Multi-site Church Road Trip

Multi-site Church Road Trip – NewSong Church and Dave Gibbons

Just last month, during our road trip stop at Catalyst in Atlanta I had a chance to connect with Dave Gibbons and get an update on the multi-site ministry at NewSong.  Dave described how the NewSong model has morphed from every campus being under the same umbrella to a decentralized model throughout Southern CA and around the world.  Check out our conversation here.

Also, stay tuned for the Multi-site Church Road Trip bloggers tour coming December 15.  Warren Bird, Geoff Surratt and I will be answering the multi-site questions of close to 30 leading bloggers.  Hope you will join in on the fun.

P.S.  If you haven’t read Dave’s book Monkey and the Fish, stop what you are doing and order it now!  Great read!  

Greg Ligon

Vice President and Publisher

Leadership Network

twitter – gregligon and #leadnet

To see all posts for the tour, select tour stop from the category sidebar

The Birds and Bees of Reproduction

I have stolen more multi-site concepts from Dave Ferguson and Community Christian Church than all other multi-site churches combined. Dave is one of the best thinkers (and practioners) in the world when it comes to church reproduction (the corporate kind, not the diaper kind), so I wanted to get his take on the world of multi-site as we continued our Roadtrip across America.

Q:  In the book we describe the leadership structure at Community Christian. How important is structure to the success of a church using a multi-site strategy?

A:  Our experience at Community and through our NewThing churches is that there are structural shifts when going to two sites; when going to a fourth site and when going to a tenth site.  Because of this we are finding that a lot of churches are going to two sites; not very many churches with three sites and there are a whole lot that are going to four sites and more.  Why?  I think it has to do with structure.  Some churches that go to two sites do not think about structure and find it overwhelming and complicated and stop reproducing sites.  While there are other churches that think through the structural changes that need to be made and continue to reproduce to three sites, four sites and beyond.  

Q:  Community Christian does a great job of both planting churches and launching campuses. How do you distinguish between a church planter and a campus pastor?

A:  We really believe the same qualities need to be in place for a campus pastor or church planter.  We want them to be entrepreneurial, have a leadership gift and comfortable relating to all people (churched and un-churched) in their context.  All our NewThing churches are looking to train one leadership resident per site to apprentice and become a campus pastor or church planter.

Q:  You and Jon seem to do an amazing job of leading together. What advice would you give to church leaders who are considering employing family members in their ministry? 
 
A:  They key to family working together is much like any staff working together: good character, great chemistry and genuine competency.  However, (and I’m sure Geoff Surratt will agree with me) it takes a very special and humble leader to allow their brother to be the lead pastor.  Jon (like Geoff at Seacoast) could easily be the lead pastor at this Community or any other church; but instead he uses his extraordinary leadership gifts without getting all the kudos that come with being the lead pastor.  I have more respect for Jon, than any other church leader I know.

Q:  You have been a leader from the very beginning of the multi-site revolution in America. What do you see next on the horizon for multi-site in American churches?

A:  I love this question!  In fact, Jon and I just finished our next book,Exponential:  How You and Your Friends can Start a Missional Church Movementand we talk about this.  So here is what I see on the horizon:

1. More new sites will be launched by sites other than the original site.  In other words we will see new sites reproducing new sites.
2. Sites will be launched not based on the competency of the mother church, but on the strengths and needs of the community where the new site is started.
3. There will be less of the “We use video” vs. “We develop teachers” battle and more multi-site churches will use both video and in-person teaching.
4. A lot more campus pastors will be female and there will be evidence that they are more effective than men in this role which will bring some controversy.
5. Multi-site churches will think in terms of launching a region with multiple sites and not one new site at a time.
6. Online churches ill not just have one site, but they will also have multiple sites!
7. The churches that are effective in reproducing new sites will be the churches that are most effective in reproducing missional communities.

How’s that?

Q:  In your book The Big Idea you describe how every ministry at Community is on the same page. How does the Big Idea work in a multi-site environment?

A:  It was going to multiple sites that caused us to be intentional about implementing the Big Idea.  It was our conclusion that having every campus on the same Big Idea would bring alignment to our vision and mission.   Practically speaking here is how it works: we plan our Big Idea series a year in advance.  Thirteen weeks in advance of the celebration service the teaching team develops and writes a Big Idea “graph” which is a one page summary that gives clear direction and scriptural content.  Ten weeks in advance the teaching team plans the whole message in that series and gives writing assignments.  The following week, nine weeks in advance our creative arts team plans the creative elements such as video, sketches, music, interactive moments, etc… to better accomplish the Big Idea.  This same process is done for all our large group and small groups fro adults, students and kids.  It is awesome!

Geoff Surratt

To get the latest updates be sure to sign up for the RSS feed at www.multisitechurchroadtrip.com

To see all posts for the tour, select tour stop from the category sidebar.

