Organizing for Movement

I am writing this article as I return from London, where I had the privilege of participating in the memorial service for Rev. Dr. Edward Hovsepian Mehr.

Edward’s brother, Haik, was one of the first prominent Christian martyrs in modern Iran, and his remarkable story is told in A Cry From Iran. Following Haik’s martyrdom, interest in Christian grew and Edward became one of the pioneers of the modern house church movement. Edward and his family were eventually forced to flee Iran. He went on to pastor in London while remaining deeply committed to supporting the underground house church movement throughout Iran. Edward was the father of Hovan, who now serves as the church planting resident at Highland Park Presbyterian Church, but he was also a spiritual father, and even grandfather, to thousands upon thousands of believers across Iran and beyond.

I share this because over the past several months I have been writing about the five characteristics we must embody if we hope to see an exponential gospel movement in America. I first outlined these in my National Gathering message and have been reflecting on each one in these newsletters. As I listened to story after story at Edward’s memorial service, I was struck by how fully he embodied each of these characteristics. Today I want to focus on one in particular: 

Expanding by Organizing for Movement.

What does it mean to organize for movement?

One of the defining characteristics of a genuine movement is that its impact eventually extends beyond any one person’s direct control or influence. When we think about church ministry, our instinct is often to grow our church. We celebrate growth by addition – adding more people to our congregation. That is certainly something to celebrate. But movements grow differently. They grow through multiplication, and multiplication inevitably extends beyond our ability to manage or control.

Edward’s ministry is a powerful example. There were almost 1000 house churches in Iran representing about 10,000 believers that could trace their spiritual heritage to his ministry. Yet for both security and logistical reasons, there was no practical way for Edward or any organization to directly oversee or control those churches. Surprisingly, this was not a weakness of the movement—it was one of its greatest strengths. Certainly there were risks, and theological challenges occasionally emerged. But because the movement was not constrained by centralized control, it continued to multiply in remarkable ways.

So how might we organize for movement within our own churches and throughout ECO?

As Presbyterians, we rightly value good governance, theological accountability, and healthy boundaries. Those are important biblical commitments that protect both the church and the gospel. Yet healthy structures should serve movements, not unintentionally restrict them. If we are not careful, our desire for order can make us more focused on preserving what we have than multiplying what God wants to do. Let me suggest two practical applications.

Focus first on disciples who make disciples.

We all know the illustration of exponential growth: if you start with a single penny and it doubles every day, after thirty days you have more than five million dollars. That is the power of multiplication.

Edward did not build his ministry primarily by speaking to massive crowds. He invested deeply in individuals who, in turn, invested in others. Those disciples made more disciples, and over time the gospel spread exponentially throughout Iran. The future of the Church has never depended simply on attracting larger audiences; it depends on developing disciple-makers.

Value Kingdom growth more than church growth.

I experienced this personally while serving my previous congregation. One of our largest donors launched a missional community about twenty minutes away from our church. Over time, that community matured into a healthy, self-sustaining microchurch. They were reaching people with the gospel and making disciples…but our church lost an influential family and a significant financial contributor.

If I am honest, that was difficult. I found myself wondering whether I should have encouraged something that came at such a tangible cost. Yet the Lord gently reminded me that His primary concern is not the growth of one congregation but the expansion of His Kingdom.

That same Kingdom perspective was evident throughout Edward’s life. During his memorial service, people rarely spoke about impressive statistics or organizational accomplishments. Instead, they testified to his humility, his faithfulness, and his unwavering commitment to seeing God’s Kingdom advance, whatever the personal cost.

Perhaps that is one of the greatest questions we should ask ourselves: Are we building ministries that depend on us, or are we making disciples who will multiply far beyond us?

Our legacy will not ultimately be measured by the size of the churches we build, but by the generations of disciples who continue following Jesus long after we are gone. The greatest organizations are not those that accumulate the most people, but those that cultivate movements that continue multiplying long after their founders have stepped aside. May God give us the courage to organize our churches in ways that protect the gospel, empower disciple-makers, and celebrate every advance of His Kingdom—even when that growth happens beyond our own walls.

In Christ,

Dana

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