Multi-site Church Road Trip

More on Giving Differences Between Live and Video Multi-site Campuses

On Wednesday I posed the question, “Is there a difference in per capita giving between your campuses that are live and those that use video teaching?”  The consensus – “it depends.”   Following are a few of the responses I received via the blog and twitter.

 

1.      Conducted an informal poll with 6 large multi-site churches with at least four locations. Nearly everyone said they have some that are higher and some that are lower than the live experience.  The differences were largely attributed to differences in culture and socioeconomic issues related to the video venue campus.

2.      We discovered that the per capita giving went up from those who attended the original campus when they became a part of the video campus.

3.      I'd argue the increase in giving is not about video teaching. Rather, it's about creating ownership at a more intimate level.  We’re finding that simply by listing our specific campus giving goals (in addition to the all-church giving goals) on the back of our Community Connection (printed program) each week, Our smaller campuses are feeling more ownership already and we’re seeing our giving increase as a result.  I think the higher ownership piece is definitely one of them.  And ownership is key in multi-site.

4.      Church in NW Indiana – Our 2^nd campus’ giving per capita is $16.11.  We use video there.  Our sending campus’ giving per capita is $24.

5.      At eighteen weeks, our giving per worship attendee is $21.  I also know that another of our video campuses brings in over 3 to 4 times what we do with the roughly the same amount of attendance.  They are on a more influential side of town and their demographics are a little different.

6.      Our live campus is higher per capita, but it also the oldest campus by far. It mostly trends downward from oldest to newest.

7.      It's higher in the video sites.

 

Sound off with your additional thoughts by commenting here.

 

Greg Ligon

Leadership Network

Connecting Innovators to Multiply

Vice President for Church Innovations and Publisher

Web - www.leadnet.org

Multi-site PerCapita Giving

Had a great question come in from Dave Ferguson regarding giving.  He asks, "Is there a difference in per capita giving between campuses with live teaching and campuses with video teaching?"  We have never asked that question in our surveys, so could you help us get some baseline data?

Please send response to me here.  Once we get some responses, I will post the results.

Thanks,

Greg Ligon, Vice President and Publisher

Leadership Network

Reflections on the Economy

I recently read the following perspective on the economy in Jim Tomberlin's Multi-Sitings newsletter.   I think it has some great insight.  Would love to know what impact today's economic challenges are having in your context.  Post a comment or email me here.

Reflections on the Economy 

*In insecure and financially-troubled times people feel a greater need for God than in times of prosperity.  For local churches that are clear on their mission with an intentional strategy and focused attention, these are great days of harvest and multiplication.

*The crash of the economy is a reminder of the words of Jesus to "store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal." Matthew 6:20

*Barak Obama raised an unprecedented $150m+ for his presidential campaign in October. To raise that kind of money during the worst financial month since the Great Depression demonstrates that there is always money for ideas that people believe in.

*Money is always tight for growing churches in good times as well as bad.  Effective churches learn how to manage their resources well.  Healthy churches will always have just enough money to accomplish what God has called them to do.

*Going multi-site has always been a good stewardship decision, now it is becoming essential for growing churches. How do you provide the maximum number of seats at the optimal inviting hours in the least expensive way in your community?   

*The rising cost of fuel is reinforcing the multi-site church strategy of putting the local back into the local church.

*The breakdown in the financial system should prompt  churches to re-visit their banking/lending relationship. Is your bank a sound, balanced, well-capitalized institution? Do you have a direct point of contact who knows your ministry personally? 

*Finally, remember the recession-proof words of the Apostle Paul,  "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain. . .Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.  In this way, they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age. . . 1 Timothy 6:17-19

Jim is one of the pioneers of the multi-site movement and is currently serving churches through Third Quarter Consulting.

Greg Ligon, Vice President and Publisher

Leadership Network

how church mergers become multi-site locations

Some congregations are deciding that a merger with another church as a multi-site location is a strategic move towards making greater Kingdom impact.

This Church Solutions article by Jim Tomberlin, Churches Embrace Mergers through Multisite Movement (Urge to Merge), describes how a number of churches are successfully merging into a multi-site church and lists some considerations before merging:

One of the significant developments in the multisite church movement is the growing number of church mergers occurring across the country. 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 are not hostile, forced or desperate. They typically involve one, if not two, healthy congregations. 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. Most importantly, they are vision-driven and motivated by a desire to leverage resources for maximum Kingdom impact.

... If you are feeling an urge to merge your congregation, consider the following:

1. Begin with vision.
2. Define the relationship.
3. Build on common DNA.

Read the full article for successful stories of churches merging into a multi-site church and more details about the 9 things to consider before exploring the possibility of merging.

-- DJ CHUANG, Leadership Community Director at Leadership Network