Believing for the Hundredfold
What could God do through a family of churches in a decade if we stopped maintaining and started multiplying?

⏱️ 3 min read

At a recent ChristCentral UK leaders’ day, Chris set out our vision for the decade ahead: 100 churches, 1,000 leaders and 10,000 baptisms by 2036. Behind it sit Jesus’ parable of the sower (Matthew 13) and God’s covenant promise in Leviticus 26.

Can we see it before it’s here?
Chris began with the opening of Walt Disney World in 1971, five years after Walt Disney died. Someone reportedly said it was a shame Walt never saw it. The reply came: “He did see it. That’s why it’s here.” Vision has been described as “a picture of the future that creates passion in people.”

We tend to overestimate what we can do in one year and underestimate what we can do in ten. As we were in the process of forming this vision before God, a number of prophetic words were shared which pointed us in the direction we felt God was leading us. One was a picture of ChristCentral as a great railway station, with powerful engines ready to head out in different directions. They also sensed God’s mercy bringing fresh energy where progress had stalled. Another was saying that God was calling us to be “not maintainers, but multipliers.”

Why plant, and who will lead?
Jesus spoke of seed that “fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty” (Matthew 13:8). Chris shared that planting new churches is the best way to see people saved, and he’s only here himself because someone planted a church in Leeds. Going from 45 churches to 100 simply means each of our UK churches planting once in the next ten years. That’s about how long it takes for a plant to stand on its own two feet.

More churches need more leaders, though. Chris longs to raise up the next generation of Peters, Phoebes, Pauls and Priscillas. Stu shared about our Emerge conference and put it simply: feed what you want to grow! For many of us, God took hold of us in our late teens or twenties. And all of it rests on prayer. Leslie, who leads Next Generation Prayer, shared how God broke her heart in August 2023, as the news brought report after report of teenagers being stabbed. “We need to get hold of God for the next generation.”

Is evangelism someone else’s job?
Ten thousand baptisms is the scary one. At current rates we’d see about 300–350 per year. Steve, who oversees our Euangelion Initiative, says the biggest thing that has to change is the idea that evangelism is something someone else does. Jesus’ first call to His disciples was “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). Among His last words was the promise “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8). If being filled with the Spirit doesn’t lead us to witness, Steve shared, something is disconnected.

He shared about the simple “Towards 10,000” cards. The card says “Pray and invite” and has space for five names. One name on Steve’s list is a neighbour of fifteen years who is still a long way from Christ, but a little closer than he once was. Since Steve started praying for him again, they’ve had about five conversations in three weeks, the same number as in the six months or so before. Steve echoed Andy Robinson’s message from our prayer day: praying for the lost is a matter of life and death.

Life Application

• Write down five people you will pray for and look for chances to invite. Keep the list somewhere you’ll see it every day, like in your Bible.
• Think of one young person you could invest in this year, even with a coffee or a shared meal.
• Ask God together as a church: what part might we play in planting over the next ten years?

Conclusion
“Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand” (Leviticus 26:8). The numbers are big, but God is bigger. So let’s pray boldly and believe for the hundredfold. Lord, give us eyes to see what You want to build, and hearts to pray until it’s here.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV.

You can listen to the recordings from our day conference below: