Real Life Theology Podcast How Your Church Can Plant a Church (feat. Renew Movement)
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Today’s episode will help us understand how churches can move beyond growth to true multiplication by embracing disciple-making, overcoming common barriers, and leveraging collaborative church planting strategies.
Understanding the Renew Movement: Church Planting and Multiplication
Join Todd Wilson and Brett Andrews in an in-depth discussion about the Renew Movement and its mission to address issues in church planting and disciple making. Discover crucial findings from national studies showing less than 7% of U.S. churches are involved in church planting, and understand the five-level framework used to measure church multiplication. Learn about the six distinctives of Renew Movement, focusing on sound theology, disciple making, healthy support, accountability, reproduction, and collaboration. Understand the practical pathways for church planting and how churches can affiliate with Renew Movement to make immediate and impactful decisions. The session also introduces new opportunities for church planters and churches through multipliers' journey and MSO cohorts, aiming for robust disciple making and church multiplication.
Get our Premium podcast feed featuring all the breakout sessions from the RENEW gathering early.
https://reallifetheologypodcast.supercast.com/
Key Takeaways
00:00 Introduction and Overview
01:36 Current State of Church Planting
04:09 Framework for Measuring Church Growth
07:49 Challenges in Church Reproduction
10:13 Importance of Multiplication
27:38 Renew Movement's Mission and Distinctives
29:30 Renew Faith Statement: A Theological Distinctive
31:04 Reproduction: Planting Churches that Plant Churches
32:38 Immediate Involvement in Church Planting
35:50 Pathways for Planting: Collaborative, Parent, Pioneer, and Affiliate
38:32 Affiliation with Renew Movement
44:49 Legacy Churches: Revitalization and Rebirth
48:03 Multipliers Journey and MOS Cohorts
Renew Movement – Workshop Episode
In this episode, Todd Wilson, Brett Andrews, Patrick Bradley, and Dave Putman break down the Renew Movement’s approach to church planting and affiliation. They explore key strategies, current challenges, and how churches can shift from growth to true multiplication.
Todd Wilson kicks things off by outlining the session’s focus: understanding today’s church planting landscape, how to affiliate with Renew Movement, and tackling common obstacles. He notes that their audience includes both new church planters and existing churches seeking affiliation. A Q&A session follows, with lunch providing an opportunity for extended discussions.
The State of Church PlantingThe team examines two national studies revealing troubling trends: fewer than 5% of U.S. churches actively make disciples, and only 7% are engaged in reproducing or planting new churches. Wilson stresses the connection between disciple-making and church planting—strong discipleship fuels sustainable church growth.
They introduce a five-level framework for church growth:
- Level 1: Declining churches (35%)
- Level 2: Plateaued churches
- Level 3: Growing churches
- Level 4: Reproducing churches
- Level 5: Multiplying churches
The challenge? Most churches never move beyond growth to reproduction, and true multiplication is rare.
Addition vs. ReproductionWilson clarifies a crucial distinction: adding services or campuses isn’t the same as planting new, self-sustaining churches. Many multisite models expand attendance but don’t create independent church-planting movements.
Brett Andrews tackles the biggest barriers to church reproduction—fear of scarcity (lack of resources) and fear of inadequacy (lack of wisdom). He encourages leaders to trust God’s provision and lean on collaborative church networks.
Six Core Distinctives of Renew Movement- Sound Theology – Ensuring doctrinal integrity in church planting.
- Disciple-Making – Making disciples the foundation of church growth.
- Healthy Support Systems – Offering coaching, training, and assessment.
- Reproduction DNA – Embedding multiplication into new churches.
- Accountability – Maintaining mission alignment and integrity.
- Collaboration – Encouraging churches to work together in planting efforts.
Wilson highlights that every church is just one decision away from church planting, thanks to Renew’s collaborative model. He introduces four planting pathways—Collaborative, Parent, Pioneer, and Affiliate—each designed to meet different needs.
For struggling churches, Renew also provides a path for legacy churches to transition their resources and vision into new church plants.
Closing ThoughtsWilson and his team emphasize the importance of theological alignment and accountability in the evolving church planting landscape. They invite attendees to engage with Renew by affiliating, joining learning sessions, and embracing collaborative planting strategies.
At its core, this episode underscores Renew Movement’s mission: moving churches beyond simple growth into true multiplication, equipping them to disciple and reach more people effectively.
