Do you remember the Toyota “sticky pedal” crisis? Between 2007 and 2010, Toyota recalled millions of vehicles after discovering that accelerator pedals could stick or respond slowly, causing unintended acceleration. These issues stemmed from two small mechanical flaws – minor errors that became major problems when multiplied.
Small errors, when mass-produced, become catastrophic at scale. Put simply, you don’t want to multiply the wrong thing.
As church multipliers, you may not be producing car parts, but you play a vital role in the spiritual formation of people. We must ask ourselves: What kind of disciples are we multiplying? Even the best systems and strategies won’t lead to lasting impact if what we’re multiplying lacks spiritual health and depth.
Today’s Multiplication Dilemma
Over the past few years, I’ve noticed a growing trend among Christians: Many believers are eager to speak up on cultural issues or secondary theological debates yet often struggle to explain the foundational truths of their faith.
This is not a matter of intelligence or devotion – it is about spiritual formation. Somewhere along the way, we may have emphasized the wrong things. Could it be that we’re multiplying confusion instead of clarity? What the church needs isn’t just more content, but a deeper anchor in doctrine.
Recent research reflects today’s dilemma. Barna’s Gen Z Volume 3 report found that Gen Z Christians are “marked by uncertainty and questioning,” with 42% believing that “Christians consistently fail to practice the teachings of their religion.” The next generation isn’t afraid to ask hard questions – but they’re often finding churches unprepared to provide thoughtful, biblical answers.
The Solution
I believe the solution is to return to and re-emphasize the basics of our faith. When churches anchor discipleship in foundational Christian beliefs, they create spiritually mature believers who naturally contribute to multiplication – of leaders, small groups, and churches.
Multiplication is the natural outcome of a firm foundation in the essentials of faith. When believers know who God is, they see themselves as God’s children. When they understand why Jesus came, they want to share the good news with others. When they grasp the purpose of the church, they become more committed to multiplication.
Jesus spoke to the importance of a firm foundation of faith: “. . . everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock” (Matthew 7:24–25, CSB). Everything depends on a strong foundation. Without it, even the most impressive ministry programs become unstable structures built on shifting sand.
Multiplying Leaders
When churches build discipleship on core Christian beliefs, people become leaders who multiply.
Believers who are grounded in foundational doctrine begin to see themselves through the lens of Christ’s calling. They’re more likely to step into leadership – not out of obligation, but out of conviction. When someone truly grasps the gospel’s transformative power, they naturally become a catalyst for transformation in others. This kind of leadership isn’t about filling volunteer roles. It’s about developing spiritual leaders who influence their families, workplaces, and communities.
Consider the early church leaders. They weren’t seminary-trained professionals, but they were anchored in foundational truths about Jesus’s identity, mission, and resurrection. This solid foundation enabled them to multiply leaders across the world with remarkable speed and effectiveness.
Multiplying Small Groups
Focusing on the essentials of faith helps small groups grow and multiply.
When people can confidently articulate their Christian beliefs, they are more likely to share their faith with others. Sadly, many longtime churchgoers still struggle to articulate essential doctrine. During the pandemic, we saw this disconnect clearly. People left churches or abandoned the faith altogether – often over secondary or tertiary issues. The division in the church revealed that many of us had made non-essentials central, and essentials optional.
That’s why our team created a resource called Essentials of Faith – a Bible study series designed to help churches return to core truths. It’s one way to help believers grow deeper in knowing what they believe and why it matters. When small group leaders and members are grounded in essential doctrine, they’re better equipped to answer tough questions, welcome new people, and raise up new leaders – naturally creating more groups.
Multiplying Churches
A strong faith foundation doesn’t just support individuals or groups. When churches anchor discipleship in foundational Christian beliefs, they create spiritually mature believers who contribute to the multiplication of churches in sustainable, healthy ways. With a solid pool of leaders and small groups who understand God’s call for multiplication, churches will thrive, grow, and eventually plant more churches.
Recent data provides encouraging evidence of spiritual renewal in the United States. According to Barna’s State of the Church 2025, “66 percent of all U.S. adults say they have made a personal commitment to Jesus that is still important in their life today. That marks a 12-percentage-point increase since 2021.” This represents the “clearest indication of meaningful spiritual renewal in the United States” in decades.
Interestingly, we’re witnessing young men returning to church in significant numbers. Barna found that “men – especially younger men – are more likely to be Jesus followers than are younger women” in State of the Church 2025.
This is all really encouraging data – but renewal must be rooted. Without sound doctrine, new churches can become vulnerable to distraction or division. Foundations matter. When churches are grounded in the essentials of faith, they can unify around mission instead of a personality or preferences.
The Path Forward
As church leaders, we must resist the temptation to pursue multiplication without ensuring we’re multiplying the right things. Like Toyota’s sticky pedal crisis, small foundational flaws become catastrophic when scaled. Instead, we must commit to anchoring our discipleship efforts in foundational Christian beliefs. When we get the foundation right, multiplication will happen naturally. Leaders emerge. Groups grow. Churches multiply.
The question we all face is simple: Are we multiplying the right thing?
As pastors and church leaders, we have the opportunity to return to the essentials. Not just for the sake of information, but for formation – for shaping disciples who are grounded in the gospel and ready to live it out in a complex world.
If your church is looking for tools to support that kind of discipleship, Essentials of Faith is one option. But the bigger invitation is to refocus our discipleship efforts around what truly unites us: the good news of Jesus Christ.
