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The North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist ChurchOffice of New Faith Communities

The Multisite E-Book

Jeff Severt, Director

Contents

Title of the book2

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Multisite FAQs

Multisite as Movement

Multisite Trends

What to look for in a Multisite Campus Pastor

Strategic Partnership

Example of Lay Team Planning Schedule

The Axis Experience & Multisite Solutions

“Congregationsprimarily “gomulti-site” toevangelize,buttheyoftenfindthat“thejoyofmulti-site” isthatitcreatesnewleadershipopportunities forthemanygiftedlaitywholacksuchopportunities intheirexistingcongregations.”Warren Bird

3NFC Multisite Ebook

Multisite FAQs

“Onechurchmeeting inmultiple locations.Itcouldbemultiple venuesonthesamecampus,differentlocations inthesamecityorevenlocationsspreadacrossdifferentregions,states,orcountries.Multi-sitechurchessharethesamevision,budget,andleadershipacrossalltheirlocations,nomatterhowfarflungtheymaybe.”KevinHendricks

What is a multisite church? A multisite church is one church meeting in two or more geographical locations under one overall leadership and budget. A multisite church shares a common vision, budget, & leadership. Effective multisite churches reproduce and extend their ministry best practices consistently across multiple locations.

What does a multisite church look like? Every multisite church has a unique “church-print.” Most multisite campuses are fully-functioning congregations with a local site pastor. Some churches video-cast their sermons (live or recorded); others have in-person teaching onsite. Some churches maintain a similar worship style at all their campuses and others invite variation.

Is multisite just a fad? Since this movement began in the mid-1990’s over 8,000 churches have embraced this model and their number is growing daily. The multisite model is no longer a trend, but the new normal. By 2014, an estimated 5 million people, 20% of Protestant church-goers, attend a multisite church on any given weekend across North America and it’s spreading internationally.

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Multisite FAQs

“Thekeytounderstandingthemulti-sitemovementistoremember thatfulfilling theGreatCommissiondrivesthesecongregations,notagrowthstrategy.”TheMultisiteChurchRevolution,p.22

What is the difference between church-planting and multisiting? They both arrive at the same outcome of a new congregation in a community but they arrive through different pathways. A church plant is usually a small delegation of people who either leave a church to go develop a brand new church that is self-governing or is newly recruited. Typically, church plants have their own teaching pastor, their own leaders, and their own budget with some financial help from the “sending” church or denomination; otherwise, they are a distinct pioneering entity. Multisites are extended and fully-functioning congregations of a sending church, but not distinct local churches. In the UMC, both will be assigned a GCFA number; both will have no expectation of Apportioned giving for the first 5 years even though numbers are reported annually; a multisite campus will never charter; a church plant will charter as a local church; both types are categorized as new faith communities and supported by the Annual Conference and the office of New Faith Communities with resources, coaching, and financial assistance for salary support and launch.

Do you have to be a mega-church to go multisite? Absolutely not! Of the 8,000+ multisite churches, only about 20% are megachurches (2,000+ weekend attendance). The multisite movement began as band-aid strategy for megachurches who found themselves out of room. It quickly evolved into a growth strategy for healthy churches of all sizes. It has developed into a revitalization strategy for stable, but stuck churches and has increasingly become a rebirth strategy for struggling churches through merging with a multisite church.

Is multisite for every church? No, multisiting is for healthy churches that have a desire to reach more people, mobilize more volunteers, and multiply their community impact. Some churches prefer to collect people. This is addition. Other churches prefer to send people ultimately. This is what we mean by multiplication. It is not a growth engine to stimulate a declining church, but can be a vehicle to accommodate and accelerate a healthy, growing church. Like having children It will multiply and increase whatever culture is present, healthy or dysfunctional.

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Multisite FAQs”Themulti-site strategyisaconceptanychurchshouldatleastconsider—it’snotjustformega-churches.Itisn’tforeverychurch,butitcouldbeasolutiontospaceproblems,abetterwaytoreachaspecificdemographicorawaytoovercomethelimitsofgeography.”KevinHendricks

Do all multisite churches use video to deliver the sermons? No, only half of all multisite churches use video to deliver their sermons. The other half utilize live, in-person teaching models. 3 primary models: 1. Sr Pastor-Communicator develops series/sermons and preaches live and/or recorded which is

broadcast across all multisite campuses. (e.g., LifeChurch, NorthPoint, Seacoast, PC3, New Hope, Covenant UMC) About half of all multisites