Twitter - @gregligon @geoffsurratt @warren bird #mscr  #leadnet

I have stolen more multi-site concepts from Dave Ferguson and Community Christian Church than all other multi-site churches combined. Dave is one of the best thinkers (and practioners) in the world when it comes to church reproduction (the corporate kind, not the diaper kind), so I wanted to get his take on the world of multi-site as we continued our Roadtrip across America.

Q:  In the book we describe the leadership structure at Community Christian. How important is structure to the success of a church using a multi-site strategy?

A:  Our experience at Community and through our NewThing churches is that there are structural shifts when going to two sites; when going to a fourth site and when going to a tenth site.  Because of this we are finding that a lot of churches are going to two sites; not very many churches with three sites and there are a whole lot that are going to four sites and more.  Why?  I think it has to do with structure.  Some churches that go to two sites do not think about structure and find it overwhelming and complicated and stop reproducing sites.  While there are other churches that think through the structural changes that need to be made and continue to reproduce to three sites, four sites and beyond.  

Q:  Community Christian does a great job of both planting churches and launching campuses. How do you distinguish between a church planter and a campus pastor?

A:  We really believe the same qualities need to be in place for a campus pastor or church planter.  We want them to be entrepreneurial, have a leadership gift and comfortable relating to all people (churched and un-churched) in their context.  All our NewThing churches are looking to train one leadership resident per site to apprentice and become a campus pastor or church planter.

Q:  You and Jon seem to do an amazing job of leading together. What advice would you give to church leaders who are considering employing family members in their ministry? 
 
A:  They key to family working together is much like any staff working together: good character, great chemistry and genuine competency.  However, (and I’m sure Geoff Surratt will agree with me) it takes a very special and humble leader to allow their brother to be the lead pastor.  Jon (like Geoff at Seacoast) could easily be the lead pastor at this Community or any other church; but instead he uses his extraordinary leadership gifts without getting all the kudos that come with being the lead pastor.  I have more respect for Jon, than any other church leader I know.

Q:  You have been a leader from the very beginning of the multi-site revolution in America. What do you see next on the horizon for multi-site in American churches?

A:  I love this question!  In fact, Jon and I just finished our next book,Exponential:  How You and Your Friends can Start a Missional Church Movementand we talk about this.  So here is what I see on the horizon:

1. More new sites will be launched by sites other than the original site.  In other words we will see new sites reproducing new sites.
2. Sites will be launched not based on the competency of the mother church, but on the strengths and needs of the community where the new site is started.
3. There will be less of the “We use video” vs. “We develop teachers” battle and more multi-site churches will use both video and in-person teaching.
4. A lot more campus pastors will be female and there will be evidence that they are more effective than men in this role which will bring some controversy.
5. Multi-site churches will think in terms of launching a region with multiple sites and not one new site at a time.
6. Online churches ill not just have one site, but they will also have multiple sites!
7. The churches that are effective in reproducing new sites will be the churches that are most effective in reproducing missional communities.

How’s that?

Q:  In your book The Big Idea you describe how every ministry at Community is on the same page. How does the Big Idea work in a multi-site environment?

A:  It was going to multiple sites that caused us to be intentional about implementing the Big Idea.  It was our conclusion that having every campus on the same Big Idea would bring alignment to our vision and mission.   Practically speaking here is how it works: we plan our Big Idea series a year in advance.  Thirteen weeks in advance of the celebration service the teaching team develops and writes a Big Idea “graph” which is a one page summary that gives clear direction and scriptural content.  Ten weeks in advance the teaching team plans the whole message in that series and gives writing assignments.  The following week, nine weeks in advance our creative arts team plans the creative elements such as video, sketches, music, interactive moments, etc… to better accomplish the Big Idea.  This same process is done for all our large group and small groups fro adults, students and kids.  It is awesome!

Geoff Surratt

To get the latest updates be sure to sign up for the RSS feed at www.multisitechurchroadtrip.com

To see all posts for the tour, select tour stop from the category sidebar.

Twitter - @gregligon @geoffsurratt @warren bird #mscr  #leadnet

The Godfather of Video Venues

I first met Larry Osborne, pastor of North Coast Church in Vista California, at a Leadership Network multi-site church event in 2002. Seacoast was just beginning to dive into the world of video teaching and I immediately realized that Larry was the smartest guy on the planet when it came to leveraging technology to expand the Kingdom. And he wears really cool shirts. Over the years Larry has become a friend and a mentor both personally and through his books Sticky Church, Ten Dumb Things Christians Believe and A Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God. I recently had a chance to get Larry's wisdom on the role of video, technology and more in the future of the multi-site revolution.

1. You pioneered the concept of the video venue at North Coast. What do you feel are two or three reproducible keys to your success in utilizing video that other churches could reproduce?
   
   

   I believe a huge part of our success was our decision early on to only use video for teaching. Many things don't translate well on a screen (for instance music, drama, and the like). But teaching plays well in almost every geographic and demographic setting.

