The Ministry Multiplication Cycle
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
After harmonizing the four Gospels into one unified story, the author examines the ministry of Jesus to see what we can learn today for our own churches and ministries. As the story unfolds, one finds Jesus implementing four strategic ministry tactics, in this order: -Outsiders becoming new believers through evangelism -New believers becoming committed disciples through establishing -Committed disciples becoming effective workers through equipping -Effective workers becoming world Christians through missions mobilization Together these four tactics form the “ministry multiplication cycle.” To determine whether this strategy is truly a biblical strategy or not, an in-depth look is then taken into the book of Acts. There we find the apostles, the men whom Jesus trained, implementing these same four tactics in the exact same order, with the exact same results--powerful growth through multiplication. The question remains whether the ministry multiplication cycle can be replicated today in our own culture. The answer is a resounding “yes,” when we learn to think in terms of principles and not just practices. This book is a product of over thirty years of clarifying these principles in the classroom and implementing them around the world, the latter resulting in over two thousand churches being planted among unreached people groups.
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“If the church is to complete the task of world evangelization,
she must multiply. Addition is not enough. The Ministry
Multiplication Cycle captures the strategy of multiplication
used by Jesus and reproduced by the apostles to reach the entire
known world with the gospel in their lifetimes. The book provides
not only the biblical basis but also the practical application for
us to do the same today.”
—Ed Stetzer, Executive Director, Billy Graham Center of
Evangelism
“Church planting and church multiplication are keys to ministry
explosion. As you read and study this book on the Great Commission
you will find that Christ wanted Christians to be equipped and to
maximize their God-given potential for the kingdom.”
—John Maxwell, CEO/President, Equip International
“Bill has been a friend of mine for many years and what exudes from
him most is his passion for fulfilling the Great Commission. While
many American Evangelicals enjoy the training table, the film room,
and the practice sessions, Bill has always gone beyond preparation;
he likes being in the game itself. I find that spirit both
exemplary and contagious. His latest book reflects that—and perhaps
that takeaway is what the American church as a whole can learn most
from him and his writings.”
—Ralph Drollinger, Teacher of the White House Cabinet Bible Study;
President and Founder, Capitol Ministries
“Bill Jones is a man of the Bible. What I love about Dr. Jones is
that he not only knows the Scripture so well but applies it to real
life in ministry with amazing results. As he says in this new book,
‘If the Bible teaches us what to believe and how to live, doesn’t
it seem reasonable that it just might teach us how to minister?’
The answer is yes! The ministry multiplication strategy of Jesus in
this book is a brilliant compilation of New Testament best
practices and can work in any culture.”
—Hans Finzel, leadership mentor and author of Top Ten Mistakes
Leaders Make
“When you stop and pondered Jesus’ parable of the sower, don’t you
wonder what it would be like to be the good soil that produces
hundredfold? What would it take, how would I need to grow or
surrender? Bill Jones’ book The Ministry Multiplication Cycle
provides us with a detailed, compelling look at Jesus’ ministry, as
a model for our lives to produce one hundred times. Having watched
Bill in action and served some of the same leaders together, I see
these principles lived out in his daily life. This is not just an
interesting study for Bill. It takes time to tell if soil is going
to produce a great crop, and I see God multiplying the fruit in
Bill’s life.”
—Lloyd Reeb, Founding Partner, Halftime Institute; author of From
Success to Significance and Halftime for Couples
“God has used Bill Jones’ work to be a modern fulfillment of
Ephesians 4:12. The Ministry Multiplication Cycle will equip a new
generation of believers to reach the world for Christ. Grounded in
a proper historical view of Scripture, through ingenious exegesis,
Bill moves from great detail to the very practical in this work,
making many deep concepts accessible to all who have a heart for
evangelism. I am so excited to see the impact of this incredible
work and heartily endorse it as a must-read for all believers from
those focused on rubber-meets-the-road evangelism to the academic.
You will not be disappointed; you will be changed!”
—Larry Griffith, CEO, Corporate Chaplains of America
“I respect Bill Jones’ intellect. As an educator and leader, he has
reached the apex of success in Christian higher education. But what
I truly love about Bill is his passion for the gospel and the
church. It’s a zeal that has been tested and tried over the decades
on the mission field as well as in the pulpit and the classroom.
Who better than a true practitioner to write about multiplication
and church planting than a man who has put his feet and his hand to
the plow, gotten his hands dirty in the fields, and has the
callouses to prove his love for the work of the gospel? I commend
this book to you with great enthusiasm for the message it contains
and great admiration for the man who is the vessel God is using to
shape the future of the church and missions.”
