11 Reasons to Become a Multi-site Church

I have served on the staffs of four multi-site churches in Akron, Ohio; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Pittsburgh, PA in the last 14 years.  These are my Top 11 Reasons for going multi-site.  I love the energy; focus on mission and new opportunities that a multi-site strategy brings to the local church.  I’ll be speaking on this this topic on April 2 at the Ignite Conference at Crossroads Church in Cranberry.

11 Reasons to Become Multi-site Church

1.    To Reach People who are not connected to church.

a.    The number one reason to go multi-site is to reach more people for Jesus Christ.  This has to be your driving force!  It is the mission of the church.

2.    Develop Pastoral Leadership

a.    Many times churches will support a church plant if there is a leader on their staff who is ready for this challenge.  This can be another way to further develop pastors and grow an existing local church. 

3.    Engage Volunteers

a.    Going multi-site will create new opportunities for volunteer ministry.  You will need more worship leaders, kids workers, ushers, outreach coordinators, etc.  It creates more spaces for people to use their gifts in the local church.

4.    Need more space

a.    Multi-site is a good way to create space without building an expensive large building. It will create flexibility in worship offerings and more seats during optimal worship times.

5.    Reach a different social demographic

a.    Multi-site is a great way to reach other social and ethnic demographic groups in your local area.  It is a great way to create non-English speaking services.

6.    To develop a new style of worship

a.    Multi-site is a good way to create a more contemporary or traditional worship service offering.

7.    To reach a new generation.

a.    Multi-site campuses and be a good way to target younger or older age demographics.

8.    Create a more intimate community

a.    The average multi-site campus is 300-400 in weekly attendance.  This creates smaller or medium sized communities for greater relational connections.*

9.    Develop Thought

a.    A multi-site teaching team can create sermons together within a team model.  This can open doors to share research, illustrations and develop deeper thought.

10. Because you are bored and need a new challenge.

a.    Ready for another challenge?  Leaders need to be challenged.  Maybe you have accomplished your goals and want to expand the kingdom further.  This is a method to do this to reach more people.

11. Stretch influence.

a.    Studies show that people have difficulty engaging if they live farther than 15 minutes from their church.  This creates closer and deeper connections to church community.

Portions of this have been gathered from 125 Tips For Multi-Site Churches and Those Who Want to Be.  By Jim Tomberlin and Ben Stroup.  E-book.