Not long after I began pastoring one of the campuses of Community Christian Church in Chicagoland, I realized something had to change. We had momentum – growth was steady, community partnerships were strong, and we were seeing people find their way back to God. From the outside, everything seemed to be moving in the right direction.
But then I came across a startling statistic: Our city of 200,000 had over 100,000 people with no church home. Half the city still needed to encounter Jesus. That number shook me. As pastors, our instinct is often to think in terms of bringing people in – more services, more seats, more strategy. But as I visualized our efforts on paper, I had a hard realization:
We were doing a better job of gathering than we were of sending.
Rethinking Church Around the Mission
If we truly wanted to make a dent in the spiritual lostness of our city, we had to rethink what it meant to be the church. We had to embrace the priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:9) and take seriously the call to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19).
I began learning from friends at places like Tampa Underground and Kansas City Underground – leaders who had already begun reimagining church through the lens of multiplication. Then, COVID hit. Like many others, we were given an unexpected opportunity to experiment. We started asking: What if church wasn’t just something you attended – but something you could start right where you live?
That’s when we launched our MicroChurch initiative.
The MicroChurch Journey Begins
It started with a simple question: “Who is interested in this?”
To our surprise, hands started going up. God had already been stirring hearts – people wanted to reach neighbors and friends but didn’t always know how. We gathered a cohort and trained them around three core competencies:
- Leading from a Healthy Self
- BLESS Practices – Begin with prayer, Listen, Eat, Serve, and Share Your Story
- Practical Leadership Tools for discipling others
Through online connections, we found others across the globe wrestling with the same questions. MicroChurches began forming in places we never imagined.
Growth That’s Slow – Until It Isn’t
I’ll admit, I expected faster results. Friends had warned us: multiplication takes time. And they were right. For the first two years, we plateaued at around six MicroChurches. Some flourished. Some faded. But we stayed the course because we believed deeply that God was doing something.
And then it happened.
Suddenly, leaders started launching new MicroChurches. Interest snowballed. People who had once been content attending began imagining themselves as disciple-makers and planters. Multiplication had taken root.
What If a Whole City Could Multiply?
As we celebrated local wins, we asked a bigger question:
“What would it take to see a movement like this across Chicagoland?”
Once again, God had already been at work. We discovered networks of MicroChurch leaders quietly multiplying throughout the region. Together, we began dreaming: What if we launched 200 MicroChurch networks (each with 4–6 MicroChurches working together to plant more)? It would take unity, collaboration, and a belief that the church is not confined to buildings or platforms – it’s people living on mission.
Today, we’re seeing MicroChurches emerge in neighborhoods, among marginalized communities, and in homes where deeper discipleship and authentic relationships are taking root. This is more than a ministry strategy – it’s a movement of ordinary people empowered by an extraordinary God.
How You Can Start
If you’re ready to explore MicroChurches in your context, start here:
- Assess your mission field. How many in your community are still far from God?
- Do the multiplication math. How many people could you train and send to start something new?
- Identify the willing. Who’s already asking deeper questions about mission and discipleship?
- Build a process. How will you identify, train, send, coach, and multiply MicroChurch leaders?
- Collaborate. Who else in your city is already doing this? Don’t go it alone.
Don’t Wait – God Is Already Moving
God is using new expressions of the church to reach new people in new ways. The harvest is still plentiful. The workers are still few. But movements begin when ordinary people like you and me say yes to the Great Commission.
Are you ready to start multiplying?
This ministry was featured at the NEXT Ventures Pitching Deck at Exponential Global 2025 and received a grant. For more information about NEXT Ventures, please visit https://exponential.org/ventures/
