Multisite Church Best Practices

Search the web for best practices for leading a multisite church and you may get the sense that there are many ways to do multisite effectively.

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Predictable Outcomes for Multisite Churches

One church meeting in multiple locations is not new.

It began in Acts 2 with the church of Jerusalem meeting in many locations. The one church-multiple locations concept has seen many expressions throughout church history as church leaders adapted to changing cultural realities and leveraged technological advances.

COVID-19 did not change the multisite trends we were already seeing pre-pandemic, but rather, it accelerated them.

In a world of decreasing in-person attendance and a shift towards hybrid ministry, how can multisite churches thrive in the new normal?

Our team has 100+ years of combined experience leading in multisite churches and learning best practices. We've found there are increasingly some predictable outcomes to the different models and approaches churches take to launching campuses.

The Future of Multisite.

The events during the pandemic left church leaders asking questions about the future of multisite and mergers.

Churches who truly made the paradigm shift pre-COVID from a mono-site, main campus-centric mindset to a mission-driven, community-centric mindset are well-positioned for what's next.

Get the "Future of Multisite" video series by Jim Tomberlin, Multisite and Merger Strategist, with videos on:

Multisite is the new normal

Mergers are the new normal

Hybrid ministry is the new normal

Get the Video Series

Multisite Strategy

Multisite Leadership

Multisite Models, Staffing & Structure

Campus Resources

Multisite Strategy

For multisite to really work, everyone has to be on the same page about why the church is engaging this strategy.

Differing team members will likely have different purposes and expectations for the expansion initially. Getting on the same page early in this process sets the entire team up to be aligned and unified. Everyone needs to be pulling in the same direction, and that means the strategy has to be really clear.

The Truth About Multisite – Episode 236 | The Unstuck Church Podcast

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Many multisite churches are struggling with the negative outcomes of the model they’ve chosen and asking the question: should we continue forward or un-multisite? Recent public multisite collapses also have some church leaders questioning the viability of the model as a whole.

After decades spent in ministry, I’ve come to believe that when multisite is done correctly, it can be an effective strategy for carrying out the mission of the Church. But there are some common misconceptions that are worth addressing.

Is Multisite on the Downslope? Episode 108 | The Unstuck Church Podcast

Recently, some high profile multisite churches made the decision to un-multisite. For a variety of reasons, their ministry strategy has shifted from "one church in many locations" to "multiple independent churches," some even boldly downsizing to one location.

Do these public shifts in strategy signal the beginning of the end for the multisite era?

In this episode, Tony sits down with Geoff Surratt, pastor and author of The Multisite Revolution, for a conversation on the future of multisite church, and whether or not it's still an effective strategy in today's culture.

Multisite Warning Signs - Episode 99 | The Unstuck Church Podcast

One church. Multiple Locations. It's the mantra of the multisite movement.

But in our experience? Few are truly one unified church meeting in multiple locations.

Instead, what we find is that many multisite churches are connected through one leadership structure, but beyond that, they are splintered in their ministry strategy.

They are really multiple churches trying to operate as one church.

In this episode, Tony and Amy unpack 3 specific warning signs a church that thinks it's using a multisite strategy is really doing... something else.

Church Mergers - Episode 89 | The Unstuck Church Podcast

It's a dance. One church leads, the other has to follow.

The data is telling us more than 40% of all multisite campuses today are the result of a church merger or the acquisition of a church building.

How do you ensure a successful outcome?

Jim Tomberlin joins Tony Morgan in this third episode in our multisite series to explain what you need to know about church mergers and how you can leverage this strategy for healthy church expansion.

Multisite Q&As with Jim Tomberlin | The Unstuck Church Podcast

Tony Morgan and Jim Tomberlin recently announced that our two ministries-MultiSite Solutions and The Unstuck Group-are coming together!

Jim was one of the pioneers of the multisite movement back in the early 1990s and has been helping churches effectively transition from being one church to being one church in multiple locations ever since.

In this episode, Jim joins Tony on the show to discuss the history of the multisite movement, where it is today, bad reasons churches go multisite, the strategy differences between church planting and launching campuses, and more.

Ready or Not for Multisite? Episode 75 | The Unstuck Church Podcast

Research, podcasts, writing-you can find a lot published about how people are doing multisite. We see far less written about the actual outcomes of different multisite models and strategies.

Based on experience working in and with many different multisite churches, Tony Morgan and Amy Anderson discuss indicators a church is NOT ready to go multisite, principles that set a healthy foundation for expansion, and key systems differences between single-site and multisite churches-plus, the backwards thinking that results in failed campus launches.

Whether you're leading a multisite church or just considering it someday, this episode is packed with practical application to make you more effective and help you avoid costly missteps.