2. Weekend series schedule is maintained across all multisite campuses by site pastor/preachers who collaborate with the Sr Pastor-Communicator but preach their own live sermon (e.g., National Community Church, Apex UMC, E.St. UMC) About half of all multisites

3. Multisite Campuses are free to contextualize their own series and sermon schedule according to local missional need (The Healing Place-La.) Not as common. The church-print or DNA is carried more through its missional strategy than it’s worship culture/content

Want to know more? Check out these sites:http://multisitesolutions.com/

http://leadnet.orghttp://9marks.org/

http://multisitechurch.typepad.com/https://www.vanderbloemen.com/

http://multisiting.org/

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Multisite as Movement

In his book Spark: Igniting a Culture of Multiplication, Todd Wilson identifies three different types of churches embodying three distinct messages to their people:

Subtraction – “Please stay!”Addition – “Please come!”Multiplication – “Please go!”

In America, the vast majority of our churches are firmly entrenched in subtraction mode. Over 80% of American churches consist of less than one hundred people, and many of those are declining and dying. In the UMC, we will close 5,000 churches in the next 20 years. We have an opportunity to repurpose these churches either through merger or multiplication—all of which are new faith communities.

One big exception, of course, is the American megachurch. Many megachurches have grown so fast and so large that they often run out of space or run out of capital well before they have maximized their reach in a given community. It was out of this precise tension that a solution was born — multisite church. One church in multiple locations.

There is one thing that was true about multisite church at the very beginning and that is still true today: multisite remains primarily an addition model of church. Honestly, it’s often “Subtraction” from a struggling church and “Addition” through sheepshifting. While multisite does indeed take church to the people, our primary message to those same people remains “Please come!”

This is not a bad thing. After all, people relocate. Half the mission field is for Christians looking for a new church home for whatever reason. And addition is certainly much better than subtraction. Multisite has changed the way we think about church, and many a church has grown tremendously as a result. The question is, will it be yours?

In the 1990s, multisite was a radical idea. In the first decade of the 21st century multisite became a cool idea among large, cutting-edge churches. By the second decade of this century multisite has become the mainstream idea among healthy, growing churches of all sizes. It’s simply natural for anything healthy to reproduce.

This radical idea has spawned a movement of more than 8 million people attending one of the 8,000+ multisite churches across North America and it is not slowing down. This game-changing movement is comprised of nondenominational and denominational churches that gather in urban, suburban and rural communities. Here are some trends emerging out of this dynamic movement now in the middle of its third decade.

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Multisite Trends

“Multi-sites require churches tonotjustspeakoftheimportance ofleadership

development buttodoit inawaythatactually producesleaders,” WarrenBird

Microsites are the New BigMicrosites are best described as the cross between multisites and house churches, but this is not a throwback to the anti-church house-church movement of the past, but more about taking church further, faster and cheaper than the typical big-box multisite strategy. Micrositing is a missional small group, outreach strategy that utilizes video worship and sermons to extend the reach of a church. They meet in homes, retirement centers, homeless shelters, bars, gyms, AA clubs, businesses—any place a small group can gather. It is more than a small group, but less than a fully functioning congregation. They may be video-based and are usually centrally governed with the ultimate goal of becoming a full-blown congregation.

Movement is the New RadicalThe multisite movement is standing at the frontier of another paradigm shift. A small but growing number of radical multisite churches are going beyond adding one or two campuses, to multiplying exponentially in fulfilling Jesus’ call to make new disciples. There is an explosion of church network movements through multisiting and church planting that will have the strength of centralizing resources in the more efficient way that denominations did when they were movements in the past. These radical multisite churches are operating out of a multiplication culture that is reproducing disciples and campuses at an accelerating rate. These radical churches are led by leaders with an apostolic impulse who birth multisite campuses, plant churches and keep a multiplication scorecard. Some have the potential to become a movement-making multisite church.

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Multisite Trends“Whenyoureplicate yourministry onanothercampus orinanotherservice,

suddenlyyouneedmoremusicians, moregreeters, morestrategic planners,more

disciplers, moreofeverything. Andwhenthereisvisionaryleadershipfromtheseniorpastor,peoplewillrisetothechallengeandwanttobedeveloped.”

