Life got a little hectic in the last several days, and I didn’t get the chance to conclude the series on multi-site strategy. Links to the previous posts in the series are listed below.
Before we move on, I wanted to offer a handful of mistakes I see churches making when they jump into multi-site. Some of these come from researching the topic. Some of these come from the experience of various churches. Some of them come from my own personal experiences. Here are…
5 Factors to Avoid Multi-site Mistakes
- Leader. The most critical factor to the success or failure of a new campus is having the right leader. They don’t necessarily need to be charismatic, but they do need to be team builders, good communicators, champions of the vision, driven and highly relational. There needs to be a specific person who has the gift of leadership leading the campus.
- Location. There isn’t a black and white formula here, but location matters. That includes proximity to your existing campuses and proximity to the people you’re trying to reach. Where do people shop, eat and experience entertainment? That area is where they’re most likely to also invite friends to attend a service.
- Music. Churches think message first when it comes to multi-site, but the quality of the music is just as important. If the worship arts programming (music, video, etc.) isn’t on the same level as what people experience at the existing campuses, they won’t stay at the new campus.
- Time. To launch with the most chance for success, you need time to identify leaders, build teams, select locations, equip facilities, develop new systems and mobilize people. We’re talking months not weeks. With the right systems and leadership development strategy; however, this time frame can be shortened dramatically. (See Proverbs 21:5)
- Money. The amount of money will differ from church to church, but multi-site will require a financial investment. You’ll need money to purchase technology, signage and children’s ministry equipment. You’ll need money to purchase or lease space and then modify it to meet your needs. You’ll need money to pay staff as the campus grows. And, don’t forget, new people will typically take 18 to 24 months before they start giving. (See Luke 14:28)
That’s my top five. If you’ve been a part of a multi-site campus launch, do you agree with this list? What would you add or subtract?
________
Previous posts in this series:
- What questions do you have about multi-site?
- If it’s an Internet campus, is it still church?
- What are the new multi-site trends?
- Can any church go multi-site?
Great thoughts Tony.
We just went through a year process from deciding to go multi-site to actually launching.
One thing we experienced is people don’t expect the same, they just don’t want less effort with what you got. Lowering the quality is not acceptable, but reproducing the exact same deal is not expected.
Awesome post Tony.
We work with churches a lot who are using the multi-site model. It’s important to gain as much knowledge as possible before you launch a second site. I will be deferring people to this post for quite a while. In the meantime, if you know of any churches that need help with these steps, we can do that.
Until then.
Couldn’t agree with you more. We struggled with the music, got too big of a venue, didn’t fund the technology, equipment, or marketing properly, but had a good leader to manage through it. About the only two things we nailed were the children’s area and the campus pastor. The site is running 200+, but had a rough start. Overall, it was absolutely worth it as we are reaching more people for Christ and we learned a ton for future sites.
Verbage: Not knowing what to call the multisite. Ie. Campus, satellite, church.
Intention: Clearly cummunicating WHY we are a multisite church and why each campus is the way it is.
Systems/Infrastructure: Leadership systems don’t need to “grow” as you add campuses, they have to be reinvented at various stages.
Thanks for your insight.
The stat is #5 about 18-24 months to start giving – I would love to share that stat with some of the leadership of church looking at a multi-site situation, but as well, a new church plant – I think they are pushing the expectation level for the new church to already be giving generously toward self-sufficiency. If anyone has any documentation or another supporting article, I’d love that as well.
-Randy, Fort Worth
After the right leader, I would submit a clarified vision is the second most important thing you can do to set yourself up for success in the multi-site approach.
This past spring we launched our first campus and are planning the launch of our second campus for next fall. (months, not weeks!) We’ve learned it’s critical to have a clear vision, first as a non-multisite church BEFORE you turn to a multi-site approach, secondly, a clarified vision for the campuses.
Clarified vision all around will help your existing staff align and own it, and give your new campus staff clear expectations.
I have a question for Tony and the rest of you with multi-site experience regarding point #2. Do you have any rule of thumb regarding distance to the original site?? I mean, I’m just totally clueless regarding this issue in particular. Any tips would be helpful.
[...] 5 Multi-Site Mistakes by Tony Morgan A handful of mistakes Tony sees churches making when they jump into multi-site. [...]
[...] Tony Morgan identified five key factors when launching a new site: [...]