Should You Un-Multisite? Episode 20 | The Unstuck Church Podcast

Rural Multisite Strategy: Challenges & Advantages

Prairie Lakes Church in Iowa is unique. Across the state, they have six campuses, a mix of suburban and rural congregations they've launched as a part of a strategy to put a Prairie Lakes campus within 30 minutes of every Iowan. For them, embarking on a multisite strategy has been the right answer for reaching more people while staying true to the local culture. A 3,000-seat auditorium? That just didn't feel like the natural fit to address their expansion needs.

It's the combo of rural and suburban settings that creates some of the challenges - but also some of the advantages - of a multisite strategy for this church.

Watch Prairie Lakes tell their story

Multisite Consulting

We found ourselves at a place where we knew something wasn't quite right but we couldn't quite put our finger on it. We didn't want to wait until we got really stuck.

David McQueen

Beltway Park Church

Multisite Leadership

As your church moves from a single location to more and more campuses, leaders continually face new challenges.

Their roles change and evolve. Developing and empowering more leaders becomes even more essential. How you communicate, how you make decisions, and how you report within the new structure-If there was any crack of confusion before, those issues become tremendous gaps once going multisite. You'll be managing tensions that didn't exist before.

How multisite can wreck your church

Multisite Leadership: Key Tools to Be a Great Leader with Paul Alexander

Staff Stress & Communication: One Multisite Church's Story of Simplifying for a Healthier Team (with Illustrations)

Multisite growth is exciting, but it can also leave the Communications Team feeling inundated by last-minute requests that lack coherence. Will everyone see the issues and adjust as the situation becomes increasingly difficult? Probably not without intentional leadership. Hillside Christian Church in Texas made some big shifts as it increased to 11 campuses, and in this article, Judy Stallwitz tells (and shows!) how they brought clarity to the communications strategy.

Read Staff Stress & Communication: One Multisite Church's Story of Simplifying for a Healthier Team (with Illustrations)

Managing Multisite Tensions - Episode 100 | The Unstuck Church Podcast

How to Reduce Central vs. Campus Frustration in a Multisite Matrix

Central teams and campus teams have unique perspectives. But we have learned there are some strategies to reduce that tension and maintain a healthy, effective relationship.

In this episode, we discussed:

Questions we hear from multisite staff members that indicate there's tension between central and campus teams

Why tension in the multisite matrix will never completely go away and the 3 areas every multisite church must clarify to manage and reduce it

How to clarify reporting relationships when your team members have more than one boss, or are wearing dual, triple or even quadruple hats (in multisite, it happens)

Why it's important to identify campus vs. central calls in every level of your ministry

How to clarify authority and influence throughout the organization

Breaking Barriers: Reaching 2,000 & Beyond Webinar

Decision Rights: A Free Lesson from the Multisite Unstuck Course

Without clarity, campuses will begin to drift-not in an intentional, malicious way, but because decisions need to be made.

This sample module from our Multisite Unstuck Course is available for free! It will help you clarify central vs. campus calls and decision rights. With that clarity, it will also help you determine what types of campus leaders you need to execute your strategy.

Start Decision Rights - A Free Sample Lesson

Interested in how we guide multisite churches through a planning process for healthy expansion?

Let's Talk

Multisite Models, Staffing & Structure

One of the most fundamental decisions within a multisite strategy is the teaching model, which necessarily impacts the overall ministry model.

It determines how vision and culture will be established at every campus, what kind of leaders you need to hire, and how you'll structure the team to support the ministry strategy.

The Core Issues of Multisite – Episode 237 | The Unstuck Church Podcast

Video vs. Live: Which Multisite Teaching Strategy Is Best For You?

While there is no single right strategy for multisite teaching, there is a way that is best for your church.

When a church launches its first campus, one of the biggest questions is, "How will we share the message over there?" Determining which strategy is best for your church requires your team to think through a variety of factors.

Read Video vs. Live: Which Multisite Teaching Strategy Is Best For You?

Centralized vs. De-Centralized Multisite Models: Which is Best?

When churches experience growth, the multisite conversation often comes up. But that doesn't mean the next step is always obvious. There are several different strategies for launching campuses. In this interview, Chris Surratt, who has served in two different multisite churches with very different strategies, to share some of his experience with centralized vs. de-centralized multisite models. In this conversation, we touch on:

Advantages/disadvantages of centralized vs. de-centralized multisite models

How the role of the campus pastor-and the type of leader needed to fill that role-changes depending on the model

Live-Teaching in Multisite: How Community Christian Makes It Work

Multisite Models

There are, of course, various approaches that churches are taking when it comes to multisite models, but they are each designed to produce different results. Each model has its own unique attributes, benefits and challenges, and each approach requires a unique leadership style. In this article, one of our ministry consultants shares his take on the "best" model for multisite.

Read Multisite Models: Which Is Best?

Multisite Unstuck Course

Over the last 15 years, we've seen a theme emerge on the Internet: "There are many ways to do multisite!" It can feel like there's a buffet of strategies out there that you can pick from and be successful. While it's true that you can do multisite many different ways, each "way" has some increasingly predictable outcomes. We developed the Multisite Unstuck Course to help you apply the best practices we've learned to find greater multisite effectiveness in your unique context.

