Pack a lunch, we're going on the road

Yes, I know that one of these authors happens to be my husband, but this book is REAllY good. Putting their vast knowledge of multi-site models around the world to work, authors Geoff Surratt, Greg Ligon and Warren Bird invite you to travel with them as they take a deeper look into what's working and why in churches across the country. Kind of like a big family vacation, but on this one, dad actually lets you stop and go to the bathroom. Since the book primarily focuses on U.S. multisite, I thought I'd try to stump them with a Q about multisite in Europe. Feel free to throw them a question yourself, as they'll be stopping by today.

Here's the big question:

You mention in your book that the multisite revolution is happening all over the country, as well as other parts of the world. What innovations in multisite are you seeing in Europe and other continents?

Their answer:

We are seeing several very exciting developments in Europe and beyond in multi-site. I (Geoff) just came back from visiting multi-site churches in Holland, England and India. In Holland, Thousand Hills, a church planted outside of Amsterdam three years ago, is now preparing to launch their first offsite campus in The Hague sometime early next year. They see multi-site as a way to share resources and reach one of the most unchurched areas of Europe.

In Sheffield, England, St Thomas Philadelphia has grown by 25% in the last six months in a town where only 2.5% of the people have any church connection. Unable to keep up with the growth and with a vision to reach all of Northern England, they are going to launch sites in areas where they already have mid-size groups meeting on a weekly basis. They have a vision to reach 20,000 people across England.

In Chennai, India New Life Assembly of God draws 25,000 people to their original site, located on 1 acre of land, every weekend. Four years ago they launched their first offsite campus with video teaching. They now have a total of five campuses around Chennai with a vision to ring the city with campuses.

For further dialog, see more Q&A at the authors' blog www.multisiteroadtrip.com or contact them via Twitter: @geoffsurratt, @gregligon or @warrenbird. To order Multi-Site Church Roadtrip, click here http://bit.ly/7pmFZQ, and to order Multi-Site Church Revolution, click here http://bit.ly/5q5AaD.

Comments

[Ron Sparks]

When the pastor of a large, established church feels led to go multisite, and hopes to be able to move expeditiously, is it common for him/her to encounter apprehension from some existing staff members who are comfortable with their position(s) and the status quo?

[Mary Beth]

How pervasive is bi-vocational ministry in multi-site church staffing? Do you see this as a growing trend?

[djchuang]

And I've also heard that the first multi-site book you wrote, The Multi-Site Church Revolution, was translated into Korean! So what do multi-site churches look like there in South Korea?

[Greg Ligon]

Ron,

Great question. And the answer is yes! I believe that in any established church that any kind of change can be threatening. Much of the pushback is commonly around work load expectations. The key is communicate, communicate, communicate. This gives your staff the opportunity to understand the overall vision and their role in helping the church to move in that direction. And part of the communication must be about clarifying expectations about job load. It is common for churches to launch one additional campus without adding any full time staff. In most cases once the campus is up and growing additional staff will need to be added ... and you will certainly need additional staff in place before you launch campuses two, three ...

[Greg Ligon]

Mary Beth,

There are a number of churches that use bi-vocational staff, especially in the campus pastor role. Seacoast's campus pastors include a dentist and a farmer. New Life Community Church in Chicago, where Mark Jobe is lead pastor, also has bi-vocation team. I also believe that there is room for this in many of the larger denominations that are struggling to have adequate full time pastoral staff to keep churches open in rural areas.

[Lindastanley]

Do you think multi site campus churches will continue long-term or eventually become church plant networks? Or something else altogether?

[Greg Ligon]

Great question Linda. Wish we had an answer ... :-) Actually I think the answer is "yes." Some of the campuses will become independent plants (some already have), some of the existing "one church in many locations" models will continue to grow (though they will morph over time) and some multi-site churches will become exclusively planting networks (really at the heart of what Wayne Cordeiro and team at New Hope are already doing.)

[Greg Ligon]

Sherry,

Thanks for your participation in the blogger's tour. I trust that you and your readers will continue to be involved in the dialogue at www.multisitechurchroadtrip.com.

Merry Christmas!