When a church is healthy, it develops a pipeline for reproducing lay leadership. From an early age, children and youth are encouraged and equipped to be current and future leaders in the church. Young singles and young marrieds are listened to and are involved in decision-making processes. Median adults disciple younger adults. Senior adults mentor, encourage and empower the generations beneath them to pour their lives into the Great Commission work of and through the local church.

Unhealthy churches often find themselves at a sudden impasse—in need of lay leadership but having none. Healthy churches do not wait for positions to open before leaders are trained, mentored, and released. It is a sure sign of congregational immaturity to protect positions of power instead of empowering the next generation for leadership. When a healthy, mature church is firing on all cylinders, the opinion and contribution of every church member is valued. Men and women of faith are being discipled, empowered, and released to take ownership in the life of the church. If a leadership vacuum exists today, it is because the church did not reproduce lay leaders yesterday. And if they do not reproduce lay leaders today, they may have no church at all tomorrow.

Where will the next generation of pastors and church leaders come from? Where are they right now? They are in your pews, your chairs, your classrooms, and your homes. In an unhealthy church it is an awkward and unusual thing to license or ordain someone into the ministry. Unhealthy churches have no clear pathways for pastoral mentorships or vocational ministry internship tracks. They can only hope to trip their way through the reproduction of a vocational church leader.

Conversely, healthy churches are intentional and proactive toward it. They regularly call church members to respond to the call of vocational ministry. They budget and plan for internship pathways. Their ministerial leadership is purposeful in discipling and mentoring potential future ministers. Calling out, equipping, and releasing pastors, ministers, and missionaries is a regular part of their congregational rhythm. Healthy churches reproduce vocational church leadership. God calls men and women to vocational ministry in every generation. Healthy churches invite them to respond to this call, equip them in their calling, and send them out to advance the Great Commission.

Healthy churches start churches. They not only reproduce leaders, but they mobilize their people to reproduce gospel-centered, Great Commission minded churches as well. When churches are empowered by the Holy Spirit, focused on the glory of God, and passionate about reaching their city, their state, their nation, and their world with the gospel of Jesus Christ, they cannot help but plant more churches. It is the most natural, organic thing a Great Commission church can do. Some healthy churches partner with other healthy churches to accomplish this—pooling their resources and relationships to support church planting initiatives. Some healthy churches raise up groups from within, incubate them, and send them out to growing areas of their city or state. Some develop church planting centers or internships for the whole purpose of releasing leaders and starting a new work. Unhealthy churches say they want the gospel advanced, but they are too internally focused to be a part of church planting. Healthy churches look for opportunities to reproduce. Healthy churches plant healthy churches.

It is important to note that successful reproduction does not always result in numerical growth. Successful normative sized churches, especially in small towns, reproduce lay vocational leaders and send them out through the generations. Similarly, sometimes successful Great Commission focused reproduction actually results in numerical decline for a local congregation, as membership and leadership are sent out to plant a new church.

Is your church actively reproducing lay leaders? Are you training, equipping, and releasing vocational ministers? Are you planting new gospel-centered, Great Commission minded churches? Unhealthy things stagnate. Healthy things reproduce.