, and I do mean initial or early. I was asked my thoughts on some of these early signs the other day, and what my interpretation of this was. My response was simple.

It's too early to say.

And I do mean that.

It's encouraging...But I really do think it's too early.

A trend is simply the overall direction in which something is moving over time. A change in trend means that the direction itself has shifted or changed...not just that there is a change in numbers once or twice, but rather that the underlying pattern has actually turned.

Don't hear me wrong, I sincerely pray that this is the case...not that we have necessarily shifted anything ourselves, but rather, perhaps there's an invitation to move towards what the Holy Spirit is doing.

All I am saying is that I think it's too early to say if it is a trend, or just numbers...

Anyway, I went on and shared this analogy.

I think some of these early trends are like trying to hold a butterfly. If you've ever been to a zoo with a butterfly enclosure, then you will understand the beauty and wonder of the butterflies. As you walk in, you get excited to see them all and realise that they may land on you. The challenge is not to chase them or try to force them to land. They are delicate, and the sudden movement, the holding them too tightly, can actually scare, squish and kill the butterfly.

This being said, there are certain things that you can do to help the butterflies land on you or feel comfortable around you. Whether it's the clothing that you wear, the colours or where you stand and the surrounding environment. These things do not guarantee the outcome, but they can certainly encourage it.

And I feel it is the same with this potential shift in the trend. We could rush in, try to monopolise or grow our thing, and then we would potentially kill whatever the Holy Spirit is doing. But if we prayerfully discern and join the Holy Spirit in His mission and what He is doing...then perhaps we will see revivals.

For us, at The Emerging Leaders Program, we look at sustainable and local leadership pathways. We sensed some years ago that we needed to restructure, and so instead of believing that we had all the answers,

We paused,

We listened

And we prayed.

After dozens of conversations with pastors across Australia—from metro hubs to regional towns—5 barriers came through more so than any others.

Let’s name the five big barriers, then outline the design choices that lighten the load.

The five common barriers

Busyness and time constraints. Leaders and volunteers alike are stretched. Barna’s research confirms “busyness” as the most-cited discipleship barrier. access.barna.com +1
Limited capacity and over-extension. A handful of faithful people end up doing everything, leaving little headspace to recruit and develop others.
Resource constraints. Building a robust pathway can feel expensive (curriculum, events, conferences), particularly for small and regional churches.
Resistance to change. New pathways require cultural shifts—handing real ministry away, changing what “success” looks like, adjusting calendars and budgets.
Lack of training and clarity. Many of us weren’t trained to develop others. We can preach a great series on leadership, but struggle to build an actual pipeline.

Of these 5 common barriers, which is your greatest barrier at the moment?

Busyness and time constraints
Limited capacity and ever-extension
Resource constraints
Resistance to change

These common barriers are known.

You have probably read them and reflected without much surprise.

Of these 5 barriers, two constraints surface almost every time: time and capacity. Layer on top of that limited budgets, resistance to change, and fuzzy training pathways, and multiplication can feel out of reach.

We realised that if we were to help churches create customisable leadership pathways, so that they could raise and release disciple-making leaders in their communities and contexts, then we needed to address these two big constraints.

So how does a church overcome these barriers?

How do you move forward when you feel like it's not just a wall with no doors in front of you, but rather like you're trying to wade through waist-deep surf and every step forward is swallowed by a force pushing you back.

As one often does, we developed principles to help us through our restructure and inform how we will partner with local churches to help overcome these barriers. You could think of it as a metric through which we sift all of our ideas and thoughts.

Three guiding design principles

When we design pathways with time and capacity in mind, three principles help:

Increase capacity without adding burden. Think in terms of simple rhythms and existing gatherings. For example, fortnightly “learning communities” (more in Part 3) can replace rather than add to your calendar.
Make it contextual. Equip people in the context of their calling—on their frontlines at work, in their neighbourhoods, in their ministries—so learning translates directly into practice (and doesn’t require travel budgets).
Individualise, but keep it Simple. Let participants move through modules at their competence level (not just their age or job title), while the facilitation and admin remain lightweight.

To do this effectively, it means listening, it means relationships, and it means slowing down. It means customisation to the person in front of you that you are trying to raise and release. This is at odds with our fast, one-size-fits-all approach to most things in churches...and leadership development is no different.

So what is it that I would like to encourage you in...as you perhaps look to customise a leadership pathway?

Five practical design moves

Name a clear outcome. Pick 2–3 measurable, multiplying outcomes (e.g., “Every ministry leader names and apprentices one new leader in the next 12 months; two missional communities launched this year.”)
Adopt an apprenticeship norm. Warren Bird’s research highlights simple predictors of multiplication: leaders who attend multiplication-focused meetings, personally develop a named apprentice, and set specific planting goals see better reproduction outcomes. Normalise those behaviours. unSeminary
Build a whole-church pathway. Don’t just run an internship; map how a new believer can become a disciple-maker, a team leader, and, for some, a church planter—with simple competencies and on-ramps at each stage.
Collaborate beyond your brand. Share content, co-host cohorts, and trade facilitators with nearby churches. Collaboration increases options without inflating your calendar or budget. I honestly believe that we are better together!
Measure what matters. Track a small set of multiplication metrics (apprentices named, leaders coached monthly, communities launched, people baptised/sent). Keep the scoreboard visible.

And so, what will you do?

Will you engage in this blog intellectually, gaining some interesting information, but not allowing it to transfer into any sort of action...

Or will you do something?

A simple first step

This week, ask your leadership team:

Who are your two named apprentices?
When will you meet them next, and what will you coach them toward?
What multiplication goal will your ministry aim for this quarter?

Key takeaway: You don’t need more programs—you need simple patterns (apprenticeship + cohorts + collaboration) that anyone can run.

Published by The Emerging Leaders Program, 2026