—Clayton King, Teaching Pastor, NewSpring Church; evangelist and
author
“In The Ministry Multiplication Cycle Bill Jones gives a biblical,
practical, and comprehensive process for advancing the kingdom.
I’ve been privileged to spend time with leaders of Crossover Global
and affirm they are authentically putting this strategy into
practice and seeing fruit. Bill has been teaching this for years,
but it isn’t academic theory. It’s a proven model of a Jesus
approach to unleashing the church.”
—Steve Moore, President, Nexleader; author of The Top 10 Leadership
Conversations in the Bible
“This new book combines Bill Jones’ passions—deep biblical
reflection and practical field ministry. An approach that has been
used to plant over two thousand churches among unreached peoples
over the last twenty-five years, this work will be a great
practical help to twenty-first-century global church
planters.”
—Ed Smither, President, Evangelical Missiological Society
“The enormity of the task ahead requires us to think and act with
multiplication as an expectation. Multiplication was what the
first-century church experienced. Straightforward and easy to
understand, Dr. Bill Jones captures simple yet profound steps
toward multiplication.”
—Ted Esler, President, Missio Nexus
“The book is an easy-to-read resource that will help you catch a
biblically guided process for reaching, mentoring, and multiplying
Jesus-followers globally. Bill Jones will make you think, and
rethink, your assumptions about Jesus—both the how and why he did
what he did. He will give you tools you can use and pass on as you
teach and train others. If you choose not to follow what’s here, I
hope you have a better plan than this.”
—Greg Parsons, Director of Global Connections, Frontier Ventures
(formerly U.S. Center for World Mission)
“Missionaries and Christian workers often fail to comprehend what
God is doing in the world today because they fail to grasp the
nuances of how Jesus was working in the all-too-familiar biblical
narrative. As one who has had the unique privilege of being in a
position to have an overview of how God is working in unprecedented
ways to fulfill his mission to redeem a lost world, I was thrilled
to read Bill Jones’ book on ministry multiplication. There are
others who are both biblical scholars and missiologists, but few
would combine these callings and disciplines into the unique
leadership of Columbia International University and Crossover
Global as did Bill Jones. We have always known we should multiply
witnesses and multiply disciples but have failed to see that this
is only a part of the equation. That multiplication of extended
witness to the nations was, indeed, the ultimate objective of
Jesus’ call to follow him and his life-on-life mentoring of the
twelve. This book will inspire you to emulate that pattern.”
—Jerry Rankin, President Emeritus, International Mission Board,
Southern Baptist Convention
“In times of tectonic change and a ripening global harvest, Bill
Jones unpacks an enduring biblical paradigm for how we should view
our mission—and how you can impact the world!”
—Steve Richardson, President, Pioneers-USA
“The Ministry Multiplication Cycle was introduced to me when I was
one of Dr. Jones’ students nearly twenty years ago. Today, after
using its principles on three continents, I can confidently say
this book is a must-read for church planters around the globe. Dr.
Jones is a gifted missions strategist who practices what he
teaches.”
—Brent McHugh, Director, Christar International Network
“The ministry multiplication cycle class that I took twenty years
ago under Dr. Bill Jones was a turning point in my missional
education. It has been not only my personal philosophy of ministry
since then, but also the core of my teaching curriculum across the
French-speaking world. The concept is thoroughly biblical,
theological, missiological, and practical. I am deeply thankful
that his teaching is now available in book format. A must-read for
every reflective practitioner!”
—Raphael Anzenberger, President, Global Evangelists Forum
“The challenge presented in the book is as big as the world. It has
to be accomplished among different cultures, languages, histories,
and ethnicities. Bill has researched and prepared a theologically
sound, practical, and culturally sensitive book to enable church
planters to present the gospel and plant churches. The book
expresses twenty-five years of leading a ministry that has planted
over two thousand churches among unreached people groups. Bill has
highlighted the eternal biblical principles and in his missionary
experience in a brilliant way has ‘seen Eastern Europeans plant
churches in Central Asia and the Central Asians reached then plant
churches in China.’ The future has arrived! Formerly unreached
groups are now taking an active role in fulfilling the Great
Commission.”
—Roberto Silvado, Vice President, Baptist World Alliance
“Simple. Memorable. Practical. Profound. These words describe the
steps by which Bill Jones guides us from a fresh framing of the
story of Jesus to the multiplication of disciples and churches both
locally and cross-culturally. With refreshing candor, warmth, and
humor he recounts his own journey of lifelong discovery, uncovering
timeless principles to guide fruitful ministry in every
context.”