WarrenBird

Online Campuses Are MainstreamingOnline campuses are interactive virtual church experiences that are becoming the norm for multisite churches that are tech-savvy and outreach oriented. With globalization through the Internet and the explosion of social media, online campuses are becoming fully integrated into the life and strategy of local churches. No longer a techie experiment, online campuses function more like a multisite campus with a dedicated campus pastor, multiple experiences throughout the week and lots of volunteers.

Mergers Are the New NormalChurch mergers are occurring in an unprecedented way today and becoming a viable option for healthy as well as stuck or struggling churches. These mergers are more mission-driven and future-focused as opposed to the failed mergers of the past that were more survival-driven and focused on preserving the past. Progressive denominational leaders are seeing the opportunities to grow their strong churches and salvage their struggling churches through mission-driven multisite mergers. Church planters are acquiring permanent facilities and church growth through a merger. A growing number of churches have experienced senior pastor succession through a church merger. Mergers that have a multisite outcome report a higher success rate and satisfaction factor than mergers that unite into one location.

Churches Are Getting BiggerEven though the majority of churches in America are struggling and church attendance is in decline nationwide, multisite churches are getting bigger. There are nearly a hundred gigachurches with over 10,000 in weekend attendance. Most of them are multisite churches. One multisite church broke 100,000 in weekend attendance in 2015 becoming America’s first tera-church (LifeChurch).

Name Changing is GrowingChurches are changing their name because it either has cultural baggage or it is geographically limiting for a multisite strategy. These new names are typically shorter and often lose the denominational label.

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Multisite Trends

“Multi-sites require churches tonotjustspeakoftheimportance ofleadership

development buttodoit inawaythatactually producesleaders,” WarrenBird

Church MergersChurch mergers are increasing dramatically across the USA and becoming a viable option for healthy as well as stuck or struggling churches. A growing number of churches have experienced senior pastor succession through a church merger. Church planters are acquiring permanent facilities and church growth through a merger. One out of three multisite campuses are the result of a merger.

Laity Are Leading – Par. 271The Certified Lay Speaker is an increasingly appealing option in light of the great expense associated with ordained clergy. We plan to develop a focused body of training towards this end that differs from existing CLM training. While its ideal for multisite churches to raise up and groom their own multisite lay leadership, the caveat of sacramental authority at multisite campuses remains. Ordained clergy can either circuit ride around the campuses to administer sacraments, pre-consecrate elements, or explore Part-Time– or Full-Time Local Pastor options. However, the trend is towards a lay-led multisite strategy (Pioneered by Cornerstone UMC in Grand Rapids, MI; we are currently experimenting with it at Crossroads’ West (Fvl) Campus, their 3rd multisite campus. .

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What to look for in a Multisite Campus Pastor/Minister…

5 Traits of a Great Campus Pastor:1.Team Player: A great campus pastor is entrepreneurial, but can work within systems. This requires highly developed team-work skills. It’s like a “Franchise Entrepreneur” for Chick-fil-A. We don’t need a new fast food chain, we need someone who believes in Chick-fil-A and wants to take new territory as a Chick-fil-A operator. (Don’t get hung up on the word operator,the CFA operators are sharp business leaders!)2. Leader who develops other leaders: Each campus pastor must be a leader who can and loves to recruit and train volunteers. The campus pastor needs the maturity to consistently repeat the practice of recruiting and training large numbers of volunteers into leaders, and the skills to develop other leaders to do the same. Discipleship is Leadership is Discipleship. Disciples reproduce disciples. Leaders reproduce leaders. 3. Great with People and Loves to Shepherd: Strong natural people skills can’t be overestimated. The ability to connect quickly with all kinds of people, love them and care about them is essential. A passion for evangelism is an important part of this mix. A great multisite campus pastor doesn’t “host a service” but goes into the community to reach people. They are fast thinkers but slow walkers, walking slowly through the crowd to be able to see needs and adapt quickly to each person in the moment. 4. Vision wins over passion to communicate: One may be a gifted communicator who loves to teach, but vision to reach more people must be greater than passion to communicate. Proclamation has a higher purpose; it’s a means to an end. In addition, some campus pastors may be vision creators, but that is not necessary. All campus pastors must be vision-carriers and able to cast the overall vision of the church. Many great leaders are not necessarily great multisite campus pastors. 5. Can transfer and replicate the culture: The ability to embrace and transfer the original culture/DNA is one of the most sophisticated and necessary skills of a campus pastor. This is needed both on the platform during the worship service, and throughout the week. This involves honoring the leadership above and simultaneously being true and authentic to who you are.

