How to Win A Billion Souls: Multiplication

DALLAS – Evangelizing a billion souls can be done within a generation, say church leaders. It's a reasonable goal for the more than one billion people who profess to be Christians, they add, but Chri

DALLAS – Evangelizing a billion souls can be done within a generation, say church leaders. It's a reasonable goal for the more than one billion people who profess to be Christians, they add, but Christians need to do something different.

"We're not catching up with the five billion [unsaved souls]," said Larry Stockstill, pastor of Bethany World Prayer Center in Baker, La., at a church leaders gathering this week. "We got to do something different."

The simple answer: multiplication.

There are three types of people in the church, Stockstill explained at the Billion Soul Summit in Dallas – attenders (the crowd), members (the congregation), and multipliers (the core). Multipliers typically only make up 10 to 15 percent of a church. In his 10,000-member church, he described 1,500 of them as multipliers.

Evangelism Explosion President John Sorensen stressed the same concept, except he called it "spiritual multiplication." If every Christian shares the gospel, the more than one billion Christians would become more than two billion in only one generation.

But there are only two kinds of Christians, Sorensen categorized – those learning to witness and those witnessing. The greatest challenge to world evangelization is finding leaders who don't just talk about evangelism, but do it, he said.

The role of the church is not to keep people in the pews, but the goal is to get Christians out of their own church to spread the gospel and plant churches around the world.

"Anything that doesn't reproduce dies," said international speaker Sunday Adelaja, also pastor of the Embassy of God, one of the largest churches in Europe. Not only does this simple survival theory apply to the human population but also to churches.

"It's all about multiplication," said Global Pastors Network head James O. Davis, who helped spearhead the Billion Soul campaign.

In order to multiply, the megachurch pastors and ministry leaders went back to the basics to ensure churches and new church plants get their mission right.

"More and more churches are preaching less of the gospel," said Dr. James Merritt, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention. "We must prioritize the message of the gospel" – the gospel being the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The Billion Soul Harvest is looking to plant five million churches and save one billion souls in the next ten years. International evangelist Reinhard Bonnke said a billion is "a good start."

"Multiplication happens in our hands," he told summit attendants, alluding to the biblical story of the five loaves and two fish, but the miracle is Jesus’.

Since the inception of the Billion Soul Harvest in September 2005, the Global Pastors Network has held seven U.S. Billion Soul Summits, with its most recent one in Dallas on Tuesday. It has also set up international congresses, with its first in Lima, Peru. In November, the Billion Soul initiative will head to Johannesburg, South Africa, for its second congress with the involvement of church leaders from all of Africa - which many say is becoming the epicenter of Christianity. A third congress will soon follow in Fiji with Christian leaders from all 22 island nations.

To multiply for at least a billion souls, Stockstill told Christians to start by discipling one person.

    Most Popular
  • Is 'The Last Supper' worth watching? Audience and critics weigh in

    Is 'The Last Supper' worth watching? Audience and critics weigh in

    Faith-based films often receive mixed reactions, and The Last Supper is no exception. The movie attempts to bring a fresh perspective to one of the most iconic moments in Christian history, but does it succeed? Some reviews from critics and audiences provide insight into its strengths and shortcomings.

  • ‘The Chosen’ Season 5: The darkest season yet—What to know before watching

    The wait is over—The Chosen is back with its fifth season, and this time, things are getting intense. The new episodes dive straight into the final days of Jesus’ life, covering some of the most emotional and dramatic moments in the Bible. If you’ve been following the series, you already know that The Chosen isn’t just about retelling familiar stories—it’s about bringing them to life in a way that feels real.

  • Massacres in Syria: Over 1,000 dead, including Christians and Alawites

    Syria’s coastal regions have been devastated by a series of massacres, with reports indicating that over 1,000 people—many from Christian and Alawite communities—have been killed in brutal attacks. Entire families have been wiped out, and survivors are fleeing in search of safety as sectarian violence escalates.

  • Kim Sae-ron and Wheesung: The tragic irony of Korean society and the principles of happiness

    Not long ago, the media was in an uproar over actress Kim Sae-ron’s passing. Just months before, the same people who had relentlessly criticized her for her DUI incident were now expressing sympathy, saying, "The world was too harsh on her." The irony is impossible to ignore.

  • Newsboys move forward as a quartet after Michael Tait’s departure

    After more than a decade as the lead singer of the Newsboys, Michael Tait has officially parted ways with the band, marking a significant shift in the Christian rock group’s lineup. The remaining members—Jeff Frankenstein, Jody Davis, Duncan Phillips, and Adam Agee—have assured fans that they will continue forward, embracing a new season of music and ministry.