Two thousand years after Jesus ignited a global movement, the Motus Dei Network is sounding a call: it’s time for the church to recover the Spirit-empowered dynamism of its earliest days. Their new statement, “Reactivating the Church as Movement,” urges the global church to move beyond institutional maintenance and embrace the kind of disciple-making movement seen in the New Testament.
In early 2025, a team of nine scholars and practitioners drafted the core text. Feedback from within the Motus Dei Network sharpened the language, clarified terms, and strengthened its biblical and cross-cultural grounding. Additional input at the network’s symposium in May ensured the statement’s relevance across diverse ministry contexts. Finalized in September, it is now being shared globally and has already been translated into multiple languages.
Christian witness has always flourished when ordinary people share the good news in everyday settings.
“Reactivating the Church as Movement” reminds us that Christian witness has always flourished when ordinary people share the good news in everyday settings, form simple gatherings, and equip new leaders who can do the same.
The Statement
The statement presents twelve core affirmations that fuel gospel movements: the centrality of Jesus, Scripture as the foundation, God as the author of movements, disciples making disciples, healthy multiplication, generative ecclesiology, integrating motus dei with missio dei, principled incarnational engagement, church as a living network, holistic mission, unity and partnership, and prayer, fasting, and perseverance in suffering. Each affirmation includes a clarifying paragraph including biblical foundations.
In elucidating these affirmations, the statement highlights principles such as:
- Faithful obedience to Jesus that multiplies disciples.
- Gospel saturation through everyday disciple‑making relationships.
- Reproducible communities that can start and mature without external control or dependence.
- Priesthood of all believers empowering ordinary people for ministry.
- Indigenous leadership and structures rooted in local culture.
- Multiplication (not mere growth) as the default trajectory.
- Spirit‑led adaptability that keeps methods flexible, contextual, and biblical.
The creators
The statement was authored by a diverse team of movement leaders and scholars, including Dave Coles (writer amplifying Majority World voices), Dr. Michael T. Cooper (missiologist and educator), Dr. David Garrison (author of Church Planting Movements and A Wind in the House of Islam), Dr. Evelyn Hibbert (researcher on women in mission), Alan Hirsch (missional leadership author), Victor John (pioneer of Bhojpuri movement), Tim Martin (church planter and coach), Dr. Aila Tasse (Muslim-background believer and leader of Lifeway Global), and Dr. Wes Watkins (editor of Motus Dei and lead facilitator of the Motus Dei Network).
The network behind this statement, Motus Dei, is a global “learn‑tank” connecting scholars and practitioners who study and catalyze movements to Christ. Through research, consultations, and resource creation, the network seeks to serve the church by fostering learning communities committed to Spirit‑led multiplication. For more information visit https://MotusDei.Network.
What traditions or institutional patterns in your context might be hindering multiplication?
To move beyond presenting affirmations, the network offers some probing questions to invite reflection and dialogue. How does this statement affirm, expand, or challenge your understanding of church and mission? What traditions or institutional patterns in your context might be hindering multiplication? What obstacles keep movement dynamics from taking root in your setting, and how might they be addressed? What simple, practical step(s) could you take this month to place disciple-making at the center of your ministry?
Conclusion
Ultimately, “Reactivating the Church as Movement” calls mission leaders, pastors, practitioners, and scholars to re‑envision church and mission around simple, reproducible practices rooted in prayer and dependence on God. By offering shared language and practical principles, the statement seeks to inspire fresh conversations, foster collaboration across traditions, and help cultivate multiplying communities that carry the gospel to every people and place. The invitation is clear: “We invite all believers to join this movement journey as we strive to make disciples of all nations, transforming lives and communities for the glory of God.”
You can read the full statement here: https://MotusDei.Network/Reactivating-the-Church.
Originally published by World Evangelical Alliance Mission Commission. Republished with permission.
Dave Coles is an encourager and resourcer of church planting movements with Beyond, serving there since 2014. He is also lead facilitator of the Bridging the Divide Network, a member of the Motus Dei Network facilitation team, a member of the 24:14 Coalition, and World Evangelical Alliance Mission Commission Synergist for Church Planting & Movements. He holds an M.Div. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, has served for 10 years as a pastor in Upstate New York, and 24 years as a teacher, church planting facilitator, and area leader in Southeast Asia. Dave has over a dozen articles published (under a pseudonym) on topics related to contextualization, reaching Muslims, and the nature of the church. He is co-author with Victor John of "Bhojpuri Breakthrough: A Movement that Keeps Multiplying", co-editor with Stan Parks of "24:14—A Testimony to All Peoples", co-author with Aychi B.R of Living Fire: Advancing God’s Kingdom in Challenging Places, and author of Jonathan Edwards on Movements.
