The multisite strategy isn’t a new concept, but it’s been evolving rapidly over the past few years, especially for those churches that have invested in their digital outreach and discipleship during and after the pandemic.
Very few multisite churches reproduce congregations beyond a 20-30 minute drive from the sending congregation. Multisite churches using a strategy are able to multiply congregations beyond local proximity to cities, regions, and states.
Let’s look at how digital ministry and church real estate inventory are influencing multisite ministries and how digital ministry is having an increasing long-term influence on the church experience.
A Brief History of the Multisite Movement
The multisite movement really started in the early 2000s by modern ministry leaders like Larry Osborne, Jim Tomberlin, and Kevin Penry. These visionaries spearheaded a new church model that allowed churches to move into areas and serve people where they had momentum and a need to create capacity for ministry.
The original multisite church model worked for decades, but we believe that the future of multisite strategy is changing from that early approach — even though multisite remains one of the most effective ways to reach and disciple new communities.
Defining Church Planting and Multisite
The lines between multisite and church planting are starting to blur. Let me start, though, by defining the difference between multisite and planting from a supply and demand perspective. As I’ve said before, church planting creates demand through a fresh expression of faith through a new, local church. Multisite is about supplying inventory for an existing demand.
See the difference?
Church planting starts new churches in order to reach people who are drawn to a different expression of church with a completely autonomous, entrepreneurial pastor. This is a fresh take, a new iteration.
Multisite is about creating ministry capacity for a group of people who are drawn to a church’s expression but who don’t live within a 15-20 minute driving distance of the closest church campus.
Multisite campuses equip those already committed to the church to invite people within their community who may not be willing to make that drive (and pass 20 other churches along the way).
The Evolving Multisite Experience
The invitation to church has changed the most over the past twenty years since the multisite movement took root.
I firmly believe that the reason we have valued attendance as a metric of growth in our churches so much is that it was the leading indicator of engagement. Meaning, if we can get you here on Sunday morning, you’ll see how great of a church we are. This attractional church model taught all of our people to make the invitation to others to a Sunday morning service so that they would learn about us and engage with us.
The biggest difference now is that attendance has become a lagging indicator of engagement. The pandemic led to a spike in investment and engagement with the digital elements of church. It normalized that kind of ministry as a way to both survive and engage with our people when we were forced to remain at a physical distance from one another. In April 2020, the number of churches live streaming climbed to a jaw-dropping 97%.
The critical sign of enduring change, though, is the fact that, since that necessity has gone away, many people have continued to attend online in many areas. According to Pew Research, 10% of people are “regularly watching services only on screens (but not regularly going in person).”
In addition to consistent online attenders, many can (and often do) check out a church they’re interested in and even engage in different ways before they ever step foot on a campus.
As Brian Chelette, the Executive Director of Sandals Church, said, “The attractional model of church was built on the strategy of getting a network of people to value an institution. The future model of the Church will be based on a strategy of an institution understanding the value of its network.” (You can learn more about Brian Chelette and his church’s revolutionary approach to digital church here.)
A study by Crossroads Church also found that there are 73 million people in America who are interested in a conversation about Jesus and would simultaneously not come to a church building on Sunday morning to have that conversation.
This new perspective changes the initial invitation. Instead of inviting people to an event on Sunday morning, they can invite them into content and community first. Don’t underestimate this. It’s a game-changer, and it’s giving churches a new sense of reach and impact.
I’m not talking about those few-and-far-between megachurch ministries like those led by the late Tim Keller or Steven Furtick. It’s no secret that churches operating at that scale have national (and even international) reaches that most churches don’t have. They require a completely different strategy that is customized and unique to that scale of activity.
But we’re not talking about the few gigantic churches across the US here. We’re talking about churches that have expanded around their cities and now, thanks to growing digital reach, are expanding around their cities and regions.
The Growing Regional Reach of Medium and Large Churches
One question we’ve been trying to answer at Ministry Solutions Group is: How are churches of all sizes experiencing newfound growth across cities and even regions?