Interested in more content from RENEW? Sign up for our newsletter: https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/
Today’s episode will help us understand how churches can move beyond growth to true multiplication by embracing disciple-making, overcoming common barriers, and leveraging collaborative church planting strategies.
Understanding the Renew Movement: Church Planting and Multiplication
Join Todd Wilson and Brett Andrews in an in-depth discussion about the Renew Movement and its mission to address issues in church planting and disciple making. Discover crucial findings from national studies showing less than 7% of U.S. churches are involved in church planting, and understand the five-level framework used to measure church multiplication. Learn about the six distinctives of Renew Movement, focusing on sound theology, disciple making, healthy support, accountability, reproduction, and collaboration. Understand the practical pathways for church planting and how churches can affiliate with Renew Movement to make immediate and impactful decisions. The session also introduces new opportunities for church planters and churches through multipliers' journey and MSO cohorts, aiming for robust disciple making and church multiplication.
Get our Premium podcast feed featuring all the breakout sessions from the RENEW gathering early.
https://reallifetheologypodcast.supercast.com/
Key Takeaways
00:00 Introduction and Overview
01:36 Current State of Church Planting
04:09 Framework for Measuring Church Growth
07:49 Challenges in Church Reproduction
10:13 Importance of Multiplication
27:38 Renew Movement's Mission and Distinctives
29:30 Renew Faith Statement: A Theological Distinctive
31:04 Reproduction: Planting Churches that Plant Churches
32:38 Immediate Involvement in Church Planting
35:50 Pathways for Planting: Collaborative, Parent, Pioneer, and Affiliate
38:32 Affiliation with Renew Movement
44:49 Legacy Churches: Revitalization and Rebirth
48:03 Multipliers Journey and MOS Cohorts
Renew Movement – Workshop Episode
In this episode, Todd Wilson, Brett Andrews, Patrick Bradley, and Dave Putman break down the Renew Movement’s approach to church planting and affiliation. They explore key strategies, current challenges, and how churches can shift from growth to true multiplication.
Todd Wilson kicks things off by outlining the session’s focus: understanding today’s church planting landscape, how to affiliate with Renew Movement, and tackling common obstacles. He notes that their audience includes both new church planters and existing churches seeking affiliation. A Q&A session follows, with lunch providing an opportunity for extended discussions.
The State of Church PlantingThe team examines two national studies revealing troubling trends: fewer than 5% of U.S. churches actively make disciples, and only 7% are engaged in reproducing or planting new churches. Wilson stresses the connection between disciple-making and church planting—strong discipleship fuels sustainable church growth.
They introduce a five-level framework for church growth:
- Level 1: Declining churches (35%)
- Level 2: Plateaued churches
- Level 3: Growing churches
- Level 4: Reproducing churches
- Level 5: Multiplying churches
The challenge? Most churches never move beyond growth to reproduction, and true multiplication is rare.
Addition vs. ReproductionWilson clarifies a crucial distinction: adding services or campuses isn’t the same as planting new, self-sustaining churches. Many multisite models expand attendance but don’t create independent church-planting movements.
Brett Andrews tackles the biggest barriers to church reproduction—fear of scarcity (lack of resources) and fear of inadequacy (lack of wisdom). He encourages leaders to trust God’s provision and lean on collaborative church networks.
Six Core Distinctives of Renew Movement- Sound Theology – Ensuring doctrinal integrity in church planting.
- Disciple-Making – Making disciples the foundation of church growth.
- Healthy Support Systems – Offering coaching, training, and assessment.
- Reproduction DNA – Embedding multiplication into new churches.
- Accountability – Maintaining mission alignment and integrity.
- Collaboration – Encouraging churches to work together in planting efforts.
Wilson highlights that every church is just one decision away from church planting, thanks to Renew’s collaborative model. He introduces four planting pathways—Collaborative, Parent, Pioneer, and Affiliate—each designed to meet different needs.
For struggling churches, Renew also provides a path for legacy churches to transition their resources and vision into new church plants.
Closing ThoughtsWilson and his team emphasize the importance of theological alignment and accountability in the evolving church planting landscape. They invite attendees to engage with Renew by affiliating, joining learning sessions, and embracing collaborative planting strategies.
At its core, this episode underscores Renew Movement’s mission: moving churches beyond simple growth into true multiplication, equipping them to disciple and reach more people effectively.