   
   

   In fact, the biggest shock when we launched our first Video Venue was that it was so readily accepted by virtually every demographic. We thought our older folks would reject it outright. We thought younger generations might find it inauthentic. We assumed churches in the more traditional parts of the country would be highly resistant.

   
   

   But we were wrong. It played well just about everywhere.

   
   

   Looking back we should have realized that teaching is uniquely suited for a big screen. It allows people to clearly see facial expressions and non-verbals – which is why most people in a large facility with a video screen end up watching the screen rather than the little person up on the stage.

   
   

   The other thing that I believe is easily reproducible is our use of differing music styles and ambiances to broaden our demographic outreach. Both Chris Brown (our other teaching pastor) and I are able to reach a far broader demographic (traditionalists, country music fans, and folks with lots of body art) than we could if we had a one-size-fits-all sanctuary.

   
   
2. How important is it for a church using video teaching to have the very best technology available?
   
   

   I think the need for the quality technology is vastly overrated. You don't need the latest and greatest in order to succeed. You can't be so cheap that your venues are cheesy. The video can't look like a 1980's VCR.

   
   

   At North Coast we've always made due with less than the best technology simply because we often can't afford the best. We're not a rich suburban church. We're a blue collar church that meets in an old warehouse. If we felt we couldn't succeed without the best and latest technology, we'd still be saving up to launch our first venue.

   
   

   We've learned that good enough is good enough when it comes to technology. I always tell the churches we consult to buy the best they can afford. There's no need to hawk the future for cool technology you can't afford and there's no reason to hold off launching a new ministry just because everyone else has better equipment.

   
   
3. North Coast has multiple venues with live worship bands at multiple locations and multiple service times. How do you find enough musicians to have that many worship teams?
   
   

   The secret to our plethora of musicians goes back to a decision we made long before we started our Video Venues. Because we believe the job of a pastor is to equip the saints for the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:11-12) our worship pastors have always been judged, rewarded, and paid for rising up other worship leaders rather than creating an all-star band.

   
   

   I find you always get what you measure and reward. So guess what? Since we measure and reward rising up worship leaders, we get worship leaders. And better yet, once we turned the corner, we discovered that musicians draw musicians. So right now I think we have something like 24 adult worship bands to pull from.

   
   
4. In your book Sticky Church you describe the role of sermon based small groups in the life of North Coast. How integral do you think sermon based small groups have been to the growth of North Coast?
   
   

   Our attendance was about 120 when we started our sermon-based small groups. They haven't particularly drawn people in, but they have helped to slam our back door shut – and when the back door stays shut, a church tends to grow.

   
   

   We're pretty much a word-of-mouth church (we don't do any marketing or advertising) so closing the back door has been an essential ingredient of our growth. But the biggest advantage has been the way these sermon-based groups have enabled us to get everyone on the same page – and keep them there. That's made us a much healthier church not just a bigger church.

1. What did I not ask that I should have?
   
   

   You didn't ask why my books are so much better than yours – at least that's what my mom thinks. Though my wife, Nancy, isn't so sure.

Other than the comments about Larry's books being better than mine (they are, but he didn't have to bring it up) Larry once again stretched my thinking on what is effective and what is good enough in ministry. You can read more of Larry's insight at his blog or in Multi-site Church Roadtrip.

Geoff Surratt

To get the latest updates be sure to sign up for the RSS feed at www.multisitechurchroadtrip.com

To see all posts for the tour, select tour stop from the category sidebar.

Twitter - @gregligon @geoffsurratt @warren bird #mscr  #leadnet

Multi-site Church Campus Launches, Two or More, John Bishop and Living Hope Church

We are headed to the Pacific Northwest today to hang out with John Bishop at Living Hope Church.  On two different occasions, John and the team at Living Hope have launched five or more campuses on one weekend.  Crazy?  Maybe … but hear from John some fresh insight on the impact it had on Living Hope … and a sneak preview of developing vision. 

    

What was the best thing that happened each of the times that you launched more than two campuses at once?
The best thing that happened by far was a unified mission that had sustainable momentum for the better part of a year.  The second thing we see is that in a large church people can have a tendency to get comfortable, and in getting comfortable they stop serving.    When we launch campuses, we can ask people to step out of their chair, and out of the comfort of this place to go serve. The third thing  is that it has been an evangelistic invitational machine each and every time.

What was the biggest challenge?
The biggest challenge was, has been, and still is, to have adequate systems In place to support campuses, to encourage campus pastors, to stay unified as “one church” in multiple locations with unity.

Is there something unique about the DNA of Living Hope that made it work?
Living hope is a highly invitational church.  I really believe we are a dangerous church.  We have multiple stories of people who come to Living Hope and instinctively invite their friends.  That’s what makes living hope the place that it is.  I very rarely have to ask people to invite their friends – they naturally do it every week.