Explore the Multisite Unstuck Course

One Team. Multiple Locations: How Staff at Effective Multisite Churches Overcome Distance and Lead Together

Ever wonder how pastors of multisite churches lead effectively across multiple locations? Leading one church in multiple locations comes with a wide array of challenges. This white paper will help you take your next steps in building a multisite strategy for a successful campus. This white paper, One Team. Multiple Locations: How Staff at Effective Multisite Churches Overcome Distance and Lead Together, is available for free to Unstuck Learning Hub subscribers.

Our Multisite Consultants can help get your church unstuck.

"The best two days of strategic planning I've ever done. Clear, helpful and practical, we did what I thought would take us months (create a new vision) in just two days. Impressive."

Carey Nieuwhof

Connexus Church

"Staff is healthier. We're continuing to make a greater impact. The number of people that we've had come to faith is up over 180%. As a ministry, we're more innovative and creative as missionaries to reach our culture."

Derwin Gray

Transformation Church

"What a two-day experience for The Crossing! I strongly believe the overall experience with The Unstuck Group is a defining moment for us. The traction gained because of the collective process is HUGE."

Tim Celek

The Crossing Church

The culture of your launch team can set the tone for the culture of your entire campus.

Prepared, equipped and vision-driven teams create a contagious atmosphere of joy and excellence. It's extremely important to launch with a specific purpose and strategy for your ministry team and volunteers.

The Best Practices of Multisite – Episode 238 | The Unstuck Church Podcast

5 Common Mistakes When Hiring Campus Pastors - Episode 43 | The Unstuck Church Podcast

4 Mistakes Churches Make When Launching Campuses

Launching new campuses can quickly turn organizational cracks into significant gaps. What steps can you take to avoid getting stuck on your multisite journey? In this webinar, Tony Morgan hosted Gavin Adams, Paul Alexander and Tammy Kelley for a conversation about the four most common mistakes The Unstuck Group has seen churches make when they launch campuses... and practical ways to avoid getting multistuck yourself.

The Campus Pastor Role: What Makes It Work

Far too many churches find themselves "multistuck" because they don't hire the right leader for the campus pastor role. Or even worse-many end up splitting into multiple churches (unintentionally) as the result of misunderstanding how this role should function in a healthy multisite church. In this free webinar, Tony Morgan will host a practical discussion with Jason Anderson (Eagle Brook Church), Jeff Henderson (Gwinnett Church) and Chris Surratt (Lifeway) on the role of the campus pastor and how to avoid the mistakes The Unstuck Group most often sees hurting churches as they launch campuses.

How to Engage Kids in a Multisite or Portable Church Venue

Multisite Unstuck Toolkit

Through our multisite consulting process, we guide churches through the journey of clarifying the organization-wide ministry strategy, and how it can be replicated effectively across campuses. This toolkit includes resources to help you:

- Determine which multisite model is best for you and your church

- Clarify decision rights for your campus

- Build a customized launch plan

- Execute on a 12 month timeline to your next campus launch

- Determine the best location and venue for your next campus

We also include some sample job descriptions, done-for-you spreadsheets to help you plan financially… and more! Whether you're leading a multisite church today, or considering this strategy for your future, we are sure you'll find these resources invaluable. They are available for free to all Unstuck Learning Hub subscribers.

Building Healthy Campus Launch Teams

Prepared, equipped and vision-driven teams create a contagious atmosphere of joy and excellence. It's extremely important to launch with a specific purpose and strategy for your ministry team and volunteers.

We can guide you through the process of clarifying your organization-wide ministry strategy, and how it can be replicated effectively across campuses. See how our multisite consulting process works.

We'd love to share more about what we're learning works in healthy, expanding multisite churches. Would you like to start a conversation?

Let's Talk

Multisite Church Best Practices

Predictable Outcomes for Multisite Churches

The Future of Multisite.

Get the "Future of Multisite" video series by Jim Tomberlin, Multisite and Merger Strategist, with videos on:

Multisite Strategy

Multisite Leadership

Multisite Models, Staffing & Structure

Campus Resources

Multisite Strategy

For multisite to really work, everyone has to be on the same page about why the church is engaging this strategy.

David McQueen

Multisite Leadership

As your church moves from a single location to more and more campuses, leaders continually face new challenges.

How to Reduce Central vs. Campus Frustration in a Multisite Matrix

Interested in how we guide multisite churches through a planning process for healthy expansion?

Multisite Models, Staffing & Structure

One of the most fundamental decisions within a multisite strategy is the teaching model, which necessarily impacts the overall ministry model.

Our Multisite Consultants can help get your church unstuck.

Carey Nieuwhof

Derwin Gray

Tim Celek

The culture of your launch team can set the tone for the culture of your entire campus.

Prepared, equipped and vision-driven teams create a contagious atmosphere of joy and excellence. It's extremely important to launch with a specific purpose and strategy for your ministry team and volunteers.

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