—David W. Bennett, Global Associate Director for Collaboration and
Content, Lausanne Movement
“In The Ministry Multiplication Cycle, Bill Jones communicates a
compelling, practical, biblical strategy for those who desire to be
a catalyst for multiplication. This book provides a tested
approach—one used by Jesus—that transcends cultures for the purpose
of fulfilling the Great Commission. I hope you will read this book
and more importantly, implement its steps.”
—Frank Harrison, Chairman and CEO, Coca Cola Consolidated; Founder,
With Open Eyes
“Those that know Bill Jones will immediately recognize his ‘voice’
in this book. If you close your eyes for a moment you can hear the
evangelist speaking urgency. As you read the book you will see the
process thinker he is. For me, the shining values of the book are
Bill’s passion for lost people everywhere; his strong commitment to
the understanding, explanation, and obedience to the Bible; and the
systematic way he develops his ideas. I hope that the many who read
his book will also pick up the grand opportunity of our day, to see
the prayers of generations of Jesus’ servants from all over the
world fulfilled: world evangelization and the return of our
Lord!”
—Dwight Smith, Founder, Saturation Church Planting International
and the Global Fellowship
“Several books have been published on the topic of multiplication
over the past few years. It is trendy to write about this topic.
You may even be feeling multiplication-fatigue. However, before
writing off this matter and moving on: Stop! Read this book! In a
unique way, Jones takes readers on a journey to understand biblical
principles and consider contextualized practices related to
multiplication strategy. The ministry multiplication cycle
advocated here is simple, solid, and highly reproducible among the
peoples of this world. As a mission leader, Jones develops this
material from a quarter-of-a-century of experience in forty
countries and among seventy unreached people groups. He knows what
he is talking about! We would be wise to listen and learn!”
—J. D. Payne, author of Discovering Church Planting and Missional
House Churches
“As a church planter and ministry leader in Azerbaijan we had the
desire to extend the kingdom of God by planting sustainable
churches, but we did not really know what to do. This book answered
our questions. We learned how to evangelize in our own cultural
context, how to establish new believers, how to equip church
leaders, and how to send people to multiply new church plants. We
applied every step in this book and we have seen the results with
almost 150 new churches planted.”
—Idris Mammadov, Founder and Director, ALOV Church Planting
Network, Azerbaijan
“I met Bill for the first time many years ago in a gathering of
ministers from Central Asia and the Middle East. I was very
impressed by his knowledge of Jesus’ way of raising the Twelve to
be world-changers. When I heard that he was writing this book, I
celebrated. I had been waiting for it. Bill addresses an issue that
we as pastors, leaders, missionaries, and teachers of the word have
been searching and praying to discover: the secret of Jesus’
success. If you are desiring to find out how Jesus trained his
disciples, this book is exactly for you.”
—Ali Kalkandelen, President, Turkish Protestant Churches
Association
“I am very grateful to Dr. Bill Jones because of his books and
teaching, which have enabled us to plant 1,280 churches among
unreached people groups in India. Because of The Ministry
Multiplication Cycle we are planting multiplying churches in north
India and beyond.”
—Soloman Ghosh, Founder and General Secretary, Servants of the
Nations Church Planting Network, India
“The teachings from this book, The Ministry Multiplication Cycle,
gave our leaders a vision for multiplying new churches among
Muslims in every city and village in our country. Now our vision
has grown to multiply new churches throughout Central Asia.”
—Mansur Atoev, Founder and Director, USHMAH Church Planting
Network, Uzbekistan
“Bill Jones is the real deal. I’ve watched him be fruitful and
multiply evangelistically for decades. He has consistently won
people to Christ personally, started and grown evangelistic growth
ministries, and equipped evangelistic growth church planters
globally. This book gives you practical insights into valuable
scriptural principles for fulfilling the Great Commission. It will
help you prioritize our primary earthly task: making disciples of
the unsaved.”
—John Worcester, President, Church Planting Leadership
“Vintage Bill Jones. Birthed out of the crucible of ministry and
biblical studies, Bill offers Gospels-based principles practiced in
Acts that work globally when adapted culturally. There’s nothing
like learning from a self-reflective veteran with a servant’s
heart. A great read on church multiplication!”
—Tom Steffen, Professor of Intercultural Studies, Biola University;
author of Passing the Baton: Church Planting that Empowers
“Bill Jones is one of my heroes of the faith—because he embraces
the Great Commission and has lived it faithfully for years. This
book is deeply biblical and has been field-tested in many countries
and contexts around the world. Church planting is the macro-vision
that is fleshed out through the micro-strategy of making disciples.