What is new in your multi-site ministry since we last talked?
Having done multi site for over 3 years I just know it works. BIG VISION - I’m making a goal to see 100 new campuses start globally in the next 5 years.  In a climate where people shrink back I believe is the time to step up the most so that’s what we are doing.  Also, since we talked, I have had opportunity for the first time to visit our New Zealand campus.  To travel almost 9000 miles to spend time with leaders, volunteers and to speak to the church was so valuable.  To our knowledge it is the only campus in the country that is not just called Living Hope but uses videos 80 -90% of the time.   Not only does multi site work, it’s working for us in a different culture, in a different country. As I flew home, I just kept thinking to myself ‘ONLY GOD could make this happen.’ The third thing is  “Bigger Vision”   As one church that meets in multiple locations and countries, I trusted God that there would be a point where collectively there would be something bigger than any one campus to unify us in mission and in purpose.   We are excited to be doing our first global crusade, November 2009 in India.  We are anticipating 30-50,000 people per day, and the exciting thing is campus pastors from each country will join me on this crusade.

You can check out all the other tour stops by selecting tour stop from the categories listing in the right sidebar.

We would love to have us help spread the word about Multi-site Church Road Trip.  We have developed a free online resource – Multi-site Church Toolkit: Launch Analysis that we will send to anyone who completes one of the following. 

Buys a copy of the book

Posts this tweet – Get a copy of Multi-site Church Road Trip Now at http://bit.ly/2KZlzO

Posts a comment on this blog or creates a post on your own blog.

Posts a review on Amazon.com

Once you have completed one of the items above send an email to [email protected] indicating where you purchased the book or made your post and we will send you the free resource.

To get the latest updates be sure to sign up for the RSS feed at www.multisitechurchroadtrip.com

To see all posts for the tour, select tour stop from the category sidebar.

Twitter - @gregligon @geoffsurratt @warren bird #mscr  #leadnet

Church Online? Troy Gramling, Flamingo Road Multisite Church Road Trip Blogger

Today we are going off road and online with a discussion on internet campuses with Troy Gramling from Flamingo Road. 

1.  Troy, you say in Multi-site Church Road Trip that you and the team at Flamingo Road treat the Internet campus as just another neighborhood that you are trying to reach.  How is it like other neighborhoods you reach?  How is it different?

It is like other neighborhoods in that people have needs. And that is the doorway we use to help and to gain entrance into the community. Much like the neighborhood I live in people want community and anonymity at the same time. Some hide behind closed garage doors and others behind an alias screen name. In both places there are established “clicks” and social norms, ways in which people relate to one another that are unique to that neighborhood. We have also discovered that just like in a physical neighborhood those who make the effort to become “a part” are much more successful than those who do drive-by evangelism. One of the major differences is cost; it is much less expensive to advertise to the online community than it is to a physical neighborhood. The cost of billboards, direct mail, TV, door hangers etc., are much  more expensive than blogs, Twitter, Facebook and MySpace. So for the cost of one billboard for one neighborhood in a physical neighborhood you would be able to advertise in multiple online neighborhoods. For example you might blog about skateboarding and put up some pictures for one neighborhood and you might twitter and follow about parenting to a different neighborhood.  One of the challenging differences is the level of engagement. A physical neighborhood’s “get together” happens at a specific time in a specific place and while you can do that online, most of the interaction happens at different times depending upon when they are online. It also often happens on Facebook, blog, Twitter etc., while they are also doing something else like watching TV, driving, or talking on the phone.  So you can see the challenge to get their total attention--doable just more challenging. Those are just a few of the similarities and differences.

2. What are the qualities that you feel are important for an online campus pastor to possess?  How are the same/different than that of an "in person" campus or venue?

I think it's very easy when looking for an online campus pastor to seek someone technical rather than pastoral.    While having some knowledge of technology, Web 2.0, and social media is important, the Internet Campus pastor's heart must beat for people.  They must be pastors first and digerati second.    Online pastors deal with real people with very real hearts that want to experience God in a genuine way.   Technology is simply a method to help people reach their God-potential--a vehicle to carry people closer to Christ worldwide.  The online pastor needs to embrace this and allow the technological side to take care of itself.  Online campus pastors and physical campus pastors are identical in purpose with each seeking to connect people with God and each other through various means.  I think the primary difference, albeit obvious, is that the online campus must be content with genuine community happening without physical presence.   The online campus pastor must purposefully seek out ways to leverage digital means to accomplish what the pastor at a physical campus can do with a handshake or a hug.   However, as the lines blur between physical friends and online friends, the differences between these types of campus pastors will continue to diminish.

3. You told me that one of the greatest challenges about an Internet campus is being able to shape the environment for the participant because they can log in from such a diverse set of locations.  Is there anything new that you have developed as a part of the campus that helps to address that challenge?  If so, what does that look like?

