Multisite Expansion: The 5 Questions Churches Should Answer Before Adding a New Location

Last year was a year of growth and renewed interest in church. Easter attendance broke records (make sure to do an Easter readiness walkthrough this year!), and the holidays were hopping at the end of the year.

The way we do church also shifted in multiple ways. Barna reported 43% of men and 36% of women attending church regularly — the biggest gender gap in that direction ever measured. Digital discipleship also continued to evolve and become more effective in the post-pandemic world. 

All of this has equated to some significant growth, leaving many church leaders wondering if they should be adding a church location in the near future. If you’re multisite church planning, here are five key questions to ask early as you flesh out your church growth strategy.

1. Have we truly maxed out what we already have?

Setting up a new campus is expensive. It almost always costs more than you think it will. That’s why, at Ministry Solutions Group, one of our team’s first thoughts is whether you truly need more space or if you can use the same space better.

As our CEO, Nathan Artt, says, “The easiest way to get more square footage is to use the same square footage more.” 

How can you use the same seats better? How can you activate spaces and use underutilized areas of your current facility? Can you invest in a thoughtful church expansion that is more cost-effective, budget-friendly, and still alleviates growth issues? 

These kinds of questions are how we helped NorthPoint church expand its facility rather than build an entirely new building. Always start with that kind of analysis. If you truly are maxed out, then move on to the next question.

2. Where is the real demand?

If multisite church expansion is the answer, one of the next big questions is …where? Where should you establish a new campus? Our first recommendation here — and this should always be your gut instinct — is to pray. 

As Jordan Raynor puts it, ask for Almighty Intelligence before going to Artificial Intelligence. To be clear, the keyword here is before, not instead of. As you bring your vision and needs to God, look at your data, too. We’ve found God often speaks through the simplest data sets. Ask questions like:

• Where are people coming from?
• Where do we have “density” in areas not near our current campus?
• What options stand out that are a 15-20 minute drive from the church?

Try to frame your new campus as a way to serve people who want to be consistently involved but who won’t or can’t make that extra commuting effort.

3. Are we leaning on strategy over opportunity?

As you figure out the area you want to focus on, you need to look for a facility. This is where it’s easy to fall into the trap of opportunity over strategy. You might find a great deal on a building or even be offered something as a ministry gift. 

That doesn’t automatically mean it’s God’s will for your church plant. Don’t misunderstand. It might be. But you have to think bigger than gut instinct. You have to stick to your strategy, even over opportunity. Ask:

• Does this facility meet the need we’re trying to address?
• Does the building accommodate church activities and operations?
• Are there significant renovation or other costs that could negatively impact things?
• Are you compromising on key areas, like sanctuary size or parking space?

Always check opportunities against strategy. If they don’t align, don’t bite.

4. Are we sticking to budget?

This one is simple. It’s also one of the easiest ones to snowball. We’ve worked with many churches that came to us with a $10M or $20M vision …and no budget for it. One literally had $400,000 in the bank.

When the numbers don’t align with the vision, you can’t just override the budget and blindly dive in. That immediately puts you in a position of needing everything to be a miracle. From our experience, it takes more faith to honestly steward existing resources than to recklessly hope for more.

We like to think of it as a triangle: Does the campus align with vision? Is it affordable? Is it sustainable? That’s the secret sauce that sets the multisite church model up for success.

5. Can a campus support your whole ministry ecosystem?

A multisite location is about more than a big auditorium. It doesn’t matter if you’re doing a fully remote model, setting up an independent team, or anything in between. You want to think holistically about your new campus.

Are you addressing key areas like:

• Family ministry?
• Parking?
• Outreach?
• Scalability?

At Ministry Solutions Group, we are big on clarity leading to strategy leading to impact. Make sure you have clarity with your new facility if you want to build a strategy that creates impact.

Moving to Multisite With Purpose

Growth is a great sign that God is blessing your ministry. But it creates needs, and often, the best answer is going multisite. When that happens, make sure you’re asking the right questions.

If you need help answering questions like these (or you want to see your blind spots before you get too far into multi-million dollar building projects), reach out to our team for a Free Analysis. We’ll walk with you through those initial numbers. 

If you need support past that point, we can also help. We’ve partnered with over 250 ministries across America to help them find a Clear Path Forward as they confidently move into the next steps God has for their ministry. Let’s find that clarity together as you and your team continue to follow God’s calling and build the kingdom.