While the multisite strategy for churches is not new, it has been evolving rapidly over the past few years, especially for those churches that have invested in their digital outreach and discipleship during and after the pandemic.
Multisite churches are beginning to genuinely feel the constraints of proximity. The “15-20 minute drive” to church is becoming a dated concept as growing digital audiences span cities, regions, and states. This means a traditional approach to multisite is going to restrict the ability to grow and reach people.
In this resource, I’m going to break down how digital ministry and church real estate inventory are impacting multisite ministries as churches seek to expand their spiritual and community impact beyond those living within a 15-minute drive of their primary campus.
The multisite movement was pioneered in the early 2000s by some of our favorite people, such as modern ministry leaders like Larry Osborne, Kevin Penry, and Jim Tomberlin. These visionary individuals spearheaded a new church model that allowed churches to move into areas and serve people where they had momentum, an existing giving base, and a need to create capacity for ministry.
The original multisite church model worked for years. For decades, really. As with all things, though, new circumstances have provided opportunities for change and growth. We believe that the future of multisite strategy is changing from that early approach — even multisite remains one of the most effective ways to reach and disciple new communities.
Identifying what multisite is, why it’s effective, and how it’s different from church planting is very important moving forward. This is because I believe that the lines between multisite and church planting are already starting to blur.
Let me define the difference between multisite and planting from a supply and demand perspective. Church planting is about creating demand through a fresh expression of faith through a new, local church. In contrast, multisite is about supplying inventory for an existing demand.
See the difference?
With church planting, we start new churches in order to reach people who are drawn to a different expression of church with a completely autonomous, entrepreneurial pastor. While rooted in similar Christian truths, it is a fresh take, a new iteration that is at a genesis point.
Multisite is about creating ministry capacity (seats, family ministry, etc.) for a group of people who are drawn to a church’s expression but don’t live within a 15-20 minute driving distance of the closest church campus.
To be clear, the ministry capacity we add through multisite locations isn’t necessarily for the people who are already coming. They have demonstrated a desire to make the drive. But those next to them in their distant communities may not be willing to put in the same investment of time and energy, especially if they don’t know about your church.
Multisite campuses equip those already committed to the church to invite people within their community of friends, co-workers, neighbors, and family who may not be willing to make that drive (and pass 20 other churches along the way).
So what has changed the most over the past twenty years since the multisite movement took our churches to the next level? The invitation to church.
I firmly believe that the reason we have valued attendance as a metric of growth in our churches so much is that it was the leading indicator of engagement. Meaning, if we can get you here on Sunday morning, you’ll see how great of a church we are, help you feel like you belong, and then disciple you with our “four steps of assimilation” or whatever model you have. This attractional church model taught all of our people to make the invitation to others to a Sunday morning service so that they would learn about us and engage with us.
The biggest difference is now that attendance has become a lagging indicator of engagement. Thanks to the rise of digital elements of church and the normalization of that kind of ministry, people can (and do) check out a church they’re interested in and even engage in different ways before they ever step foot on a campus.
As Brian Chelette, the Executive Director of Sandals Church, so eloquently stated, “The attractional model of church was built on the strategy of getting a network of people to value an institution. The future model of the Church will be based on a strategy of an institution understanding the value of its network.” (You can learn more about Brian Chelette and his church’s revolutionary approach to digital church here.)
Also, a study conducted by Crossroads Church in Cincinnati found that there are 73 million people in America who are interested in a conversation about Jesus and would simultaneously not come to a church building on Sunday morning to have that conversation,
This new perspective changes the initial invitation. Instead of inviting people to an event on Sunday morning, they can invite them into content and community first. This is huge.
Right now, the first way people hear about a church is typically through a sermon or sermon series that was sent to them from someone they know.
This was my personal experience of salvation. I was anti-church and anti-religion until my mentor sent me a sermon series by Andy Stanley. I loved it, and along with it drawing me toward God, it made me curious about Buckhead Church and North Point. I even became a Christian before I stepped foot inside of Buckhead Church’s physical church building.