While we can't control the environment on the guest's side, we certainly help by being intentional with our own.  From the minute you join the Flamingo Road Church Internet campus experience, you are immersed in who we are as a church.  We have designed our Internet campus page to be simple, with fewer potential distractions, while still remaining informative, welcoming, and practical.  In addition, we believe that the chat experience during service helps in this.  Many would argue that chat during services, in fact, causes distractions.  We have experienced the opposite.  Having our chat operational during the service allows guests to ask questions, seek prayer, and request clarification during the teaching time.  We have talked to so many people online that are grateful for the chat feature.  They tell us it provides instant answers and better understanding of what they are experiencing.  Thus, the environment, however chaotic or varied on the guest's end, becomes enriched and somewhat of a controllable constant from our side. 

Each guest that logs in needs to feel less like they are sitting in front of a laptop and more like they are on the front row worshiping with the world.  Through the use of the chat room, simple and concise page elements, and a community forum, guests quickly see themselves as attending church regardless of their particular physical location.

We have also increased our intentionality about how we communicate with the Internet campus. I will from time to time call out what they “might” be doing and ask them to turn off the TV or to stop checking email or come in out of the kitchen in an effort to TEACH them what it means to worship God. This idea came from one of our physical campuses when we were trying to TEACH them what worship was suppose to look like and we had our staff model it.

We are working on a couple of things such as an Internet campus specific pre-teaching that would help them with what it should look like.  In a physical campus you might say please turn off your cell phones in the internet campus you might have the slide say, “Have a pad and pencil with you so that when you think of something you need to do you can write it down and NOT be tempted to jump up and do it.”   We are also going to be adding a way for them to see others who are attending the Internet campus, while at first they may not be able to communicate with them they WILL be able to see how to worship online by modeling.

4. What is new about the multi-site ministry at Flamingo Road since we last talked? 

On the multi-site front, we have started a new campus in Pensacola, Florida.  The campus, which started last Easter, meets in a community college theater.  The teaching is done via HD video and the campus continues to grow and develop.  

We have also started life-development online.  On Saturday nights, we have “iKids,” an online ministry for kids and their parents.  On Wednesday nights, we have “theRush,” an online ministry for students.  If we expect adults to do service online, we can expect it in their families, as well.

We are starting to have breakthrough attendance at some of our campuses and are dreaming about a larger international presence.  We have a few places in mind but are waiting on a green light from God (money!) as well as relationships with future campus pastors.

We have spent some time wrestling with the differences between starting a campus small and starting big. The different ways in which you manage a campus depend on its size and the amount of time it needs from me, as the lead pastor.

Our Hallandale campus has proven to us that one of the great ways to bring renewal or rebirth to old and dying churches is through multi-site. Hallandale-FRC (formally First Baptist of Hallandale) had an attendance of 35-50 on the weekend and less than two years later there are 800. A great way for some of the older churches that have had huge impacts in the past to be a part of ministry for the next generation. We are praying for these opportunities.

5.  What have I not asked that I should have?

Leadership: there is a huge difference in leading a multi-site church compared to a one-campus church.

Finance: the cost of multi-site and a financial model to have several campuses reaching unchurched people and to staff it.

Theological: there are those who believe that Internet campuses are not biblical.

Live vs. Video: while it may seem small there are huge philosophical differences between the two.

Check out the sidebar on the Multi-site Church Road Trip Blog that lists multisite churches with Internet Campuses.

 

We would love to have us help spread the word about Multi-site Church Road Trip.  We have developed a free online resource – Multi-site Church Toolkit: Launch Analysis that we will send to anyone who completes one of the following. 

Buys a copy of the book

Posts this tweet – Get a copy of Multi-site Church Road Trip Now at http://bit.ly/2KZlzO

Posts a comment on this blog or creates a post on your own blog.

Posts a review on Amazon.com

Once you have completed one of the items above send an email to [email protected] indicating where you purchased the book or made your post and we will send you the free resource.

To get the latest updates be sure to sign up for the RSS feed at www.multisitechurchroadtrip.com

To see all posts for the tour, select tour stop from the category sidebar.

Twitter - @gregligon @geoffsurratt @warren bird #mscr  #leadnet

The Show hosts Multi Site Church Road Trip

On Tuesday, September 15 at 3:00pm CST, Leadership Network will host A Multi-site Church Road Trip authors, Geoff Surratt, Warren Bird and Greg Ligon on The Show.  Tune in to hear the top 10 new innovations in multi-site churches around the world and then play stump Geoff Surratt with your toughest multi-site questions.

To see all posts for the tour, select tour stop from the category sidebar.

Twitter - @gregligon @geoffsurratt @warren bird #mscr  #leadnet

Multisite Road Trip Leadership Guru Stop – Steve Stroope at Lake Pointe Church

Welcome to day four of our conversations with senior pastors featured in our new book – A Multi-site Church Road Trip.  No reason to leave Texas so soon … so today we check with Steve Stroope, Senior Pastor at Lake Point Church.   To review all the stops along the way, select tour stop from the category listing.