I think there are multiple answers to the question. The most obvious is the one we already talked about: digital. Most churches that are successful right now in expanding regionally are doing so with a major focus on their digital strategy.
To be clear, this isn’t a magic bullet for expansion. There are pros and cons to a digital ministry focus. The sheer number of different approaches and multisite models incorporating various digital elements is astonishing. Some churches try to mirror their core church campus. Others allow various things like worship to be individualized to each campus. Still others collaborate between multiple churches, streaming multiple pastors and performances from various worship groups over the course of a service.
Speaking of multiple churches, many ministries are also combining digital with a new approach to church mergers. Larger churches are leveraging their influence to build stronger networks with other churches within their region. The role of denominations continues to decentralize and evolve, too.
A lot of the influence in the church today is not denomination to church anymore, but rather church to church. This is what caused the birth and growth of church networks in the past. Even so, this is different from the current “church network” movement that is gaining momentum in the sense that it was still the major players within those networks who carried the influence. The new and emerging multisite model is much more balanced.
Another factor in regional church growth is that church planting has become much more expensive than it was a decade ago, according to a study provided by Warren Bird of ECFA.
Add it all up, and existing churches with digital initiatives are experiencing quick and significant growth not just within a city but across entire regions — and that change is rewriting the multisite church playbook. Church leaders are considering not just multisite as an option but how they can engage in multisite church strategies that stretch and challenge the past perceptions of how to expand a ministry’s footprint.
The Impact of Growing Regional Church Influence
Digital platforms are creating unique interest and demand from people within communities where the church they’re listening to doesn’t have a building. What we are seeing happen is that while a large or growing church is increasing its awareness and engagement online, healthy churches in those areas are seeing that happen, too. In many cases, these have either hit a plateau, or there is a lead pastor in that church who sees his best succession plan through the lens of a merger.
So what happens when a local church joins a church that is successfully reaching people? What happens when that expanding church already has had a positive influence on that local church (i.e., an existing relationship and credibility are already established)? It provides the expanding church not only with a building but also an existing congregation and staff to build upon.
Now, before you get too excited at the prospect if you are looking to grow your church from one site to a few sites or you are a larger church looking to expand regionally, be warned that these conversations with joining churches are still tough. This is a natural challenge of the entire multisite model. Things like degrees of autonomy and leadership challenges between core churches and campuses require careful navigation.
With a merger, this becomes even more complex. Here are some of the biggest topics you want to make sure to address throughout your multisite merger conversations:
- Leadership autonomy: Remember, church mergers are like a dance where one church leads and the other church follows.If a healthy but smaller church is merging with a stronger healthy church, you are essentially asking the joining lead pastor to take a demotion within his own church. This means you have to avoid the too-often-used strategy of, “Hey, we’re awesome, and you’re less awesome, so give us your building.” I’m not sure this has ever worked, and in this situation, it definitely won’t.
- Ministry strategy: This ties into autonomy. What works in Atlanta doesn’t transfer completely to Augusta. What works for a city church won’t always translate to a suburban church. So, how much ministry strategy do we keep, and how much do we allow the local leadership to determine? Where is the line between influencing and dictating decisions?
- Branding: To return to the business analogy, is this a separately branded church “powered by XYZ Church,” or does this church keep its branding? All of the North Point Ministries campuses are branded for their local communities (i.e., Buckhead Church, Gwinnett Church, etc.). In contrast, Sandals Church has 14 regional locations (10 of which are mergers, by the way) all branded as a Sandals Church. Anecdotally, from all of the churches we have worked with that navigated regional growth strategies, we’ve learned that it’s less of an outward branding issue and more of an internal systems and discipleship issue.
- Staff security and compensation: This isn’t a hostile takeover. Remember the gravity of what you are asking for. Lead pastors of churches, whether healthy or declining, want to feel (and genuinely be) honored in this decision and not the hurdle or problem to be solved. Look at it as an acquisition of a relatively healthy organization. Be prepared to address concerns around compensation, roles, and job security for the lead pastor and staff.
