Multisites & Mergers
“Oh, we’ll never be a multi-site. We’re too small.” Not so. Multi-site is still growing! Church mergers are happening all the time, making for a strong union of two like churches. Or a church might plant a sister church in a nearby community, reaching out to a different racial mix. What are the strategies?
One Mission. Many Doors—How to approach a Multisite Building Project
As churches expand into multisite models, the question isn’t just where to build, but how to extend your identity. Should a new campus be a replica of the original or reflect something new? This [...]
Merging Churches: Legal and Insurance Considerations
Church mergers are increasingly common, especially with the rise of the multisite model. While mergers can be strategic for growth, they also carry risks. If your board is considering a merger, it's crucial to [...]
Six Truths & One Exaggeration on Launching New Locations
Sir Isaac Newton established that P=MV. Momentum (P) is directly proportional to the object’s mass (M) and velocity (V). The formula applies as much to a growing church as it does for [...]
Keys to a Healthy, Successful and Flourishing Church Merger
Several years ago, I stood in the back of our newest campus during the campus’s first baptism service. This campus was a merger with a 15-year-old church that had lost its evangelistic effectiveness. An [...]
4 Prevailing Models for Multi-siting Churches and How Portability Makes Them Flourish
Is the size of a church a leading indicator of health? The idea that a big church is healthy, or a small church is not healthy, may lead to false conclusions. A [...]
How to Increase Engagement with a Hybrid Church Model
Digital solutions undoubtedly play a significant role in Church today, but the technology churches leverage (and how) continues to evolve. Pushpay recently released its 2023 State of Church Technology report, and findings [...]
Multisite New Normal
The multisite model changed the trajectory of the church in America at the beginning of the 21st century. But what about today? What is the new normal for multisite in the post-pandemic [...]
New Insights on Church Planting and Multisites
From Actual Costs to Best Models What practical insights and trends could research on 3,000 church planters and campus pastors offer? Learn as findings from ECFA’s historic and groundbreaking research are unveiled [...]
Mergers and Acquisitions: Questions to Ask & Financial Due Diligence
Is a merger or acquisition right for your church? While there can be many benefits, a successful merger or acquisition requires more than just finding another church that feels like a natural [...]
Inside a Church Merger: The Good, Bad and Ugly from Actual Examples
Let’s go inside two different mergers. One looks through the eyes of the joining church, exploring what led up to starting the merger conversation, what issues they needed to work through, what [...]
10 Discoveries: The Latest Research on Church Mergers, Part 2
Fletch talks more with Warren Bird and Jim Tomberlin about the preliminary findings on "Church Mergers" for those who participated in their online survey. Bird and Tomberlin write: Topics include: • What [...]
10 Discoveries: The Latest Research on Church Mergers, Part 1
Fletch talks with Warren Bird and Jim Tomberlin about the preliminary findings on "Church Mergers" for those who participated in their online survey. Bird and Tomberlin write: Have you experienced a church [...]
Five Common Problems in Multisite Churches
When the modern multisite practices were started, I had the happy accident of being around. Working with our team at Leadership Network, we set up a gathering of 100 or so practitioners in Chicago [...]
The Structure of Multisite Leadership Teams
Chris Mavity and David Fletcher talk about leadership teams in churches that have multiple campuses. Chris Mavity is a national leader in helping churches work through multisite issues. What should the all-church leadership team [...]
7 Reasons Not to Become a Multisite Church
When I launched the first video-based campus of Willow Creek in 2001, the primary question was, “Can this work?” Thousands of multisite churches later, the question has shifted to, “Should my church go multisite?” What [...]
What’s Trending in Multisite?
How is the “new normal” of multisite changing how we do church in America? In an increasingly secularized nation with overall church attendance in decline, multisite churches are growing in number and church attendance. The multisite strategy [...]
Questions to Ask When Researching a Portable Church
One of the challenges of launching a church or multisite campus in a rented space is finding an excellent location where you can maximize the worship, children’s, and first impressions experiences. Schools seem to be [...]
Multisite or Church Planting?
Remember way back when there were no multisite churches? Back when church planting (and releasing) was the ultimate form of sacrificial expansion for the sake of the Kingdom? Back when dinosaurs were around and roaming [...]
How to Pick a Facility for a Church Plant
No two church plants are exactly the same. People, communities, economics and ministry purpose are only a few of the many variables church planters must work within. While God’s purpose should be the centerpiece [...]
Need to Multisite in a Rented Space?
What challenges do churches face when they launch a new site in a rented space? Why do some churches actually leave their permanent building to move into rented spaces in neighborhoods? What are the best [...]
The Church and a Factory Mindset
I love this definition of a factory: “The source of prolific production." Isn’t that what we all want in ministry? Don’t we all want to create an environment where disciples, small groups, ministry and even [...]
Multisite Trends
The multisite model continues to be a proven and cost-effective vehicle. The multisite experiment began as a pre-recession band-aid strategy for megachurches that were out of room or restricted by zoning laws. It became the [...]
Multisite—From Start-up to Self-Sufficiency
Starting a new campus is tough. Sustaining an existing campus is even tougher. But nothing compares to trying to keep a campus afloat when it becomes a big drain on the operational budget. It can [...]
Five Lease Negotiating Tips for Churches
As the multisite and church planting movements continue to become the fastest form of multiplication and community impact, an increasing number of churches are looking to facilities they would lease rather than own. Given [...]