To tie all of this together, I want to touch on geographic restrictions — or the lack thereof. Because the digital platform has no restrictions on proximity or seating capacity, the reach of churches is so much larger than it was just a handful of years ago. That means groups of people engaging with the church are growing in areas where the church has no building or really any physical presence at all.
To be clear, I am not talking about those few-and-far-between megachurch ministries like those led by the late Tim Keller, Mike Todd, Andy Stanley, Craig Groeschel, or Steven Furtick. It’s no secret that churches operating at that scale have national (really international) reaches that most churches will not necessarily have — and the truth is, they require a completely different strategy that is customized and unique to that scale of activity.
But we’re not talking about the few gigantic churches across the US here. We’re talking about churches that have expanded around their cities and now, thanks to growing digital reach, are expanding around their cities and regions.
In the past few years, churches of all sizes (not just megachurches) have experienced newfound growth across their cities and even their local regions. The question we’ve been trying to answer at Ministry Solutions Group is: how are they doing this?
I think there are multiple ways to answer that question. The most obvious is the one we already talked about: digital. Most churches that are successful right now in expanding regionally are doing so with a major focus on their digital strategy. Many are also combining digital with a new approach to church mergers.
Another major factor is what’s happening with larger churches and their influence on other churches within their region. The role of denominations continues to, uh, let’s say, “change,” and in many ways decentralize.
A lot of the influence in the church today is not denomination to church anymore, but rather church to church. This is what caused the birth and growth of church networks in the past. Even so, this is different from the current “church network” movement that is gaining momentum in the sense that it was still the major players within those networks who carried the influence. The emerging multisite model is much more balanced. (More on that in a minute.)
Another factor in regional church growth and influence goes back to the comment about the lines being blurred between multisite and church planting. Church planting has become severely more expensive than it was a decade ago, according to a study provided by Warren Bird of ECFA.
Add all of this up, and existing churches with digital initiatives are experiencing quick and significant growth not just within a city but across entire regions — and that change is rewriting the multisite church playbook. It is forcing church leaders to consider not just multisite as an option but how they can engage in multisite church strategies that stretch and challenge the past perceptions of how to expand a ministry’s footprint.
Digital platforms are creating unique interest and demand from people within communities where the church they’re listening to doesn’t have a building. What we are seeing happen is that while a large or growing church is increasing its awareness and engagement online, healthy churches in those areas are seeing that happen, too. In many cases, these have either hit a plateau, or there is a lead pastor in that church who sees his best succession plan through the lens of a merger.
So what happens when a local church partners with a church that is successfully reaching people? What happens when that expanding church already has had a positive influence on that local church (i.e., an existing relationship and credibility are already established)? It provides the expanding church not only with a building but also an existing congregation and staff to build upon.
Now, before you get too excited at the prospect if you are looking to grow your church from one site to a few sites or you are a larger church looking to expand regionally, be warned that these conversations with smaller partners are still tough. Here are some of the biggest topics you want to make sure to address throughout your multisite merger conversations:
Leadership autonomy: Remember, if you are merging with a somewhat healthy church, you are essentially asking a lead pastor to take a demotion and a new job within his own church. This means you have to avoid the too-often used strategy of, “hey, we’re awesome and you’re less awesome, so give us your building.” I’m not sure this has ever worked, and in this situation, it definitely won’t.
Leadership autonomy: Remember, if you are merging with a somewhat healthy church, you are essentially asking a lead pastor to take a demotion and a new job within his own church. This means you have to avoid the too-often-used strategy of, “Hey, we’re awesome, and you’re less awesome, so give us your building.” I’m not sure this has ever worked, and in this situation, it definitely won’t.
Ministry strategy: This ties into autonomy. What works in Atlanta doesn’t transfer completely to Augusta or Macon. What works for a suburban church doesn’t necessarily translate to a city church. So, how much ministry strategy do we keep, and how much do we allow the local leadership to determine? In other words, where is the line between influencing decisions and dictating them?
