By Jim Tomberlin, repost from Ministry Trends Through the internet and social media, the ministry of a local church is no longer confined to its facility. Megachurches are not going anywhere. Their number is increasing, and so is their attendance. But it’s becoming less common for megachurches to bring all their worshipers together at a single campus. At the end of the 20th century, megachurches developed huge tracts of land and large mall-like facilities with thousands of sanctuary seats. These days that strategy is fading, and new mega-campuses are rarely built. Why? These massive facilities struggle to serve their primary purpose over the long haul. Some pastor-centric churches will manage to keep their existing mega-campuses… More
Rich Birch is the creator of the unSeminary church resource. Rich and I have been pioneering the multisite journey together for nearly 20 years. We have launched or coached dozens of campus launches. We will be co-teaching the Multisite Lab @ ExpoSoCal this October 4-5 in Los Angeles. Here is a summary of some of Rich’s multisite learnings… The size and health of your launch core is the critical success factor. Yes, you can launch too quickly. Campus Pastors are hard to find … but are most likely found within. It’s not about video-driven campuses. Student ministry is hard in multisite. It’s way more financially efficient. Think Regional not National. Nail it before you scale it. Teaching is the… More
Ask any multisite church leader today what’s the most important success factor in multisiting and the overwhelming answer is the campus pastor. The campus pastor appointment is the most important decision to make in a multisite campus strategy. Why? Everything rises or falls on leadership. The campus pastor role, which did not exist at the end of the twentieth century, has now become one of the most strategic and sought-after roles in growing churches. In this recent webinar my good friend and strategic partner Tony Morgan, founder of The Unstuck Group, interviews three seasoned campus pastors and discusses the unique challenges and blessings of leading a multisite campus. The Campus Pastor Role: What Makes It… More
The tale of two churches becoming better together in Raleigh, NC Southbridge Fellowship has been a growing church in search of a permanent facility for eleven years. Covenant Church has been a declining church for ten years and was considering selling the current location to relocate to a smaller and less expensive facility. When Southbridge inquired about the possibility of purchasing the Covenant Church campus on 10.7 acres, the Covenant Board responded with a bold idea—joining together! Two months later 93% of the joining church membership affirmed the merger to became better together as one. Here’s their story. . . “When another local church in town ask if they could join with our church, our leadership was very excited…. More
