Spiritual Multiplication

Can we change the world? Most people believe it is impossible. They believe the culture has become too powerful and nothing we can do will alter that. I don't believe that, and this is why. It is called the principle of Spiritual Multiplication.

What is Spiritual Multiplication? It is a method that Jesus himself chose as the foundation of His ministry, and the strategy He put in place to change the world.

It is based on one very simple idea: Invest in a small group of people, teaching them how to create Holy Moments, then empower them to go out and do the same for another small group of people.

These are the two collaborations that will change the world: Collaborate with God to create Holy Moments, and collaborate with Him again to teach other people how to create Holy Moments.

How many people? Three. That's all it takes. Three people. If every person who read this book committed to teaching three other people to create Holy Moments, we would change the world.

My dream is to unleash a massive tidal wave of Holy Moments by raising up an amazing grassroots movement to transform our culture one Holy Moment at a time.

Your mission is to create Holy Moments in your own life and teach three other people about Holy Moments. Everything you need to do that is in this book.

It may seem like too little to have any real impact, it may seem like it would take forever at that rate, but not once you understand God's math lesson. Let's take a look at the divine strategy known as Spiritual Multiplication.

You are just one person: (1).

You teach three other people about Holy Moments: 1 + (1 × 3 = 3) = 4.

And those 3 new people each teach 3 other people:

4 + (3 × 3 = 9) = 13.

And those 9 new people each teach three more

13 + (9 × 3 = 27) = 40.

And so it goes...

40 + (27 × 3 = 81) = 121

121 + (81 × 3 = 243) = 364

364 + (243 ×3 = 729) = 1,093

1,093 + (729 × 3 = 2,187) = 3,280

3,280 + (2,187 × 3 = 6,561) = 9,841

9,841 + 6,561 × 3 = 19,683) = 29,524

29,524 + (19,683 × 3 = 59,049) = 88,573

88,573 + (59,049 × 3 = 177,147) = 265,720. That's the whole city of Arlington, Virginia.

265,720 + (177,147 × 3 = 531,441) = 797,161

797,161 + (531,441 × 3 = 1,594,323) = 2,391,484. That's more people than live in Philadelphia and Austin combined.

2,391,484 + (1,594,323 × 3 = 4,782,969) = 7,174,453

7,174,453 + (4,782,969 × 3 = 14,348,907) = 21,523,360. That's more than the entire populations of New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

21,523,360 + (14,348,907 × 3 = 43,046,721) = 64,570,081. There are 195 countries in the world, this is more than the population of 57 of those countries combined.

64,570,081 + (43,046,721 × 3 = 129,140,163) = 193,710,244.

193,710,244 + (129,140,163 × 3 = 387,420,489) = 581 million. That's almost twice the population of the United States. And that's just 18 cycles.

581,130,733 + (387,420,489 × 3 = 1,162,261,467) = 1.75 billion.

1,743,392,200 + (1,162,261,467 × 3=3,486,784,401) =5.2 billion.

5,230,176,601 + (3,486,784,401 × 3=10,460,353,203) = 15.7 billion.

There are less than eight billion people on the planet today. It would take less than 21 cycles to reach the whole world's population. Just one more cycle and you would reach the entire population of the next 100 years. That's the power of Spiritual Multiplication. 

The principle of Spiritual Multiplication is real, its powerful, and it demonstrates how people like you and me can change the world by collaborating with God.

This is the power of God's math. The world has problems, nobody disagrees with that. Holy Moments and Spiritual Multiplication are the answer.

It's time for us all to stop making excuses and to encourage each other to discover what is possible. It's your turn, and my turn. It's time to do our part— to renew our commitment to walking with God, to create Holy Moments, to become the-best-version-of-ourselves, and to pray for God to lead us to the three people He wants us to share the wisdom of Holy Moments with.

"I am only one person—what can I do?" This is a common excuse. Let's banish it from our hearts and minds. You can do your part. Can you change the world single-handedly? No. But don't let what you can't do interfere with what you can do. Do your part. That's all. Just do your part.

Do not let your part be left undone. That's how the world got to be a mess. People like you and me let their small part in God's plan go undone. It is the compounding impact of people not doing their part that has led the world to be the mess it is today.

If everyone who read Holy Moments passed the wisdom of this one idea on to three people, the concept would spread around the world at a dizzying speed. There were more than one million pre-orders for the book. Let's look at God's math.

1 million + (1 million x 3 = 3 million) = 4 million.

4 million + (3 million x 3 = 9 million) = 13 million.

13 million + (9 million x 3 = 27 million) = 40 million.

40 million + (27 million x 3 = 81 million) = 121 million.

121 million + (81 million x 3 = 243 million) = 364 million. The population of the United States today is 333 million people.

364 million + (243 million x 3 = 729 million) = 1 billion.

1,093,000,000 + (720,000,000 x 3 = 2,187,000,000) = 3.3 billion.

3,280,000,000 (2,187,000,000 x 3 = 6,561,000,000) = 10 billion = Everyone. Everywhere.

Five cycles to share the wisdom of Holy Moments with every person in the United States of America. Eight cycles to share this wisdom with the whole world.

"Everyone who reads the book won't do it," someone said last week. I know that. But here's the beautiful thing. Lots of people won't stop once they share the wisdom of Holy Moments with three people. The joy they get from sharing it with three people will lead them to share it with three more people. When they see how it impacts those people, they will want to share it with everyone who crosses their path.

Don't forget to visit HolyMomentsBook.com and request six free copies of this book to give to the people you feel called to share this message with.

Let's turn our attention toward creating Holy Moments one at a time. It's true, you are just one person—but you are capable of collaborating with God to create thousands of helpful, hopeful, tender, loving Holy Moments that will inspire other people to do the same. You are a Butterfly Effect unto yourself.

All this will unleash an unimaginable sense of meaning and purpose in your life. The kind of meaning and purpose many people spend their whole life searching for and never find.

So, begin today. Identify the three people you are going to share the wisdom of Holy Moments with. I think you will discover once you have shared this with three, you won't be able to stop. And for the first time in a long time, perhaps for the first time ever, your life will be dripping with meaning, and you will be making the contribution you always knew you could.

(Taken from Holy Moments by Matthew Kelly. Visit HolyMomentsBook.com to order your six free copies today.)