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I recently wrapped up the Multi-Site Church Revolution by Geoff Surratt, Greg Ligon and Warren Bird. It was a very practical look how how a church can expand its ministry beyond services in one building to a situation where it’s offering services in more than one location. Here are a few highlights from the book:

• "Seven out of the country’s ten fastest-growing churches offer worship in multiple locations, as do nine of the ten largest churches."
• "The actual number of unchurched adults has nearly doubled in the last fifteen years, currently numbered at 75 million."
• Bill Hybels shared this discovery, "People who live beyond the thirty-minute mark rarely invited nonchurched people as their guests and had a much lower frequency rate for midweek participation."
• "The most-cited reason for launching multiple campuses or multiple venues is lack of space… The second most-cited reason is a vision to impact through ‘more’ instead of ‘bigger.’"
• "Multi-site niche churches are not just about touching new people but also about growing a church’s ministry capacity–deploying more volunteers."
• "Because of the reduced cost of operating additional sites, many multi-site churches have found that their off-site locations are often self-sustaining within a few months."
• "The first step in launching a new campus for Seacoast is to prayerfully find the right leaders. The right leaders are the key to the eventual success or failure of a campus. The most crucial leader for us is the campus pastor."
• "While the first key to a successful campus is the right leadership, a close second is the right location. A poor location can cripple a new campus."
• "Before your church reproduces itself, make sure you know what you’re reproducing. Take some time to identify what you are known for–what people expect when they show up at your church."
• "When Jesus developed the twelve men to whom he would entrust the most important mission of history, he didn’t send them to a class or put them through a program. Jesus developed his leaders by hanging out with them, eating with them, and experiencing life with them."
• Some of my favorite multi-site churches mentioned in the book include: Community Christian Church, Fellowship Church, Healing Place Church, LifeChurch.tv, National Community Church, NewSong Church, North Point Community Church, Seacoast Church and The Journey.

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