What happens after Easter matters. In this episode, Vick Green shares a practical approach to follow-up and discipleship for small and mid-size churches: clarify vision, build a “multiplication vehicle,” start with a few leaders, and aim for the 16% tipping point.

Vick Green (MDiv, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary) is a pastor, coach, and consultant, and the CEO of Replicate Ministries, where he helps thousands of churches develop disciple-making cultures each year. He lives in the Nashville area with his wife, Sophie, and their three kids: Barrett, Lenna, and Allie Sage.

Key Points In Brief

• Plan through the event, not just to the event. Easter is not the finish line. The week after Easter can either build momentum or lose it.
• Most churches struggle with follow-through because “Sunday is always coming” and the urgent crowds out the important.
• Vision must be clear and specific. Generic vision statements do not guide decisions or determine what a church will not do.
• Culture eats strategy for breakfast, but leaders still need a strategy that actually shapes culture.
• Discipleship needs a clear picture and a clear process. Like Ford’s assembly line, clarity on the “product” and the pathway changes everything.
• The equipping myth: teaching is not the same as training. Discipleship must be practiced.
• A workable multiplication vehicle includes four movements: modeled, explained, applied, developed.
• Start small. A discipleship movement can begin with a few people. Aim for 16% of attendance as a “tipping point” for culture change.

Key Takeaways

1. Make the future urgent today. If the vision is not urgent, the urgent will win every time.
2. Get vision clarity that changes decisions. A real vision helps a church say “no” to good things that do not fit the mission.
3. Stop measuring maturity by program participation alone. Attendance and activity can be good, but they are not reliable indicators of transformation.
4. Build discipleship around practice, not just information. People grow through doing, feedback, and repetition in relationships.
5. Small churches can have a “team.” It might not be paid staff. It can be lay leaders who share vision and embody culture.
6. Multiplication happens through people, not just preaching. Shared vision spreads through leaders living it out.
7. Bible engagement is a catalyst. When people engage Scripture consistently, other spiritual growth markers tend to rise.

Notable Quotes

• “Getting vision is easy. Getting shared vision is hard.”
• “If we can’t make the vision of the future as urgent as the present, we’re never actually going to get there.”
• “Until it’s specific, you don’t really have a vision that is moving you. You just have some words on a wall.”
• “Where you have multiple visions, it always leads to division.”
• “Teaching equals training is the equipping myth.”
• “A multiplication vehicle has to have skills that are modeled, explained, applied, and developed.”
• “Start with a dedication to the few and let multiplication do its work.”

Next Steps (Practical Follow-Up After Easter)

• Decide the “next step” you want guests to take (one clear step, not five).
• Plan through Easter: schedule and staff what happens Monday through the following month, not just Easter Sunday.
• Identify 3–4 leaders (staff or lay) who will champion follow-up and discipleship.
• Define your “dream disciple.” Write a simple description of the transformation you want to see.
• Create a place to practice discipleship (not just learn about it). Keep it relational, repeatable, and accountable.
• Aim for 16% participation as your initial culture tipping point.
• Increase Bible engagement with a simple church-wide reading plan and easy family tools.

Link To Podcast Audio: 95Podcast 331

 

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Q & A Transcript (Highlights)

Q: Why do churches struggle with follow-through?

A: Because the urgent dominates. Sunday is always coming, so leaders drift into “treadmill execution” instead of making the future urgent today.

Q: Small churches do not have teams. How can they apply this?

A: “Team” does not have to mean paid staff. Start with a leadership core of lay leaders who can help vision become shared vision.

Q: What is the first step before picking a discipleship program?

A: Get clear on the “dream disciple.” Define what transformation looks like, then build a process that develops that kind of disciple.

Q: Is Sunday school or small groups the discipleship answer?

A: Not by themselves. Discipleship is usually how multiple environments work together, plus an intentional place where disciple-making skills are practiced.

Q: What is the “equipping myth”?

A: The belief that teaching equals training. Teaching introduces information, but discipleship requires practice, accountability, and development over time.

Q: What are the four movements of a multiplication vehicle?

A: Modeled (watch it), Explained (understand it), Applied (try it), Developed (repeat it until you can do it and help others do it).

Q: What is the 16% principle?

A: Early culture change often “tips” when about 16% of a congregation adopts a practice. Start with the few and build toward that.

Q: What is one practical step for follow-up after Easter?

A: Do not plan only to Easter. Plan through it. Make sure guests know a next step beyond filling out a connect card.