Dear Friends,
The local church is Jesus’ primary means of bringing lasting transformation to a lost and broken world. From the earliest gatherings of believers to today’s growing movements, God has always worked through ordinary men and women who faithfully live out the gospel where they are planted. As Scripture reminds us, “You are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27). The local church is designed to be a living witness—carrying God’s presence, hope, and redemption into every corner of life and society.
After decades of studying and practicing missions, I am more convinced than ever that Church Planting Movements (CPMs) can change everything. We have seen this not only through M3 Global and our work across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), but also through the consistent reports of trusted friends and ministry partners serving in other hard-to-reach places. Their stories echo the promise of Acts, where “the word of God continued to increase, and the number of disciples multiplied greatly” (Acts 6:7). Time and again, we are hearing accounts of hundreds—even thousands—coming to faith in Christ, forming into churches, and boldly sharing their newfound faith with others.
Here in the Middle East, for example, we recently heard of another Muslim cle
ric lamenting during his Friday sermon over the many in his area who had left Islam to follow Christ. And in Africa, an elderly church planter shared during a training, “It took us years to plant four churches in this place. In the past ten months, we’ve started seventy cell churches.” These testimonies reflect the truth of Jesus’ words: “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).
A Church Planting Movement is a Holy Spirit–led process in which churches rapidly reproduce within a people group so that every person has the opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel and participate in a local church. This mirrors the pattern of the early church, where believers “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship… and the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:42, 47). Many now recognize CPMs as one of the most effective approaches to modern missions because they overcome both the mathematical and cultural limitations of traditional ministry.
Traditional church planting often moves slowly, relying on trained professionals, dedicated buildings, and significant financi
al resources. CPMs, by contrast, multiply rapidly by empowering local believers to make disciples and plant churches in homes, cafés, or even under trees, with minimal cost. This reflects Paul’s instruction to Timothy: “The things you have heard from me… entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2). With the world’s population growing by approximately 80 million people each year, the global church cannot keep pace through addition alone. Only multiplication will do.
Ultimately, the local, multiplying church reflects God’s design for how His kingdom advances—quietly and relationally. As believers are discipled, leaders equipped, and churches planted, lives and communities are transformed from the inside out. As Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed… though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it becomes the largest of garden plants” (Matthew 13:31–32). This is why investing in the local church, and in Church Planting Movements, truly changes everything.
For His Global Glory,