List compiled by Dan Reiland, visit http://danreiland.com/ for more great insights.

NFC Multisite Ebook

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We find it typically costs about $150,000 per year to start up a satellite campus. Comp Plan cost for developer is about $90,000. We cover half of it. We provide the Impact10 grant of $50,000. We essentially provide nearly $100,000 of the $150,000 needed. Your investment of about $50,000 also purchases you an Associate Pastor who can flex and share responsibilities with you, though its important not to lose sight of their primary and ultimate purpose there. In the 2nd year when launch occurs, the satellite campus will begin to pay for itself, particularly as we methodically step down our salary support by 1/3 per year.

One additional benefit is the On-Line Data Collection System reporting of Table II. All of the church’s expenses related to the new satellite campus is exempt from Apportionment calculation. Every penny of admin support for paper or anything that is used for the new faith community can be reported separately under it’s new GCFA number and exempt from Apportionment calculation for the first 5 years. Then phase in of Apportionments to include the new multisite campus grows over the following 5 years. You might be able to detail enough multisite expenses to offset the cost of your investment through savings in your Apportioned Giving during these periods. :)

Remember, the goal isn’t to curb mission giving or avoid apportionments. The benefit is to get some credit for taking a missional, shared risk with us and not be penalized in the process. Incentives are a good thing.

The New Campus Developer Will…1)Become assimilated into the church culture itself so they can embody its DNA, focusing on ministry within the church at first2)Begin teaching and training in missional discipleship3)Multiply discipleship leaders to reproduce groups4) Shift focus from inward to outward in order to reach new people5)Lead this process within the church to grow 3->12->70->120->Public Launch over the course of 1-2 years6)Lead out with the pioneering group from the church to create a satellite worshiping community following a full-on public launch in a target area we concur is the prime target consistent with your vision7)Grow the satellite campus and therefore grow your church as a whole!

Strategic Partnership

The Office of New Faith Communities typically shares the expense of Compensation Package Costs for the Campus Developer 50/50 with the multisite church. There is also an Impact10 Grant of $50,000 to use for facilities, personnel, outreach, etc. related to launching the new campus. The primary expense on the front end is the developer—often an Associate Pastor appointed to begin work from within the church.

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Ken Nash, Multisite Trainer and PastorDr. Ken Nash from Cornerstone UMC, Grand Rapids, Michigan shares his journey leading their congregation into becoming a multi-site ministry. We are hoping to have Ken with us in the near future as a presenter at the AXIS Learning Community. This is an example of his lay planting team training schedule. Look for his forthcoming book on lay lead multisiting.

Cornerstone Multi-site Academy @ South Wyoming CampusWinter/Spring 2015 Wednesdays, 6:30-8:00 p.m.

January 7— God Was Already HereJanuary 14— New Imagination January 21— The Marks of a Healthy Multi-Site ChurchFebruary 4— Leading YourselfFebruary 11— DISC Profile & 8 Styles of Leadership February 18— Dealing with Conflict in MinistryMarch 4— Mentor Training: How to Reproduce LeadersMarch 11— UMC & Wesleyan Theology 101March 18— The 5 Stages of a TeamApril 8— The 10 Most Common Mistakes in Multi-site MinistryApril 15— Cornerstone 101: Understanding our Structure April 22— Contextualization: Missional Outreach May 6— The Secret Weapon in a Successful LaunchMay 13— Prepare for Launch: Celebration Night

Summer“Just for them” events

“Just for us” eventsMissional Service-blitz days

Prayer Walking Building Renovations

Unpublicized Worship Services For more resources: http://asburyseminary.edu/mc/nash_combined.pdf

Title of the book

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The Axis Experience in Entrepreneurial Leadership is a learning community for church planters, multisite campus developers and other innovators who desire to Increase their Capacity, Inspire Creativity, Invite Community and Influence a Cause. Its our desire to partner with you in the creation of new faith communities that make great impact.

No multisite leader is called to sit and spin. Therefore, we are developing a new learning community especially for multisite Sr & Campus Pastors, and other designated leaders in partnership with Jim Tomberlin and MultisiteSolutions!

Learn the nuts and bolts of doing multisite!Collaborate with other leaders doing it!Get the best multisite coaching in the nation!

The Office of New Faith CommunitiesThe North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church700 Waterfield Ridge Place Garner, NC 27529Phone: 919.779.6115