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Andrew Estes - The Clarity Project

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  • Writer's pictureAndrew Estes

The Gospel Is Not Designed to Draw a Crowd: Rethinking Disciple-Making Effectiveness

In a world obsessed with numbers, growth metrics, and the pressure to pack services, it’s easy to measure church success by how many people show up on Sunday. But in Future Church, Will Mancini and Cory Hartman challenge this mindset, stating, "The Gospel is not designed to draw a crowd." This profound truth, which comes from the "Law of Power" in the book’s Seven Laws of Real Church Growth, redirects our focus from relevance to the true power behind real church growth: the Gospel.


"The Gospel is not designed to draw a crowd."

The message of Jesus wasn’t a "relevant" movement designed to attract followers through slick presentations or cultural relevance. Rather, it was a radical call to transformation, a message that, throughout history, often repelled as much as it attracted. The Gospel is a confrontation with our brokenness, an invitation to die to ourselves so that we may live in Christ. It’s not a crowd-pleasing message—it’s a life-altering one.


Crowds vs. Disciples


At the heart of this conversation is the difference between drawing a crowd and making disciples. Jesus himself had moments where his teachings caused many to walk away (John 6:66). He wasn’t concerned with maintaining popularity; instead, he focused on shaping a few followers into disciple-makers who would multiply and carry his message to the ends of the earth.


In today’s church culture, there’s still an emphasis on attraction. Flashy services, consumeristic programs, and a constant push for relevance can sometimes overshadow the true power of the Gospel. While being culturally aware is important, the power to transform lives rests solely in the message of Jesus Christ—not in our ability to stay current or entertaining. Sometimes, it seems as though we don't believe the Kingdom Gospel is enough.


The Law of Power: Real Church Growth


Mancini and Hartman’s "Law of Power" states that, "real church growth is powered by the Gospel, not relevance." This challenges us to reevaluate our approach to disciple-making. Are we drawing people into a relationship with Christ, or simply to an event? Are we building disciples, or building our brand?


True disciple-making doesn’t rely on attractional events or programs; it thrives in the deep work of equipping believers to understand their identity in Christ, develop the skills to live as disciple-makers, and send them out to share the Gospel in everyday environments. This is the essence of true multiplication, where believers are empowered to bring the Gospel to the people they live, work, learn, and play with—spaces that are often more receptive to the message of Jesus than a church service might be.


Moving Beyond Attendance to Activation


Many churches measure success by attendance, connection, and service. While these are important, they fall woefully short of what Jesus started. This activity is what Mancini describes as the Functional Great Commission, "Go into all the world and make more worship attenders, baptizing them in the name of small groups, and teaching them to volunteer a couple of times a month." It's the way we often function. True disciple-making requires activation. It's about mobilizing believers to live as unique ambassadors of Christ, intentionally trained and equipped to make disciples in their own spheres of influence.


At RunFree, we help churches shift the focus of their disciple-making efforts from simple church involvement to full-on life mission, activating the agency of every believer in the common calling disciple-making of every believer, powered by their special and unique calling. Our process helps churches move the finish line from attending, connecting, and serving, to equipping and sending believers who:


- Understand their calling as a unique ambassador of Christ.

- Are intentionally trained in the skills of disciple-making.

- Engage people in Gospel conversations where they live, work, learn, and play.

- Share their story and God’s story.

- Form relational discipleship groups that grow, training others to do the same.


This is the type of disciple-making that reflects the Gospel’s true power. It’s not about drawing the biggest crowd but transforming lives and communities through authentic, Spirit-dependent multiplication.


The crowd may not be the measure of success, but lives transformed by the Gospel most certainly are.

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