Multisiters: Insights from Church Leaders with
10-20 Years on the Front Lines, a New Webinar
June 24th, 2010
How to Participate
Use the Questions box on your
control panel to ask questions at
any time during today’s webinar.
Multisite Survey
400 Multisite churches participated in the survey
You will receive the report August 23, before it goes public
Questions we’ll address in our illustrated write-up:
• How does your original campus compare to other campuses?
• How is teaching done at multisites?
• How often does multisite cross cultures?
• How do internet campuses work?
• Does multisite help or hurt church planting?
Participants
Warren Bird, Ph.D., Director of Research and Intellectual Capital
Development for Leadership Network
Greg Ligon, Vice President and Publisher for Leadership Network
Participants
Robert Wright, chief operating officer of Eastern Star Baptist
Church, Indianapolis, IN, which opened its first multisite campus in
1996.
Jim Chambers, point person at Mt. Paran Church of God, Atlanta,
GA, during their successful expansion to five campuses 1985-1996.
Participants
Larry Osborne, pastor of North Coast Church, Vista, CA,
which launched its first on-campus video venue in 1998 and
first off-site in 2001.
Jim Tomberlin, started multisite in 1997 at Woodmen Valley
Chapel in Colorado Springs, then guided Willow Creek
Church from 2001 to 2005 in the launch of five campuses.
Audience Poll
Which option best describes your Church Role?
(one answer only, please)
1. Senior/Lead pastor
2. Campus pastor
3. Other church staff
4. Volunteer/Servant
Audience Poll
What is your typical weekend worship attendance for all
campuses combined (excluding Internet campus)?
(one answer only please)
1. Under 200
2. 200-499
3. 500- 1,999
4. 2,000 to 5,000
5. Above 5,000
Robert Wright
Deacon Robert Wright
Chief Operating Officer at Eastern Star
Baptist Church in Indianapolis, IN.
Eastern Star has three campuses, and
is currently building a fourth.
They have been multisite since 1996.
www.easternstarchurch.org
Northeast Campus
Robert Wright
Multisite / Campus Approach
Concept: One church in three locations
1. One location that would house the main sanctuary and facilitate all
ministerial needs of the congregation Monday through Saturday.
2. Satellite locations for the purpose of additional worship sites on Sundays
and relief ministry sites through the week.
3. Satellite locations were selected based on membership demographics
(geo-coding).
4. One Senior Pastor preaching at all services.
Robert Wright
Benefits of Multiple Site / Campus Approach
1. More of a Biblical concept of New Testament evangelism:
“Go to the people.”
2. Allows numerical and financial growth of congregation.
3. Keeps worship service(s) on a smaller more intimate scale.
4. Allows the megachurch to be more visible within the
different communities it serves.
Robert Wright
Benefits (continued)
5. Encourages multi-cultural participation and attendance.
6. Provides more opportunities for members to serve.
7. Provides more opportunities for leadership development.
8. Allows for expansion of ministries throughout the
communities it serves (ex. outreach, childcare, bookstore).
9. Additional facilities for flexible ministry.
Robert Wright
Developmental Areas of Concern
1. An effective church organization structure.
Ministry
Business Administration
Church Administration
Finance
Facilities Management
2. Same quality of service at each site/campus.
Robert Wright
Developmental Concerns (continued)
3. Senior Pastor preaches all services.
4. Develop strong choirs and musicians.
5. Order of service format is consistent at all services/sites.
6. Effective worship leaders at each service/site.
7. All ministries developed to meet the needs at each site.
8. Excellent communications
Robert Wright
Major Challenges
1. Site selection / membership demographics
2. Available parking
3. Managing growth
4. Burnout (Senior Pastor, Church Staff, Ministries, Ministry Leaders,
and Volunteers)
5. Overall facility costs (x3)
Robert Wright
Questions & Answers with Robert Wright
Eastern Star Baptist Church
www.easternstarchurch.org
Jim Chambers
Jim Chambers
CEO at the Institute for Organizational Leadership
Jim joined the staff at Mount Paran Church in 1986.
Over the next eight years, he served in different
pastoral roles during their expansion from one to five
locations in the Atlanta area. He is now he CEO of
the Institute for Organizational Leadership as well as
A pastor of a large church in Chesapeake, VA.
Institute for Organizational Leadership
www.iolglobal.com
Jim Chambers
The Mount Paran Model and how it has changed over the years
Moving to one church in two locations
 Dr. Paul L. Walker was the Senior Pastor at the time and a decision
was made in 1986 to secure a second campus in order to become one
church in two locations.
 A 60+ acre church campus became available in Marietta, GA after
another church went out of business.
 A new $12 million facility was designed on an existing structure with a
3,500 seat sanctuary and was full within the first month.
 The new facility included a sanctuary, two educational wings, a gym
and other facilities to house the Mt Paran Christian School.
Jim Chambers
Moving to one church in two locations (continued)
 The move to the second campus was driven by overcrowding at
the original campus
 The city would not allow the church to build additional facilities
without considerable cost and there was little or no land for
purchase in the surrounding area
 Parking and traffic flow had also become a significant problem on
Sundays
Jim Chambers
The One Church on Two Locations model
 The main campus was called Mount Paran Central and the new
campus was called Mount Paran North
 In the beginning, the new location was intended to serve two
purposes; overflow for worship and to serve members in the area
 Both churches had one staff and everyone had to shuffle back and
forth between the two facilities that were about 20 miles a part
 An Associate Pastor and secretary were hired to provide pastoral
leadership at Mount Paran North and eventually they added music,
education, and other staff as the congregation grew
Jim Chambers
Three additional campuses were added over the next several years
giving the church a total of five locations in the Atlanta area.