Steve, you say in Multi-site Church Road Trip that you and the team at Lake Pointe are always looking for leaders.  Outside of folks that are in your church, where and how do you look?

We utilize two primary profiles in vetting potential leaders to invite to the Lake Pointe team.  One is Strengthsfinders by the Gallup organization, which is a measurement of strengths.  This is not a personality profile.  It measures something entirely different.  It measures competencies.  When combined with a good personality profile, it gives you a good indication of how one will approach a task and their likelihood of success.  The second tool we use is a form of the DISC.  The one we use was developed by John Trent and is a profile called Leading From Your Strengths. 

In addition to these two profiles, we are looking for someone with strong character and a strong track record of leadership.  Of course, there is no profile to measure those two things.  We have found that it is essential to know someone who knows the candidate well and who also knows us well to assess both character and past performance.

You told me that you are known around Lake Pointe as somewhat of a “nut” about leadership!  I know that reputation is simply a reflection of your belief that if leaders are not developed, the church suffers and is limited in it’s capacity to touch its community and the world.  Your passion is a demonstration of a strong culture for leadership.  What are the things you do to develop and nourish that culture?

I agree with Bill Hybels when he said the best way to learn how to lead is to lead something.  We are continually putting people in situations to lead that will stretch their current capacity.  Part of our corporate language around here is to identify opportunities for leading as M1, M2, and M3.  If someone is doing a good job leading in a M1 situation, then let’s invite him/her to lead at the M2 level.  Then if that individual is doing well at the M2 level, let’s give him a try at the M3 level.  The way you get better at anything is to do it—including developing your leadership muscles.

Secondly, I think it is important to be around other leaders.

Finally, you improve your capacity to lead by reading everything you can get your hands on concerning leadership.  I have been mentored for years by many leaders who I’ve never met, but I have benefited from their leadership IQ by reading their best stuff.

Some have critiqued the multi-site movement believing that it feeds a diminishing pool of leaders.  You told me that you believe it has exactly the opposite effect.  How so?

This is a great time to be a participant in the church leadership world.  There are so many different kinds of opportunities to lead that require different types of leaders.  The multi-site movement is an example of this.  It is providing many more opportunities for strong leaders who may not fit into the “senior pastor” leadership mold.  Some do not possess a strong gift for communication or teaching, but they are high capacity leaders and the multi-site model is creating a variety of brand new categories for those leaders.

One of the key components to your leadership development model is what you call “resourcing.”  What are the resources you are feeding your leaders with during this season of ministry?

I think there are three streams of resources that help build a leader and I need to make sure that my leaders are getting a fresh infusion of all three streams.

First, there is what I call the science of leadership, and there are a lot of great writers and thinkers out there to whom I can introduce our leaders, i.e., Peter Drucker and Jim Collins. 

The second stream is the implementation of those leadership principles.  People like Ken Blanchard and Marcus Buckingham represent the group helping us with those issues.

Then the third and most important stream is the leader’s soul.  People like Mark Buchanan who wrote “The Rest of God” and J. Oswald Sanders, who wrote “Spiritual Leadership” are two examples of contributors who help us consider the importance of growing in character.

What is new about the multi-site ministry at Lake Pointe since we last talked?

In the last year, we have closed down a couple of what I would call “boutique” campuses.  These are campuses that were “flyers.”  In other words, we didn’t know whether they would work or whether there was enough of a critical mass for them to be successful in the long run, but we thought they were worth trying.  After giving them a good run, we realized they weren’t going to be viable.  We’re not sorry we started those particular campuses.  We learned a lot about what to do and what not to do, and we believe that a certain amount of experimentation and risk is healthy and necessary.  We are getting ready to launch a third major campus within the next 12 months, and because of the current economic environment are moving slower but are feeling confident that multi-site ministry is a proven and effective way to make disciples.

What have I not asked that I should have?

You did not ask what do we not have figured out about multi sites.  There are several—but the one most perplexing to us that we continue to struggle with is what strengths and personality type are necessary for an effective campus pastor.  We are still trying to figure this one out.  I think we are getting closer – but we’re not there.

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Twitter - @gregligon @geoffsurratt @warren bird #mscr  #leadnet

Robert Emmitt, Community Bible Church, San Antonio – You Want to Launch a Campus Where?

Welcome to day three of our conversations with senior pastors featured in our new book – A Multi-site Church Road Trip.  Today, we are headed to San Antonio for a conversation with Robert Emmitt, Senior Pastor at Community Bible Church. 

1. Robert, your original campus there in San Antonio reaches 14,000 folks every week in a large, beautiful campus.  Some multi-site churches have chosen to secure locations with a similar look and feel to that of their original campus but you chose to go with a wide variety of locations?  Say a little about why you chose to do that?