Building a multisite strategy around church alliances, partnerships, and networks across a region is still a developing element of the modern church. Keep these elements in mind every step of the way — and if you need an experienced helping hand, reach out to our team for that added level of support and wisdom.
What to Watch Out for in a Modern Church Multisite Merger
As our team at Ministry Solutions has watched this new church-merging, network-building trend emerge, we’ve found there are a lot of additional factors you want to watch out for. Here are a few more points to remember if you are interested in expanding your local church in today’s environment:
Size Is Not the Primary Factor Anymore
This concept does NOT just apply to churches that have over 10,000 in attendance. It’s just as much for any church, regardless of size, that needs to increase capacity for ministry.
The key here is not necessarily just the size of your congregation or your balance sheet. It has a lot more to do with healthy churches with influence and reputation. For example, we helped a church with an average attendance of 1,700 people last year in South Florida acquire and merge a 100,000 sq. ft. building for these precise reasons.
Effective Digital Outreach Must Stay in the Mix
Don’t let your digital outreach slump as you redirect your focus and resources toward multisite expansion and mergers. Continue focusing on your digital outreach and engagement as a key part of that process.
A great resource to read on this is Target and the Flexible Church. We published this resource two years ago, and it remains a hyper-relevant analysis of the church growth model today. The key takeaway here is that Target’s focus on its digital strategy led to enormous growth in its in-store sales and the opening of 500 new locations within five years.
Prioritize Digital Metrics Over Attendance Alternatives
Track beyond how many people there are in seats inside of your building on Sunday. Where are people engaging with you digitally? Ten years ago, we had an in-person audience and an online audience. We now mostly have one audience who engages with us both online and in person.
Remember, Sunday morning is now your lag indicator. Analyze and engage with your digital audience so you can find out who they are and how you can serve them. Another good resource for this is our breakdown of The Real Purpose of Online Church.
Build Genuine Relationships Within Your Network
As you expand your church’s regional influence, use the opportunity to build genuine relationships with other pastors and serve them well. Invite them and their teams to visit with you. Do ministry together outside of Sunday morning.
That way, if the opportunity is right, they’ll know it, too. Remember, if you take the “I don’t know you, but you know me. We’re awesome, and you’re less awesome” approach, you will only get a quick no (and likely a ruined relationship). Don’t burn those bridges. Build them. Humility goes a ong way.
Pray and Consider Each Opportunity
At Ministry Solutions, we are big on fitting opportunities to strategy and not the other way around. In the case of multisite church initiatives, every opportunity won’t line up with your strategy.
As you consider potential additions to your regional network, remember that it is important to have a fully cohesive facility and digital strategy in place to determine what’s right for your church.
Embracing the Future of Multisite Ministry
Multisite ministry may not look like it did 25 years ago, but it is just as relevant — even more so. As we sort out the digital post-pandemic shift in church culture, we need to consider the expanding and changing role of multisite ministry opportunities.
Use this powerful approach to church growth as a way to capitalize on ministry influence not just across your city but your entire region. Explore church mergers that create ministry synergy. Build networks that are alive and bring the best out of every church involved.
If you’re struggling to navigate the new multisite merger concept, my team is here to help. At Ministry Solutions Group, we’ve developed our Clear Path Forward as a way to help you understand your process and clarify your strategy. It is a critical first step designed to assess and unleash the potential of your church as you embrace the modern digital landscape and allow God to use your church as a difference-maker across your town, your city, and your entire region.
About the author
Nathan leads Ministry Solutions Group, an Atlanta-based organization created to help churches develop intelligent growth strategies in finance, building development, activated spaces, multisite expansion, and more. His own background includes a successful executive career in commercial real estate and finance. Since launching in 2012, Ministry Solutions Group has managed and funded over $1B in church projects for many of the largest and fastest-growing churches in America.
Nathan adores his two kids and enjoys exploring Atlanta with them. He also serves at Grace Midtown Church in the heart of the capital of Georgia
