By Dustin Weber
A false contrast often emerges in ministry circles:
“I feel called to justice.”
“I feel called to multiplication.”
It’s as if planting churches and seeking justice were two different paths — parallel, maybe even competing. But in the mission of God, they are deeply and inseparably connected.
The call to multiply disciples and plant churches is not a distraction from justice — it is one of God’s primary strategies for bringing shalom to the world.
When we talk about justice, we are talking about restoring right relationships: with God, with neighbor, with creation, and even within ourselves. That is precisely what the gospel does when it takes root in a person’s life. And when disciples are made and communities of faith are formed, that restorative work expands beyond individuals to neighborhoods, systems, and generations.
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“Multiplication and justice are not rival callings. They are mutually reinforcing expressions of God’s mission to heal the world.”
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Justice Work + Church Planting
Justice work is not done instead of church planting. It is made sustainable through church planting. Likewise, church planting is not merely about launching Sunday services — it is about establishing gospel-centered communities where truth, love, mercy, and equity are lived out daily.
A church that is truly shaped by the Spirit will seek justice. And justice work that flows from the Spirit will always call people into deeper relationship with Jesus and with one another —something that thrives in the soil of a local church.
Multiplication and justice are not rival callings. They are mutually reinforcing expressions of God’s mission to heal the world.
Multiplication Isn’t About Size — It’s About Mission
When Jesus commissioned His disciples in Matthew 28:18–20, He wasn’t just launching a church growth movement. He was sending people to form communities where the reign of God would take root and flourish.
This is about witness (Acts 1:8), not empire.
It’s about planting the gospel so that people are not only saved — but set free. So that lives, families, systems, and neighborhoods are transformed. So that the oppressed are lifted, the broken restored, and the hungry fed (Isaiah 61:1–4).
Churches grounded in this mission are not content with private faith. They become agents of justice, healing, and renewal.
Every New Disciple and Church: a Node of Shalom
When a person turns to Christ, shalom begins to take root. When a new church is planted, an ecosystem of grace, justice, and restoration begins to grow.
Every disciple is a potential peacemaker.
Every church is a potential launchpad for justice.
Church planting done well doesn’t compete with compassion ministries — it fuels them. It nurtures them. It sustains them for the long haul.
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“The work of justice and the work of multiplication are both grassroots movements.”
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While I was working internationally in church planter training, we once had the opportunity to meet with government officials in a region rebuilding after a war. Although the majority religion was not Christianity and these officials were of another religion, they welcomed us to plant churches in their region because they had found that villages with churches were more socially stable.
They had no theological reason to favor church planting — yet they recognized its fruit: reconciliation, peace, and social renewal. Even without fully understanding the gospel, they could see the impact of gospel-shaped communities. The church was functioning as a node of shalom, visibly healing broken places.
Communities without churches often remain spiritually disconnected and socially vulnerable. But when churches multiply in those very places, the gospel takes on flesh.
The Gospel Spreads Most Fruitfully Through Ordinary People Living Sent
The work of justice and the work of multiplication are both grassroots movements. They flourish not through programs alone but through ordinary people living out the gospel in the rhythms of daily life.
Movements are born when regular believers live sent — loving neighbors, discipling others, and participating in the Spirit’s restoring work.
Disciples who live sent don’t choose between justice and multiplication. They embody both. Because the world needs both.
Live Sent Practice
Identify one person you can disciple intentionally. Ask:
- Where is God already at work in that person’s life?
- How can I walk with that person toward greater wholeness and purpose?
- How might this journey ripple outward into others?
Shalom multiplies one life at a time.
This article originally appeared as part of the “Saturating the World with Shalom” series on the author’s Living Sent website. It is republished with permission.
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Dustin Weber serves as the director of Mission Igniter, a national church multiplication incubator that empowers leaders and networks to start and grow new expressions of the church. Mission Igniter supports planters and churches through recruiting, training, coaching, and systems for sustainable multiplication. A passionate advocate for holistic church planting, he has served as a stateside church planter, local church lead pastor, and international missionary. He is deeply committed to seeing the whole gospel bring transformation to whole communities. He holds a B.A. in philosophy and religion from Spring Arbor University and an M.A. in Biblical studies from Asbury Theological Seminary. He is an ordained elder in the Free Methodist Church USA.
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