 Mount Paran Central is the original campus on Mount Paran Road
 Mount Paran North is located in Marietta, GA
 Mount Paran West was located just west of the city off of I-20
 Mount Paran East was located just east of the city in a growing
community serviced by I-85 and other major freeway systems
 Mount Paran Downtown was located in several sites until it was
merged with another ministry that served homeless and inner-city
residents
Jim Chambers
The biggest benefit of going multisite
The biggest benefit of moving to a multisite model was the ability to reach
more people for Christ and the serve the expanding membership of those
who lived in and around the city.
The ability to leverage the sound reputation of Mt Paran Church in the city
of Atlanta was also a driving force in the expansion and growth of the
church. This can also be linked to the incredible growth of Atlanta during
this same period – the city was growing and we were fortunate to be a
part of what God was doing at the time.
Jim Chambers
The biggest downside of being multisite
The ability to insure the quality of ministry staffing, programming, and
management.
Although we maintained control of the central functions at the main
campus, it was often a challenge to keep up with all the activities at each
location.
In my view, the multisite model was both exciting and stressful for the
staff and ministry volunteers; there was a lot of positive energy around
what we were doing, but it also took a toll in terms of long hours and high
expectations of success in many areas.
Jim Chambers
Questions & Answers with Jim Chambers
Institute for Organizational Leadership
www.iolglobal.com
Larry Osborne
Larry Osborne
Pastor at North Coast Church in Vista, CA
North Coast Church has 4 Campuses
Launched its first on-campus video venue in
1998 and first off-site in 2001.
www.NorthCoastChurch.com
Larry Osborne
North Coast model and how it has changed over the years
Our first video venue started as an overflow room that would be a reward ,
not a punishment.
It quickly became a tool for demographic expansion.
Our off-site campuses are a tool for geographic expansion.
Larry Osborne
North Coast Model (Continued)
Our local off-site campuses are started with a Macedonian call.
Our long distance campuses are autonomous – we see ourselves as
merely providing pulpit supply.
We originally treated campuses as an extension of the main campus.
We now treat our campus more like a church plant.
All of our teaching is via video.
Larry Osborne
Biggest benefit of going multisite (or adding video venues on-site)
On-site venues allow us to reach a wider demographic audience.
Off-site venues allow us to reach a wider geographic audience.
Off-site campuses restore the come-and-see evangelism and youth involvement.
On and Off-site venues decentralize ministry.
Larry Osborne
Biggest downside of being multisite
Increased complexity
I wish I had known or done way back when
That starting and overseeing an off-site campus is exactly like starting
and overseeing a church plant.
Larry Osborne
Questions & Answers with Larry Osborne
North Coast Church
www.NorthCoastChurch.com
Multisite Survey
Preview of Major Findings
4 in 5 multisites report an increase in lay leadership development
1 in 3 multisites added a campus through a merger
1 in 4 multisites have a campus in another language
1 in 5 multisites have already birthed a “grandchild” campus
In-person teaching is more widely practiced than video
Jim Tomberlin
Jim Tomberlin is founder, president and senior
strategist for MultiSite Solutions. Over three
decades of diverse ministry, Jim Tomberlin has
pastored a church in Germany, grown a
megachurch in Colorado, and pioneered the
multisite strategy for Willow Creek Community
Church in Chicago. Through his company,
MutliSite Solutions, he now assists churches of
all sizes in defining and fulfilling their ministry.
www.multi-sitesolutions.com
Jim Tomberlin
Multisite Summary:
Multisite model has become a viable instrument in the toolbox of the
Church.
Began as a band-aid for megachurches out of room or facing zoning
restrictions—became a strategy for healthy, outreach-oriented
churches of all sizes.
Jim Tomberlin
Multisite Summary (Continued)
Multisite changes everything. It changes how we think and do church.
Every multisite church is unique, different—no one size fits all.
Launching campuses is the easier part, managing the intercampus
relationships and restructuring the staff organization to support
multiple campuses is the challenging part.
Jim Tomberlin
5 P’s of launching:
prayer to precede
provision to start
a pastor to lead
people to follow
and a place to meet
Jim Tomberlin
5 mistakes of multisite churches
Lack of a compelling reason/vision.
Under-delivering the campus experience.
Launching too close/far from the sending campus.
Launching with a follower instead of a leader.
Not embracing the paradigm shift from mono-site to multi-site.
Jim Tomberlin
5 Summary Observations - Recap
Every multisite church is unique, different-no one size fits all.
Technology is challenging.
Church structure will change annually .
Campus pastors are the key, hard to find.
Worth it, not many abandon.
To Learn More
All free:
leadnet.org/multisiteresources
(papers, podcasts, videos, more)
http://innovationlab.leadnet.org
www.multisiteroadtrip.com
(blog for two books)
Tomorrow you will get an email with a link to download the
recording and slides from today’s presentation.
Final Comments
Robert Wright
Jim Chambers
Larry Osborne
Leadership Network
Leadership Network exists to accelerate
the impact of high-capacity “100X” leaders.
www.leadnet.org
© 2010 Leadership Network