Habits and Rhythms: The Beating Heart of Movement

by Dave Miller

When it comes to multiplying disciples and advancing the gospel, strategies and tools are helpful—but they are not the core. The heartbeat of any movement is found in two simple but powerful realities: personal habits and tribal rhythms.

These aren’t just clever leadership terms.

They’re deeply rooted in Scripture, modeled by the early church, and essential if we want to see the kind of multiplication we read about in Acts.

Habits: Who We Are (Breathing In)

The Church Waffle illustration from Acts 2 paints the picture of the church’s obedience to the commands of Jesus. These commands shape our identity as His people and form the habits that define who we are.

These habits include:

• Daily repentance and belief

• Living in the identity of Christ from baptism onward

• Keeping in step with the Holy Spirit

• Devotion to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, and prayer

• Expecting God’s miraculous work

• Generosity with our resources

• Worship as a way of life

• Partner with the Lord adding to those being saved

  
  

This is what we call Brilliance in the Basics—simple, core habits done consistently.

The pathway to maturity in these habits looks like this:

1. Develop core productive habits

2. Improve those habits

3. Master a habit until it becomes second nature

4. Replace destructive habits for breakthrough

   
   

When these are embedded in our daily lives, they become the way we breathe in the things of God—His truth, His presence, His mission.

Rhythms: What We Do (Breathing Out)

The 4 Fields illustration from Mark 4 describes Jesus’ way of multiplying the kingdom. These are not private spiritual disciplines—they’re shared rhythms that we do together as a tribe.

These rhythms include:

• Entering new places and building relationships

• Sharing the gospel clearly and boldly

• Discipling new believers

• Forming healthy, reproducing churches

• Developing and sending leaders

  
  

This is where Core Value Culture comes in—a pathway to multiplication through imitation immersion:

1. Build relationships grounded in shared core values

2. Invite contribution with a clear path and simple habits

3. Commit to family, both God’s and mine, where disciples and children are immersed in shared core values and brilliant basics reproducing purpose for generations.

   
   

When we engage in these rhythms together, we breathe out the mission—carrying the life we’ve received into the world.

Breathing In, Breathing Out

Healthy movements require both.

• Without habits, rhythms become hollow activity with no spiritual depth.

  
  

• Without rhythms, habits remain private and never impact others.

  
  

Paul’s work with Priscilla and Aquila in Acts 18 is the perfect example. In their daily tentmaking, they practiced gospel habits. Together, they lived mission rhythms. Those patterns carried into Ephesus (Acts 19), where an entire region was reached—not through a program, but through a lifestyle.

Outcomes of Living Both

When personal habits and tribal rhythms are both strong:

1. Multiplication becomes organic—disciples reproduce what they live.

   
   

2. Trust and culture deepen—shared values bind people together.

   
   

3. Movements sustain—the mission continues long after the original leaders move on.

   
   

This is the brilliance of keeping the basics central. We breathe in the presence and ways of God through habits. We breathe out His mission together through rhythms. Over time, that breathing becomes the pulse of a movement.

Why This Matters

It’s tempting to think multiplication starts with organizing events, launching initiatives, or designing new tools. But the reality is this: tools can’t multiply a movement—people living the right habits and rhythms can.

A hub is not something you can simply “start.” It’s something that emerges from leaders living in sync—breathing in the life of God daily through personal habits and breathing it out together through shared rhythms.

If we want to see the gospel saturate neighborhoods, cities, and nations, we must give as much attention to the unseen habits of our hearts as to the visible rhythms of our work. That’s how the early church did it, and it’s how we’ll see No Place Left today.

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The Covo Multipliers Pathway: Walking the Road Where Work and Ministry Converge

In a world where believers often feel forced to choose between ministry and the marketplace, the Covo Multipliers Pathway offers a better way—a kingdom-centered road where calling, business, and disciple-making converge. It’s not about choosing between work and ministry. It’s about living in both with intentionality and impact.

This pathway helps everyday believers—entrepreneurs, professionals, and tradesmen—step into the story God is writing through their work and their witness.