(Excerpted from The Multi-site Church Revolution coming from Zondervan in May, 2006)
What is multi-site? It 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.
What do multi-sites look like? A multi-site shows itself through a wide variety of models. For some "doing church at multiple sites" involves only a worship service at the various locations; for others, each location supports a full range of support ministries. For some it involves videocast sermons; for others the teaching is on-site. For some, the worship atmosphere and style are similar at all campuses; and for others, it varies.
Who does multi-site? It works best for already-growing churches, but exists among all types of churches. The majority of multi-site churches are suburban, but many can be found in urban contexts, and in some rural contexts. Multi-sites are found among old churches and new, mainline and non-denomination, and in all regions of the country. Smaller churches (30-200 in attendance) tend to do multi-site as a niche outreach or a regional campus approach. Mid-size churches (200-800 in attendance) tend to do multi-site on only two or three total campuses. Larger churches (800-2000 in attendance) and megachurches (2000 and higher in attendance) are the most likely church sizes to do multi-site and to do it in a way that develops a large network of campuses.
Why become multi-site? The purpose is to make more and better disciples by bringing a church closer to where people are. The motivation is to do a better job of loving people, including different types of people, with an outcome of making significant advances in obeying Jesus' Great Command (Matt. 22:37-40) and Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20).
How long do multi-sites last? Several churches have been multi-site for up to twenty years, and a handful for even longer. Others use a multi-site approach as a transitional strategy during a building program or a seasonal outreach. For some, multi-site is intentionally temporary as a church-planting strategy to help a new congregation start strong.
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