What is a multi-site church?
A multi-site church is one church meeting in multiple locations—different rooms on the same campus, different locations in the same region, or in some instances, different cities, states, or nations. A multi-site church shares a common vision, budget, leadership and board. A church is considered multi-site if it has more than one worship venue, more than one campus or a combination of both.

Here’s an excellent video that explains it further:

 
What are these multiple locations called?
Venues are locations where a worship service for adults is held on campus. Typically, this occurs in a fellowship hall, gym, student center or chapel. Campuses are any locations where a fully-functioning local church ministry happens on a weekly basis. A multi-site church may have several campuses.
 
What does a multi-site church look like?
A multi-site church can resemble any of a wide variety of models. For some churches, having multiple sites involves only a worship service at each location; for others, each location has a full range of support ministries. Some churches use video-cast sermons (recorded or live); others have in-person teaching on-site. Some churches maintain a similar worship atmosphere and style at all their campuses, and others allow or invite variation.
 
Is multi-site just a fad?
Since this movement began in the mid-1990’s, over 3,000 churches have embraced this model and their number is growing daily.  Outreach Magazine declared in 2007 that the multi-site model is no longer a trend, but the “new normal.”  A survey by Lifeway Research in 2008 revealed that 45,000 churches “are seriously considering adding a worship service at one or more new locations or campuses in the next two years.” In 2009, an estimated 5 million people, 10% of Protestant church-goers, attend a multi-site church on any given Sunday across North America.
 
Do you have to be a mega-church to go multi-site?
Of the 3,000 plus multi-site churches, only a third are mega-churches. Multi-siting is not a big church tool, but a healthy church strategy.
 
Do all multi-site churches use video to deliver the sermons?
No, only a third of multi-site churches strictly use video, another third utilize in-person teaching teams, and another third use a hybrid of in-person teachers and video-cast messages.
 
What is the difference between church-planting and multi-siting?
They both arrive at the same outcome of a new congregation in a community, but they arrive through different pathways.  
A church plant is usually a small delegation of people who leave a church to go develop a brand new church. Typically, church plants have their own teaching pastor, their own leaders, and their own budget with some financial help from the “sending” church or denomination; otherwise, they are a new and independent entity. Multiple sites are new, extended, and fully-functioning congregations of a sending church, but not independent churches.
 
Is multi-site for every church?
No, multi-siting is for healthy churches that have a desire to reach more people, mobilize more volunteers, and multiply their community impact. It is not a growth engine to jump start a declining church, but can be a vehicle to accommodate and accelerate a growing church.
 
How can Multi-Site Solutions help my church?
Our team of seasoned multi-site practitioner Strategists and Specialists can help multiply the impact of your church in one of several ways:

1. Considering Multi-Site?
There is no one-size-fits-all formula to follow in becoming a multi-site church. Yet every church considering multi-site will have to address the same basic issues. We will walk you through those issues to help you determine if multi-site is right for your church and then assist you in developing and implementing a customized multi-site strategic plan. It begins with a one-day multi-site orientation.

2. Currently Multi-Site?
Though a multi-site strategy is a proven model for reaching and serving more people, it does have its challenges. Though every multi-site church is unique and different, all of them face the same basic issues—technology, inter-campus relationships, staffing, organizational structure, funding, resource allocation, governance, etc. Multi-site changes everything. So, how are you managing the change?
We will do a weekend visit to assess your multi-site experience and then debrief on Monday with your team to help you process your unique challenges and opportunities. We will share with you the best practices of succeeding multi-site churches and surface the issues that are hindering your church from maximizing its redemptive potential.

3. Church Mergers
Increasingly church mergers are becoming a viable option for yielding healthy multisite churches. Unlike church mergers of the past that typically were the “last gasp” efforts of two struggling congregations, these mergers have a different look and feel. They emerge out of a shared vision, strategic planning and common geography. They are less about win-lose and more about win-win relationships, and their synergy is greater than the sum total of the separate congregations. They are vision-driven and motivated by a desire to leverage resources for maximum Kingdom impact. Though multi-siting through church mergers can accelerate your multi-site strategy, they can also be a huge distraction and drain of time and resources. We can help you assess the potential of a church merger and help you navigate the delicate process. 

4. Multi-Site Specialists
Going multi-site presents some unique opportunities and challenges. Our team of multi-site, nationally recognized Specialists can help you develop or improve the impact of your church in some very specific areas—Technology, Guest Relations, Outreach & Evangelism, and Internet Campusing. Specific deliverables available upon request.