Variety is the spice of life! The only people who really cared about the multi-site CBC's looking and feeling like the original campus, were those of us who were at the original campus. The communities that we are reaching with our multi-site CBC's don't know anything about the original campus. So rather than try to recreate something that no one knew about, we just decided to let the pastors and leadership teams build their own church. They are all called CBC's. They all have great music, practical bible teaching, and small group ministries. They are connected through our website. The pastor's job is to find the best building at the best price. Whether that is a school, shopping center, restaurant or sharing another church facility. We're open to whatever doors the Lord opens up for us.

2. What are the pros and cons of being in such a wide variety of campus settings? 

The pro's are the more different campus settings we find, the more doors we learn to knock on for the new CBC's. I can't think of any negatives for the wide variety. We are trying to reach, teach and help as many people as we can in Jesus name. The campus settings are secondary to our mission. That has been the history of CBC. We started in a restaurant, moved to a park, a movie theater, a store front, a shopping center and our current location. The buildings change but the mission remains the same.  

3. Which of the settings works best?  Why?

The permanent (at least 3 years) works best.  The shopping center with a 3 year lease, is working great. The 4 acres with a new church on is great. Schools have been frustrating as they don't really like having churches in them. 

4. What is new about the multi-site ministry at Community Bible Church since we last talked?

We quit playing the CD's of Robert, and let the pastors do the preaching.  We are looking more like a church planting ministry than a traditional multi-site. We are moving from a part time pastor to a full time pastor model. It costs more, but if you want the churches to grow, then the pastors need to devote their full time to it.  

5. What have I not asked that I should have?

How many CBC's would you like to have in the next 5 years? Answer: 100  Are you on track? No.
Why not? We got bogged down in trying to manage all the details for the multi-sites. What is your solution? Tell the pastors "You can do it. We can help." Wait a second, that's Home Depot's line.  How about "You can do it, we'll help you."

We will stay in Texas tomorrow with a stop in to talk with leadership development guru Steve Stroope, senior pastor at Lake Pointe Church. 

We would love to have us help spread the word about Multi-site Church Road Trip.  We have developed a free online resource – Multi-site Church Toolkit: Launch Analysis that we will send to anyone who completes one of the following. 

Buys a copy of the book

Posts this tweet – Get a copy of Multi-site Church Road Trip Now at http://bit.ly/2KZlzO

Posts a comment on this blog or creates a post on your own blog.

Posts a review on Amazon.com

Once you have completed one of the items above send an email to [email protected] indicating where you purchased the book or made your post and we will send you the free resource.

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Twitter - @gregligon @geoffsurratt @warren bird #mscr  #leadnet

Multi-site Church Road Trip Gone Global, Dave Browning, Christ the King Community Church

Welcome to day two of the road trip.  This is the second in a series of posts containing conversations that we recently had with some of the senior pastors featured in our new book – A Multi-site Church Road Trip.  In each post you will gain additional insights by getting updates about the featured church and hearing the heart of the leader.  

Today’s guest – Dave Browning (twitter - @bigdaverino), Christ the King Community Church.

1. Dave, you say in Multi-site Church Road Trip that you and the team at Christ the King have 120 campuses and many of those are actually International campuses.  What does an international campus look like?  How is the same/different from one of your state-side campuses?

Overseas our gatherings are often not in an owned or leased facilities.  Some of our congregations meet in tents, or under trees, or town squares.  Often the gatherings have children present, whereas in the US we offer children's programming simultaneous the worship service.  In the US our services are typically an hour or less.  Overseas, our services are often longer than two hours.  In some cultures the leader has a more prominent role that we tend to see in the US.

2. I think it is interesting that you have a commitment to international campuses and a high value for use of technology in developing leaders but no Internet campuses?  Any reason for that?

Our international reach is more of a "God-thing" than anything else.  We had no plan to be outside of our own county, much less around the world.  But once you define the church by relationship, instead of geography, you realize that relationships do not respect geographical boundaries.  We say that we can go as far as relationships will take us.  Our goal is to raise up people to do ministry, so we view technology as a tool, not a strategy. 

3. We have talked recently about your discovery that there is a greater access to cell coverage than high speed internet in India and many of the countries you are serving in Africa and that this has prompted you to redesign your leadership development training to be delivered in text size messages. Can you give us an update on where you are in that process?  What is working?  What is not?

I send out a weekly email that gets resent as text by our international leaders.  Some of our leaders follow me on Twitter as well.  The cell phone is clearly the next laptop.  More SMS texts are sent every day in the world than email messages.  We are attempting to take our "teachable points of view" and distill them to 140 characters or less.  We are also developing 60-second sermons that can be utilized on cell phones.

4. You are the author of Deliberate Simplicity, another title in the Leadership Network Innovation Series.  How do the key principles of simplicity find application in the establishment and execution of International Campuses?

Simplicity resonates in the two-thirds world, because it really is the only option.  There are not resources available in much of the world to support the attractional model. 

