Podcast Episode #296
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Multisite used to be something only large churches tried. Now, smaller churches are getting in on the strategy. Today we discuss why this is a good thing for smaller churches to consider.
Some highlights from today’s episode include:
- All things being equal, “new” reaches people more than “old.”
- You can start a new church/site/service and reach people you wouldn’t reach with an established church/site/service.
- Going multisite is often better a stewardship of funds than building a massive facility.
- The Millennial Generation is a leasing generation.
- Leasing a facility for multisite makes it financially less risky and often assuages some concerns from church members.
- Worship service gathering sizes are getting smaller to create greater senses of community and intimacy.
- Multisite provides smaller churches the ability to grow while keeping worship gatherings smaller at the same time.
- The multisite approach allows you to experiment.
The seven reasons smaller churches are going multisite are:
- More effective at reaching people.
- Better stewardship, especially with facilities.
- Acceptance of non-churchy facilities
- Acceptance of leasing instead of owning
- They tend to be mid adopters.
- The desire to keep the worship service smaller.
- Processes and bugs are being worked out.
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Feedback
If you have a question you would like answered on the show, fill out the form on the podcast page here at ThomRainer.com. If we use your question, you’ll receive a free copy of Who Moved My Pulpit?
The multi-site concept is flexible enough to contextualize to the local situation, but the downside I’ve seen also relates to contextualization. At a church I attended the mother site sends their preacher’s video fed sermon which is more geared for the wealthier and whiter community at the mother church, not for the lower income, mixed race community at the secondary site. I would much rather have a real onsite human preacher who may not be as well trained or polished. I can hear electronic preaching at home or in traffic.
As a father of Millennials I can sympathize with their renting tendency since most jobs available to them are for minimal pay in the service sector. They can barely afford rent and basic living expenses. This has drastic repercussions for the big churches in the next two decades. As more gainfully employed Baby Boomers retire and die out, the mammoth church structures will no longer be financially sustainable unless the Millennials experience an economic upswing or they obtain employment in IT or medical industries.
Your first point resonates with me. As a preacher, I have to be engaged in the lives of my people in order to be effective in the pulpit.
Well said.
So what do you do when you have an established second site with a facility that has reached maturity and has begun to decline? Especially I’m hearing things that folks at the old church say like here’s how it’s always been done…
Sorry to sound ignorant however could you give me a definition for Multisite please? And maybe an example?
Tracey –
You are not ignorant. A multisite is a church with different physical locations.
Thank you Thom
To me the multi-site approach appears ego-centric. Pastors trying to build their own little kingdoms or denominations. Sending videos of themselves instead of raising up leaders/teachers to lead the new flock seems lazy. Each area has its own DNA and should have their own leaders. We have planted churches but they are their own 501c3, governing boards, and autonomy. I think this movement will eventually implode. Just because we can do something doesn’t mean we should.
a)Not all multi-site is video
b)Multi-site can still have sites where each have a specific culture and DNA
c)Shared resources, shared 501(c)(3), central staffing can be very good and wise stewardship
Multi-site can also be a great tool for raising up leaders, teachers, volunteer, etc.
Our reason for starting multisite was to share the burden of legal, bookkeeping and graphics and free the campus pastors to focus on their core ministry competencies. We need to start more churches faster, and this was the way we felt led of the Lord to do it.
Agreed.
I plead ignorance also, but what are mid adopters?
We were 5 ELCA Lutheran churches that came together and came to the conclusion that we would work better as ONE church with TWO locations since 3 of the 5 were on the decline. That was in 2008. Our two locations are 12 miles apart but very different in cultures. It’s been hard trying to come together as one church with two congregations, it’s always “North against the South.” It was also a struggle with the recession hitting and trying to sell 3 buildings. We started with two pastors but when it became clear that we were not growing, they both decided to resign and the synod sent us an interim Pastor. We have now turned a corner and partnered with a school who bought our land at our “south campus” and is building a school and us a new sanctuary! Our other campus has a school who leases the classrooms from us during the week. In October of 2016 we called the interim pastor to become our Lead Pastor! She preaches at 4 out of 5 of our weekly services, racing from one campus to the other. We often say she needs a jet pack. We’ve only tried the video sermons when she is on vacation and we video them before she leaves but many people don’t care for it. For the 5th service we use a supply pastor. Living in Florida, we have many retired Lutheran pastors to choose from.
We are now starting a capital campaign to raise money to furnish our new building when it is completed later this year and to help update our other building.