Branding: To return to the business analogy, is this a separately branded church “powered by XYZ Church,” or does this church keep its branding? For instance, all of the North Point Ministries campuses are branded for the community they are in (i.e., Buckhead Church, Gwinnett Church, etc.). In contrast, Sandals Church has 14 locations regionally (10 of which are mergers, btw) all branded as a Sandals Church. LCBC has 19 locations regionally (mostly through church mergers as well) and they are all branded as LCBC. Anecdotally, I’ll add here that from all of the churches we have worked with who have had to navigate regional growth strategies, it’s less of an outward branding issue than it is an internal systems and discipleship issue.
Staff security and compensation: Remember the gravity of what you are asking for. Lead pastors of churches, whether healthy or declining, want to feel (and genuinely be) a partner in this decision and not the hurdle or problem to be solved. This isn’t a hostile takeover. Instead, look at it as an acquisition of a relatively healthy organization. Be prepared to address concerns around compensation, roles, and job security for the lead pastor and staff.
Building a multisite strategy around church alliances, partnerships, and networks across a region is still a developing element of the modern church. Keep these elements in mind every step of the way — and if you need an experienced helping hand, reach out to our team for that added level of support and wisdom.
As our team at Ministry Solutions has watched this new church-merging, network-building trend emerge, we’ve found there are a lot of additional factors you want to watch out for. Here are a few more points to remember if you are interested in expanding your local church in today’s environment:
This concept does NOT just apply to churches that have 10,000 in attendance and above. It applies just as much to any church, regardless of size, that needs to increase capacity for ministry.
The key here is not necessarily just the size of your congregation or your balance sheet. It has a lot more to do with influence and reputation.
For example, we helped a church with an average attendance of 1,700 people last year in South Florida acquire/merge a 100,000 sq. ft. building for these precise reasons.
Don’t let your digital outreach slump as you redirect your focus and resources toward multisite expansion and mergers. Continue focusing on your digital outreach and engagement as a key part of that process.
A great resource to read on this is Target and the Flexible Church. We published this resource two years ago, and it remains a hyper-relevant analysis of the church growth model today. The key takeaway to look for in this context is that Target’s focus on its digital strategy led to enormous growth in its in-store sales and the opening of 500 new locations within five years.
I said it once, and I’ll say it again. Don’t just track how many people there are in seats inside of your building on Sunday. Pay attention to where people are engaging with you digitally. Ten years ago, we had an in-person audience and an online audience. We now mostly have one audience who engages with us both online and in person.
Remember, Sunday morning is now your lag indicator. Analyze and engage with your digital audience so you can find out who they are and how you can serve them. Another good resource for this is our breakdown of The Real Purpose of Online Church.
As you expand your church’s regional influence, use the opportunity to build genuine relationships with other pastors and serve them well. Invite them and their teams to visit with you. Do ministry together outside of Sunday morning.
That way, if the opportunity is right, they’ll know it, too. If you take the “I don’t know you, but you know me. We’re awesome, and you’re less awesome” approach, you will only get a quick no and the potential of a ruined relationship. Don’t burn those bridges. Build them.
At Ministry Solutions, we are big on fitting opportunities to strategy and not the other way around. In the case of multisite church initiatives, not every opportunity will be right for your strategy.
As you consider potential additions to your regional network, remember that it is incredibly important to have a fully cohesive facility and digital strategy in place to determine what’s right for your church.
Multisite ministry may not look like it did 25 years ago, but there’s no doubt that it is just as relevant (if not more so) now. As we continue to sort out the digital post-pandemic shift in church culture, we need to consider the growing and changing role of multisite ministry opportunities.
Use this powerful approach to church growth as a way to capitalize on ministry influence not just across your city but your entire region. Look for church mergers that create ministry synergy. Build a network that is alive and brings the best out of every church involved.
If you’re struggling to navigate the new multisite merger concept, we want to help. Our team has developed our Clear Path Forward as a way to help you understand your process and clarify your strategy. It is a critical first step in unleashing the potential of your church as you embrace the modern digital landscape and allow God to use your church as a difference-maker across your entire region.