What actually marks a God movement? Below are fourteen core principles I keep returning to — in trainings, in coaching, and in what I've witnessed on the ground. They also anchor the Start a Movement stage of the journey.

1. Movements emerge out of brokenness. God's agenda is redemption and transformation, so we need to be cognizant of spaces that need redemption and transformation. Practically this means movements emerge in contexts with lots of uncertainty. There are often high costs for following Jesus, necessitating bold, fearless faith. It also means local leaders and outside catalysts often suffer.

2. Movements have exponential multiplication. Like begets like, and exponentially. Disciples make disciples. Leaders train leaders. Churches plant churches. Movements ignite movements. This can (but doesn't always) mean rapid reproduction as exponential growth occurs — and it means lots of ongoing, on-the-job training is necessary.

3. Movements emerge from deep intimacy with God. Formation matters. Movement leaders have deep relationships with Jesus and sustain themselves through prayer. This means movements have lots of prayer, and worship happens regularly and in heart languages.

4. Movements understand that fruitfulness comes through pruning. Movement leaders understand what God is calling them to and what pruning must take place for it to happen. Sometimes we have to let people go their own way. There may be suffering and hard times. It might even mean some insulation from outsiders.

5. Movements expand through existing social networks. They typically need these relational connections to expand. Groups form around existing affinity groups. People share broadly but tend to disciple through those they are most deeply connected to — which is why family-based conversion patterns are common.

6. Movements understand that God is already at work. It's not our vision, it's His. We discern what He's up to and join Him in it — sometimes letting go of our own vision, desires and ideas to do so. In all things, God's vision drives.

7. Movements rely on ordinary people. There aren't any celebrities or special people in movements. They are filled with people like you and me. Leadership is local and ordinary, and women exist at all layers of leadership just as in the early church.

8. Movements are driven by obedience-based disciple making. Obedience-based discipleship leads to culture transformation. It's about how we respond rather than what we know — transformational because it affects all that we are rather than just what we think. The authority of Scripture is valued far more than the words of man.

9. Movements invade all spaces, particularly outside of religious spaces. There is no sacred/secular divide in movements. They actually grow the most in non-religious spaces.

10. Movements go slow to go fast. Going for rapid growth with no depth collapses movements. Going for exponential growth that accelerates over time focuses on the transformative work that needs to be done.

11. Movements empower leaders — and lots of them. They are raised up quickly, taught to fail forward, and released to do the same. That means lots of on-the-job training and coaching, and a culture where failure that facilitates growth is encouraged rather than discouraged.

12. Movements strive to be economically sustainable. Generosity and entrepreneurship are core values of sustainable movements. Sustainability ensures they last from one generation to another.

13. Movements lead through teams. It's not about one person (other than God). Newer leaders can be empowered alongside seasoned leaders, and authority and decision-making is widespread.

14. Movements value ongoing learning. Not necessarily seminaries and formal education, but more adaptive forms — engaging with peers, facilitating ongoing trainings, and similar.

Adapted from many trainings and teachings from people like David Broodryk (as seen here) and elsewhere on the web.