5. What is new about the multi-site ministry at Christ the King since we last talked?

I believe that God is showing us some new things about worship.  Many of our leaders are feeling that our corporate worship has been too much about us, and not enough about Him.  We are also exploring more non-musical forms of worship that have great potential to reduce our dependence on musicians as key to expanding the church. 

6. What have I not asked that I should have?

You ask great questions.  One additional one might be, "What complicates overseas ministry?"  The answer would be:  money. There is such a huge resource disparity between our church in the US and our church in the two-thirds world that we are wrestling constantly with how much to support needs overseas.  So far we have sent very nominal and sporadic support, and have placed an emphasis on being self-sustaining.  But it is often difficult to say "no" when they need it and we have it.

Next stop? Robert Emmitt, Senior Pastor, Community Bible Church, San Antonio, Texas

To get the latest updates be sure to sign up for the RSS feed at www.multisitechurchroadtrip.com

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Twitter - @gregligon @geoffsurratt @warren bird #mscr  #leadnet

Multi-site Church Road Trip – Craig Groeschel and Shared Communication

This is the first of a series of posts containing conversations that we recently had with some of the senior pastors featured in our new book – A Multi-site Church Road Trip.  In each post you will gain additional insights by getting updates about the featured church and hearing the heart of the leader. 

First up – Craig Groeschel, LifeChurch.tv.

Q: Craig, you and the team at LifeChurch.tv have really pioneered the most effective model of using what we call a shared communicator in the Multi-site Church Road Trip.  Beyond your excellent communication skills, what are some of the primary reasons it works for you to be the primary teaching pastor and directional leader for a campus that is literally a couple of time zones away?
A: Greg, first of all, I’m actually doing less teaching now than in the past. We are working hard to develop more speakers on our team and effectively using guest speakers. Even with this shift, we still generally have one communicator broadcast to all the campuses. Having only one person preparing a message, frees the other pastors to spend more time shepherding people and leading their teams. Rather than being the directional leaders for the extended campus, we’re also allowing our campuses more autonomy to make decisions in their community.

Q: You have developed a model for connection with LifeChurch.tv that has three tiers - Open, Network and United. Why "qualifies" a church to become a part of the tightest affiliation - United?
A: Far more churches are becoming a Network Church rather than a United Church. As of today, we have 74 Network Churches. These are totally separate 501c-3s that use our weekly teaching. (Many also use our kids curriculum and worship all at no charge.) Churches who are part of the LifeChurch.tv Network are reporting great responses and stories of changed lives from their members and attendees. In order for a United partnership to occur, we’re looking for a unique set of circumstances where we can do more together than apart. Only in rare situations is it worth uniting since merging churches can be painful, and there are so many effective ways to partner.

Q: It is not news that you, and other pastors of large multi-site churches, are sometimes accused of building your own kingdom ... of limiting the leadership potential of others because of your "celebrity status".  When you get these calls and emails, how do you respond?
A: People may say that, but I rarely hear it. Truthfully, we believe that we are building great leaders and don’t pay a lot of attention to uninformed criticisms.

Q: What is new about the multi-site ministry at LifeChurch.tv since we last talked?
A: We continue to become more passionate about serving the broader body of Christ. Rather than simply focusing on building more campuses, we are focusing on building the Church at large. On our personal learning curve, we have learned that our multi site strategy works better in medium sized and larger campuses. We haven’t learned to do multi-site at small campuses well. We’re trying to learn from others who do church in small venues effectively.

Q:What have I not asked that I should have?
A: You didn’t ask me what I’m pumped about! I’m pumped to see generosity and Kingdom mindedness in churches across the world. So many anointed Christian leaders are working together. I honestly believe that together we can make a significant difference in the world! I'm also very excited about what God is doing through church online. This is a fantastic tool to take the message of Christ to people who might not experience it otherwise. I’m excited about all the different ministries God is blessing.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s conversation with Dave Browning, author of Deliberate Simplicity and lead pastor at Christ the King Community Church.  You will get the behind-the-scenes scoop on International Campuses – the multi-site church gone global!

We would love to have us help spread the word about Multi-site Church Road Trip.  We have developed a free online resource – Multi-site Church Toolkit: Launch Analysis that we will send to anyone who completes one of the following. 

• Buys a copy of the book
• Posts this tweet – Get a copy of Multi-site Church Road Trip Now at http://bit.ly/2KZlzO
• Posts a comment on this blog or creates a post on your own blog.
• Posts a review on Amazon.com

Once you have completed one of the items above send an email to [email protected] indicating where you purchased the book or made your post and we will send you the free resource.

To get the latest updates be sure to sign up for the RSS feed at www.multisitechurchroadtrip.com

To see all posts for the tour, select tour stop from the category sidebar.

Twitter - @gregligon @geoffsurratt @warren bird #mscr  #leadnet