Bill links these two concepts together beautifully for the reader
and practitioner. I wish I had read this book before planting
twenty years ago!”
—Jeff Shipman, Directional Team Member, Christ Together
Network
“Dr. Bill Jones introduced me to the ministry multiplication cycle
as a student under his leadership many years ago. My takeaway was,
and still is, that we are here on the earth for the purpose of
multiplying the good news of Jesus around the world. Some fifteen
years later, the staff and church planting team of Barefoot Church
is still learning from that same message. The ministry
multiplication cycle gives us traction as a church family and is
our church-wide growth process. If you are seeking to make a
difference with your life, I recommend adopting this biblical
strategy for multiplication.”
—Clay NeSmith, Senior Pastor, Barefoot Church
“Dr. Bill Jones is one of the great leaders of twenty-first-century
missions and church planting. He has started and led an
organization that practically planted many churches. Only heaven
will reveal the impact of Dr. Bill Jones’ life on the kingdom. As
colleague and friend, I wholeheartedly endorse this book and his
heart for unreached peoples.”
—Mark A. Smith, President, Columbia International University
“Bill Jones has written an excellent, highly practical, and
pragmatic workbook about leading a movement of multiplication. The
principles he articulates are applicable to both individuals and
churches, forming the basis of a church multiplication movement. I
strongly recommend this book not only to church planters,
missionaries, and church leaders who wish to develop a
multiplication tactical plan, but also to faculty colleagues who
teach practical theology to include this book in courses on
spiritual formation and discipleship, church planting and
multiplication, and Jesus’ approach to ministry.”
—Junias Venugopal, Associate Dean, School of Mission, Ministry, and
Leadership, Wheaton College
“Bill Jones possesses an uncanny capacity to confront and confound
our tragically self-centered and benign understanding of the
Bible’s message and methodological assumptions. In The Ministry
Multiplication Cycle, Jones sets out systematically to deconstruct
much of conventional understanding and help the reader to see
patterns that most of us simply miss. He demonstrates from incisive
scriptural analysis and then illustrates from church history how
ministry multiplication is clearly the pattern our Lord modeled and
his followers have replicated from the time of the church’s birth
to the present moment. If you read this book, you will not escape
the challenge to get with the master’s ministry multiplication
program.”
—Ralph Enlow, President, Association for Biblical Higher
Education
“It is my great privilege to call Dr. Bill Jones both colleague and
friend. As a gifted biblicist with literally decades of preparation
in study and practice and the leader of an iconic higher education
institution synonymous with the modern missions movement, Bill
hones in on the realities and biblical moorings of the why and how
that drive the very purpose of missions. The Ministry
Multiplication Cycle will encourage your heart and challenge your
steps as it weaves deep biblical insights with everyday
pragmatism.”
—Peter W. Teague, President Emeritus, Lancaster Bible College and
Capital Seminary & Graduate School
“Dr. Bill Jones is uniquely gifted as an educator, communicator,
and missionary. I have known Bill for several years and this book
is the epitome of his commitment to the Great Commission. This
distinctive blend paves the way for a biblical missions model that
is forward-thinking and especially relevant in today’s turbulent
times. This book is a must-read for all Christians wanting to
maximize their impact for Christ.”
—William Blocker, President, College of Biblical Studies, Houston
and Indianapolis
“If the body of Christ is going to fulfill the mandate given to us
by the Father and exert massive influence in this unchurched
society, it must be intentional in its efforts to multiply itself.
Now, more than ever before, it is imperative for the ministries of
evangelism and discipleship to push forward by expanding the
biblical pathway that will challenge and enrich the kingdom of God.
Dr. Bill Jones has provided an epistle that will unleash the plus
sign of eternity into our world and communities that will give the
twenty-first-century church a practical path for kingdom
multiplication.”
—James Dixon, President, Antioch Experience Bible College &
Seminary
Product Details
- Title : The Ministry Multiplication Cycle
- Authors:
- Jones, Bill
- Katayama, Ken
- Publisher: Wipf and Stock
- Publication Date: 2020
- ISBN: 9781725264267
For over three decades, Bill Jones has served simultaneously in two distinct yet complementary arenas: the university campus and world missions. At Columbia International University, known for its strong Bible teaching, Jones served as a professor and then president. Currently he serves as the university’s chancellor. At Crossover Global, a church-planting organization he cofounded to provide gospel access among unreached people groups, he served first as president until becoming chairman of the global board.